© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 A Portfolio of Study Abroad Options for Engineering Students to Gain International Experience

The Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University (MSU) has struggled, like many other schools, to get students to participate in study abroad programs. Also at MSU, again similar to many other institutions, the university and college clearly recognize the need for students to better understand and have some experience in the global environment in which they live and will practice engineering. In order to expose engineering students to skills and experiences that cannot be taught in the classroom alone, and to develop better leaders and communicators with an understanding of the impact engineers have globally in government and industry, the college recently created the Center for Engineering Student Excellence (CESE). Since a key component of CESE is global awareness, the college is striving to offer a variety of study abroad opportunities in order to make it as convenient as possible for engineering students to fit an international experience into their program of study