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By Miguel Karian

Choosing to study abroad requires significant personal investment. As with any investment, your decision should be an informed one, which takes into consideration environmental and social implications. These include both how your time and money will be spent during your studies overseas. Here are some factors to consider before selecting your program.

THE BIG QUESTION: IS IT SUSTAINABLE?

The main question to be addressed in selection of an appropriate program is this: does it help contribute to a sustainable future in some way and, if so, can it continue to remain sustainable for the long-term as more students opt for such an experience in an ever-shrinking world? Does the program promote social equity, or is it little more than a tourist experience for the wealthy at the expense of local communities in your proposed country of study? What are the possible implications for the natural world and the consumption of finite resources compared to other programs or to staying at home? Do the likely positive outcomes of the experience for you and the host community outweigh any negative impacts? Addressing these questions requires a deeper look at the three pillars of sustainability: economic factors, socio/cultural issues, and environmental impacts.

ECONOMIC FACTORS

One of the first questions students commonly ask about studying abroad is: how much will it cost? Although this is certainly a reasonable question, there appears to be a misconception that studying abroad will cost significantly more than staying at home. This is often exacerbated by the fact that program fees are typically one lump sum that may include housing, food, tuition, program travel, insurance, and the like. Specific costs are highly dependent upon variables such as the region of the world in which you are studying and the cost of living there in relation to tuition and living expenses at home. In some places, costs can be comparable or even cheaper, although students may not realize it because they are making smaller payments over time when they are at their home college. This is particularly true with programs that are at least a semester in length.

Your economic analysis of whether to study abroad should also take into account implications for the host community. Although all study abroad programs make some contribution to the host-country’s economy in the form of payments for services rendered, the higher the percentage of expenses paid at the local-level, and the wider the distribution of that wealth, the more socially equitable and thus sustainable the program is. A good question to ask about your prospective study abroad program is whether it supports local environmentally conscious businesses and socially responsible projects when making purchases for such things as lodgings, field site visits, or guest speakers. Similar criteria should be used when trying to decide on a service-learning or volunteer program. You can find out about the sustainability efforts in your country through local community tourism guides, responsible tourism websites, and government sustainable tourism certification programs. One example in Costa Rica, where my program operates, is the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) website.

SOCIO-CULTURAL ISSUES

A thorough analysis of your prospective study abroad experience should also address socio-cultural issues. For host families and communities, social issues may include substantial personal sacrifice and cultural challenges. Such challenges, though perhaps inevitable to some degree due to cultural differences, can be minimized through conscious effort. Universities and program providers often assist participants in this way through advanced preparation (e.g. orientation), on-going support during the program (e.g., monitoring and check-in sessions), and assistance with re-entry upon completion. You should be sure that the program you select provides this type of support, and take full advantage of it. 

It is also advisable to examine your prospective program’s working relationship with host families, local institutions, and volunteer sites to ensure that those alliances are well established and mutually beneficial. This will increase the chances that both participants and host communities benefit from a shared positive experience. 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

As with all human activities, studying abroad is also accompanied by environmental impacts. Well-known negative impacts include consumption of finite or unsustainable resources, carbon dioxide emissions and other air pollutants associated with fossil fuel-based travel, and environmental consequences associated with waste production and disposal. While it is necessary to take into account the specifics of your program, the state of the environment and the environmental standards of your host country, such negative impacts should be compared with either staying at home or participating in a similar program elsewhere. Contributing factors include how much you will be traveling and what type of transportation you will use while abroad, as well as the general type of lifestyle you plan to maintain. If you are a North American, it is likely you will reduce your ecological footprint during your time abroad, given that students overseas typically live at a local level with homestay families or in other shared accommodation, use public transportation, and consume significantly more fresh and locally grown food than they would at home. Depending upon the length of the program, these direct positive impacts can help offset negative impacts. Even if your overall environmental impact is negative, you must still weigh it against the positive long-term benefits of study abroad for the individual, host community, and society at-large. 

Some study abroad programs are specifically designed to improve environmental quality. One of the most widely promoted ways of doing this is to involve students in planting trees. Alternatively, program providers can purchase carbon-offset credits, where others plant trees or invest in sustainable or renewable energy projects on their behalf. If this is important to you, raise this question with your prospective program. In addition to helping sequester atmospheric CO₂ such efforts also reduce soil erosion, improve moisture retention, and stabilize local climate.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Very likely, the most critical decision you will make regarding sustainability in study abroad is which program you select. But, regardless of which program you participate in there are innumerable things you can do personally to minimize your negative impact abroad. In the economic arena, you can encourage programs to incorporate environmental and social concerns into purchasing decisions and do the same with your own purchases. This can have a direct and immediate positive impact on the country of study. It may also hasten long-term improvements through more sustainable business practices.

The same applies to socio-cultural aspects of your experience. Through integrating as much as possible into the host community, you can make a significant difference by breaking down cultural barriers, sharing your personal beliefs, and serving as a role-model for other individuals and families. There are a lot of ways you can lend a hand to your host community. Some of my former students, for example, have volunteered to assist with sea turtle conservation, rural construction efforts, biological reserve maintenance, environmental education, solar energy projects, organic farming, and other activities that contribute to community-based sustainability.

Perhaps just as important as your labor is that your direct assistance will help build community through shared experience in pursuit of a common goal. You can improve the environment of your host community by  actions such as reducing travel, water, or water usage. If your study abroad program does not practice and encourage source reduction, re-use, and recycling, you may also want to suggest their implementation. In addition to directly reducing environmental impacts, such in-house changes set an example in your host community.

Analysis of the study abroad experience in its entirety reveals that the significant personal expense and time commitment of studying abroad is generally more than offset by the benefits of a more global and multi-cultural education. Well beyond the specific knowledge gained, you will be provided with improved marketability and long-term standard of living, greater socio-cultural awareness and understanding, and immense personal growth, self-assurance, and empathy for others. In addition to benefiting you directly, these characteristics enrich the entirety of an increasingly global human society. The enormous indirect long-term social benefits of increased cultural understanding, personal intercultural friendships, and the building of a shared vision by individuals across the globe should not be underestimated. Individually and collectively, the study abroad experience is an investment in a sustainable future.

Dr. Miguel Karian is the Founder and Director of Earth Education International, an international experiential learning center that offers semester abroad opportunities and short courses in Costa Rica in partnership with various universities internationally. Dr. Karian holds a doctorate in Education, and has over 20 years of interdisciplinary teaching experience. He has been leading study abroad programs in Costa Rica since 1996.