The number of students studying abroad rose 8 percent in 2004, according to a study released by the Institute of International Education, while AU experienced an 11 percent increase in students going abroad between the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years.
The report cited the top 20 locations of study abroad in 2004. England was the No. 1 destination, with 32,071 students, followed by Italy, Spain, France and Australia. While there was an overall increase, the increase in students studying abroad in Asia outweighed the increase of students studying abroad in European countries, according to the Institute of International Education.
One significant trend is that students are shifting their interests from the more popular European countries to Asian and South American countries, according to the report.
Although England attracted the most students in the 2004-2005 school year, the number of students studying there actually decreased by 0.5 percent from the previous year. Similarly, there was a 2.2 percent decrease in students studying abroad in Ireland, according to the report.
In contrast, the number of students studying abroad surged by 34.9 percent in China, 52.7 percent in India and 53.1 percent in Argentina, according to the report.
Kari Miller, associate director of AU Abroad, said the increased number of AU students studying abroad in 2004 mirrored the overall increase displayed by American college students.
In the 2004-2005 school year, 832 AU students studied abroad, an 11 percent increase from the 751 students who studied abroad in the 2003-2004 school year, Miller said in an e-mail.
AU students studying abroad continued to increase to an estimated 850 students in the 2005-2006 school year, Miller said in the e-mail. The most popular AU Abroad locations this year are Spain, England, Italy, Australia and China, she said.
Andrew Jones, a senior in the School of Communication, said he had wanted to study abroad in London since he was in high school and studied there in 2005.
"Something about the mystique of living in a foreign country was appealing to me. ... AU wants you to study abroad so much that they make it very easy to do," he said. "I learned about the British mindset while I was abroad and how Americans are viewed."
Other AU students said they are looking forward to traveling abroad as well.
"I think more people are studying abroad because the economy is becoming more globalized. ... Next semester I'm going to Belgium because the enclave program looked really cool and it will give me the freedom to travel almost anywhere," said Thomas Opalak, a sophomore in the School of International Service.
Taryn McKinnon, a freshman in SOC, said one of the reasons she came to AU is because of the broad range of study abroad options.
"I think the number of students studying abroad has increased because more students, like me, want to leave their homes and see the world," McKinnon said. "I plan to study abroad as soon as possible - it's one of the main reasons I chose to come to AU"
