The Benefits of Study Away for Undergraduate STEM Students

Program Abstract: This study examines the impact of study away programs on STEM college students and questions the assumption that study away programs detract from their technical training. Using concurrent mixed methods, we test if study away programs lead to drop in content mastery and if any losses are balanced by gains in professional skills and self-confidence. Our findings show a small drop in STEM content mastery for students who studied away, but that there are significant gains in professional skills such as communication skills, teamwork, and creative problem-solving, and in self-efficacy. Furthermore, these non-technical skills are important for career readiness as graduates can no longer solely rely on STEM content mastery for professional success. The results suggest that STEM education should consider including study away programs in their curriculum to help students develop key professional skills and the confidence to use them.