Experiential Learning through Short-Term Study Abroad: A Business Approach

Excerpt Passarelli and Kolb (2012) suggest that an experiential education model can be useful in designing and assessing study abroad programs. As business school professors in the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University who direct and assess short-term study abroad programs, we could not agree more. Our global framework not only encourages students to leave their comfort zones and experience unfamiliar cultural environments, but they are also provided with opportunities to explore issues of academic and business interest with academic, governmental, business, and non-business leaders in other countries. Moreover, they can also observe how public and private organizations operate in various parts of the world. Through study abroad, students leave the classroom, interact with key leaders in their countries, and learn through engagement, discussion, and immersion. The purpose of this paper is to explain how short-term study abroad programs developed in our college provide such possibilities for busy undergraduate and graduate students; moreover, we provide suggestions for professors wishing to implement similar programs at their own institutions