Graduate school abroad is a possibility for UR students

Senior Kathy Rubio's family owns a non-profit organization that helps to fund children's education and health care in countries, including Mexico and El Salvador. The family's work for the organization has forced Rubio to live abroad for a significant amount of her life, she said.

"I've traveled so much in my life and have always been involved with health care and education," Rubio said. "I think it's definitely influenced me to do what I'm doing now."

Rubio is a political science major and plans to study international politics abroad next year at a graduate school, she said.

"I'm looking into different schools in Paris, London, Geneva and Barcelona," Rubio said. "A cool part about these programs is that you will more than likely have an internship with the Red Cross or the United Nations, and everything you learn in these classes, you instantly apply in a real situation."

Monti Datta, Rubio's adviser, had been very supportive in her decision to apply abroad, she said.

Datta, a political science professor, said many Richmond students weren't considering going abroad after graduation because they felt as if they had done enough traveling during their semesters abroad.

"What I try to say to my students is, if you want to go abroad, the time after you graduate is the best time to go," Datta said. "But the sense I got from seniors last year was that going abroad wasn't seen as appealing as getting a good job in the N.Y. or D.C. area. It's almost as if the feeling is, 'Why do I need to go again?'"

Datta said he advocated traveling, but was hesitant to advocate the prestige of all graduate schools abroad.

"It really depends on the particular program," Datta said. "But most of the rigorous political science programs are in the U.S. I don't know what it's like for other programs than political science."

Senior Sherzel Smith has applied to five graduate schools in the United Kingdom to study public health and health policy next year. One of the main reasons she looked abroad for school was the tuition, she said.

"One of the universities I'm applying to - the University of Edinburgh - is a top five or six university in Europe," Smith said. "If you convert it, the whole master's degree should cost me $25,000. A U.S. degree would run me up anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000."

Another reason for Smith to look abroad was the appeal of finishing a master's degree in one year, as opposed to the two years it typically would take in the U.S., she said.

"Not only are you not paying for two years, but it's also just a more concentrated experience," Smith said. "In that one year, there are more opportunities to go on trips, to go to developing countries to conduct research and to receive international experience in a practical way."

Jesse Wingate, who works in the Richmond Career Services offices, has seen students come in who are interested in going abroad to study after college, he said.

"I would sense that many career services', academic and faculty advisers here at Richmond and at other colleges and universities in the U.S. will be seeing a slight increase in students inquiring about graduate study abroad," Wingate said.

Uliana Gabara, the dean of international education, said a great deal depended on what country the degree was in and what the specific field was that the student wanted to study.

"A master's degree in a very pragmatic field, such as nursing or accounting, is different," Gabara said. "There is different licensing for these fields, so it may not be very wise to go abroad."

Many students who are applying for graduate school abroad also studied abroad during their four years at Richmond, Gabara said.

"Once you've studied abroad for a semester, you feel like you can do it," Gabara said. "You don't feel lost or that you'll die from homesickness."

Suren Daryanani, a 2011 Richmond graduate, has been thinking about going abroad for graduate school, he said.

"The world is becoming increasingly global nowadays," Daryanani said. "It's important for people to become acclimated with the rapidly changing global environment. People want to see what other countries have to offer them."

Daryanani, who was an economics major, has been working at a public accounting firm in Richmond since he graduated, he said.

"Business may be one of the more global majors since it can be applied everywhere," Daryanani said. "Plus I feel that companies have grown a lot in their ability to know how foreign institutions work. They understand the amount of prestige attached to all of them."

Daryanani doesn't plan to go to graduate school for another three or four years, he said. Much of his decision will depend on money and where he wants to live after his studies, he said.

"The decision to go to graduate school abroad really depends on what your major is and what your goals are," Daryanani said. "But no matter what, it's important to have that international experience. It can provide students with an outlook on what opportunities lie outside the U.S."

Contact reporter Scott Himelein at scott.himelein@richmond.edu