Princeton Study Abroad Climbs Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels

In the 2024-25 academic year, semester study abroad at Princeton has finally caught up to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Office of International Programs. In the 2018-19 academic year, 176 students went abroad for a semester. After a lull in the years of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID travel restrictions, the program resumed. The 2023-24 academic year saw 134 students study abroad, and this year the number climbed back to 174 students. 

“The Office of International Programs and the Study Abroad Program are excited to see that the numbers of students choosing to study abroad for the semester or the academic year are close to pre-COVID levels,” said Rebecca Graves-Bayazitoglu, the senior associate dean of the Office of International Programs. “We are always looking for ways to expand access to these opportunities.”

Spring semester study abroad remained the most popular choice for Princeton students in 2023-24, with 85 students abroad in the spring and 46 students abroad in the fall (a handful of students study abroad for the full year); 73% of students studying abroad were juniors and 20% were seniors. The large population of seniors might have been because members of the Class of 2024 did not get to go abroad as juniors.

England was the most popular country for study abroad, with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and the University College London ranking in the top five programs. Studying abroad during the semester exposed Princeton students to different styles of education. Katie Rohrbaugh ’24, a history major who studied abroad at the University College London (UCL) in the fall of 2023, felt that she was given flexibility to explore different subjects outside the distribution and major requirements that typically structure classes at Princeton.

“Attending [UCL] taught me much about the U.K.’s education system and allowed me to take courses in fields I had not yet explored like geography and botany,” she said. The exposure to different academic structures was a formative experience for Rohrbaugh, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Cornell in agricultural sciences.

Study abroad programs also allowed students to engage with different styles of working. “We put so much energy into the grades we get, not really as much the process of learning,” said Aidan Iaccobucci ’25. “Oxford has allowed me to step back from the rigidity of grades and really just appreciate learning for the sake of it.”

“It’s a lot of independent work, doing your own reading, and coming to your own conclusions, all while exploring subjects deeper in tutorials,” Iaccobucci added. The replacement of a heavy class-load with weekly supervisions that facilitated one or two papers at a time meant that students had the opportunity to deeply engage with the subjects they were studying.  

Both Iaccobucci and Rohrbaugh felt that studying abroad allowed them access to new cultures. “Living in London was amazing — I had so many opportunities to explore the city’s culture and history, even from right outside my dorm,” said Rorhbaugh. Iaccobucci said that “being able to go on trips, explore, and see different cultures has been really great,” and that his program allowed him access to the world in a different way.

Students who went abroad also strengthened their connections with their friends back on campus. Many of the students who went abroad for a semester were visited by their classmates at Princeton for fall or spring break. “I used study abroad as an opportunity to reach out more frequently to the people I valued most on campus and build connections that transcended campus,” said Heather Madsen ‘25, reflecting on her experience at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in Copenhagen, which was the second most popular program overall.

Juniors who studied abroad still needed to complete their independent work while away from campus. That meant accounting for different time zones when scheduling time with advisers, according to Sebastian Aguilar ’25, who spent the spring 2024 semester at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in Stockholm, Sweden. “I wasn’t around any Princeton people and none of them had to go through the process of writing a JP,” Aguilar said. “I was constantly finding a balance between devoting time to doing research and not falling behind in the classes you’re taking, and spending time with your friends abroad before never seeing them again.”

Despite being rigorous, the junior paper requirement for students studying abroad created pathways for interesting research. For example, one junior in the School of Public and International Affairs who studied abroad in Cambridge visited NATO headquarters in Brussels during spring break and spoke with U.K. officials who visited classes.

Amanda El-Kadi, the assistant director for study abroad student engagement at the Office of International Programs, told PAW in an email that “studying abroad provides students with a unique opportunity for academic enrichment, cultural immersion, and personal development. It fosters independence, cultural awareness, and global connections, all of which are essential in today’s interconnected world.”