SE Dallas News

After being grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ACC’sStudy Abroad program will take off again in summer 2023.  

Offered through the college’s International Programs Office, study abroad programs provide students an opportunity to travel to another country with an ACC professor and classmates to get hands-on learning while immersed in another culture. Students earn academic credit through the program.

“It was a life-changing, priceless experience,” recalls Danette T., ACC psychology major and study abroad student. “I felt like I was kind of going through the motions in my studies at school. Going to Romania invigorated me. It just made me see what I truly want.”

Danette traveled to Romania on a social psychology trip. While there, she discovered the pathway she wanted to pursue within her major.

“I realized I want to work with children. In Romania, we worked with a bunch of children, and the program made it so possible for us to really engage in their lives and in their culture. That was a very profound experience for me. It changed my life. It’s a blessing and gift to take this trip.” 

That Social Psychology course is among the 10 study abroad programs that will return in summer 2023. Other programs available to students include:

• Archaeology and Physical Anthropology | England
• Art Appreciation | Austria
• Art History | Italy
• Environmental Science | Costa Rica
• Fashion | France
• Japanese II | Japan
• Percussion | Cuba
• Spanish III | Argentina
• Social Psychology | Romania
• Welding Technology | Germany

Each course lasts between two to four weeks. 

“We take great care in taking care of each other (while we’re abroad),” says Kathy Frost, ACC Psychology professor and study abroad faculty leader. “We meet every day to see what highs and lows students are having. Through these very interpersonal meetings, they start creating quite a bond with each other as they travel together. Students aren’t expecting to grow so close to their fellow travel mates. They make lasting friendships that they continue once they return. That’s, I think, a wonderful thing that can happen at a very large college like ACC.” 

To be eligible for a study abroad program, students must meet the following criteria: 

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Have a minimum GPA of 2.0 and be in good academic standing.
• Complete the International Programs application steps.
• Complete program prerequisites.
• Have a valid passport.

Students are required to attend a mandatory virtual advising session before they apply for a study abroad program. As of Wednesday, February 8, all advising sessions for summer 2023 were full. If additional opportunities open, we'll post an update here.

Original source can be found here.