Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., currently hosts semester programs in Britain, China, France, Ghana, Honduras, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Spain. This year it will add Peru.
With so many semester-long international study opportunities, Calvin has been ranked as a top baccalaureate institution for the total number of students who participate in a short-term study abroad.
This information comes from the 2010 Open Doors report, based on data from 2008-2009, when 421 Calvin students studied abroad in semester programs, interims, and other programs.
The Open Doors report also notes a record number of international students studying in the United States. That trend holds true at Calvin as well. In 2008-2009, 350 international students studied on campus, placing the school sixth in the nation among baccalaureate institutions.
The annual Open Doors report is published by the Institute of International Education, the leading not-forprofit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States.
Besides the semester programs, each January Calvin offers many off-campus interim courses based in other countries, multiplying the opportunities for students to study abroad. Calvin currently offers month-long interims in more than 30 countries.
"Calvin has made a strong commitment to global engagement," said Don DeGraaf, director of off-campus programs at Calvin. "Students have the opportunity to travel to the far reaches of the globe, but more important, Calvin makes an intentional effort to assure that students travel with a purpose: to see how God is at work in our world and to ask how God is calling them to join his work in his world."
About the Author
Matt Kucinski is media relations manager at Calvin University.
