Global Engagement and Computing Careers

Awareness and understanding of international issues are important for students as most professionals work in diverse teams and not all team members may be in the same locale.  While international travel is not for everyone, a study abroad and/or language study will make your résumé stand out.  

Time To Go

While a study abroad can help with a future career, students often worry about taking the time to go abroad and about finishing their program if they do.  There is time, so if you are interested, do not hesitate to go. The ideal time for students to study abroad is during junior year, but there are no particular limitations due to scheduling and study abroad will not interfere with your ability to graduate in four years. Students that study abroad typically enroll in upper level IT/CS courses that match courses from Juniata, but it also provides a great opportunity to take courses that are not available at Juniata.  If you have concerns, talk to your advisers, they will help.

Duration and Location

Students can go for a short course, which is typically 2 weeks, a semester abroad, or a full year abroad.  Semester and year-long study are traditional and students may go to any abroad site offered by the college.  Short courses abroad are available at many locations as well.  The ITCS department offers a course at our partner, FH-Münster in Steinfurt, Germany each May.  The department has also partnered with ISEN at Lille Catholic University in Lille, France which additionally offers students an option of a dual degree:  A Juniata College undergraduate degree and a French Masters degree.

FH-Münster, Steinfurt, Germany

Our partner school, FH-Münster, offers Juniata students an opportunity to study in Germany with minimal German language skills.  Courses are taught in English and a short intensive course in German will help you in the community, although many Germans speak English.  That said, taking a course in German prior to your study abroad is recommended.

For those that would like a shorter experience or to go with a group, every May after the spring semester, one of the ITCS faculty takes students to Steinfurt and teaches one of our courses in a 2-week, condensed format.  This is a great opportunity to go abroad in a shorter time period and to get credit for taking a Juniata course while there.  Side trips, great food, and generous hosts are part of the plan, but many students decide to add time to their trip to further explore the region.

Lille Catholic University, Lille, France

Université Catholique de Lille, referred to as just Lille on campus, is Juniata's oldest study abroad partner.  ISEN, the engineering school at Lille, has partnered with ITCS and offers some of their computing courses in English.  Students may go for a semester or a year, but having some fluency in French is highly recommended to engage with the community or if a particular course cannot be taught in English.  ISEN also offers a dual degree program in which students complete general Juniata requirements in three years, finish their fourth year in Lille, and do a fifth year for a Masters degree (3-2 program).  If this is of interest, it is important to alert your advisers early so that the proper planning can be made to fulfill requirements in time and to fit in French language courses as needed.

England, Scotland, Ireland, and Australia

For those that wish to study abroad in an English speaking country, Juniata has many popular partners.  Lincoln or Leeds in England are popular with CS/IT students, but there are several schools in Ireland, Scotland, and Australia that offer highly compatible programs.

Looking for more...

In addition to those above, students have done study abroad programs in Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, Taiwan, India, Vietnam, and more.  Everyone that goes abroad reports back that it was life-changing.  "Think about who you are" will mean so much more after a study abroad experience.

Experiences

Definitely consider studying abroad.  Your advisors can help in making a study abroad experience work with your class schedule.

Owen Gallagher '20 (Computer Science), Guanajuato, Mexico - Owen is currently in Mexico during the fall of his junior year.  He is living with a host family and four other exchange students.  He says that Guanajuato is very historic as the site of one of the earliest battles for Mexican independence and that the city is located in an elevated valley surrounded by mountains.

"In terms of academics, I'm enrolled in four courses:  two to develop my Spanish ability (Mexican Pre-Hispanic History and Modern Latin American Literature) and two to develop my CS ability (Robotics Motion Planning and Machine Learning).  During the week I go to their respective campuses via a bus that climbs a nearby mountain, and on the weekends I spend free hours exploring the city and its surroundings, and with friends in museums, cafes/bars/restaurants, sports, day trips, local cultural events, etc." - Owen Gallagher '20

John "Jack" Gage '19 (Information Technology and Integrated Media Arts) and
Callie Daughn-Wood '19 (Information Technology and Management), York, England - Jack and Callie studied at York St. John University in the spring semester of their junior year. 

I mainly studied technology and media related classes. York is a small historical city with a good number of sights and train access to other parts of Britain. In my vacation time, I traveled to Scotland, Ireland, Italy, France, and Belgium." - Jack Gage '19

"I studied at York St. John University and had a 4 day weekend.  I traveled around England as well as Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Scotland" - Callie Daughn-Wood '19

Katheryn Weeden '19 (Information Technology), Seville, Spain - Katheryn studied in Seville during the spring semester of her junior year.

"During my junior year I spent the spring semester studying abroad at the Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO) in Sevilla, Spain. There, I took a semester off from my IT/CS courses and focused on completing my secondary emphasis in Spanish by taking language and culture courses. At UPO, I had an incredible time experiencing a new culture and broadening my knowledge of the world. I'm especially pleased that despite taking a semester off from my major, I'm still able to graduate without any issues."  - Katheryn Weeden '19

Cori Timney '19 (Computer Science and Mathematics), Budapest, Hungary - Cori studied mathematics in a special program in Hungary.

Elainea Hess '16 (Computer Science), Edinburgh, Scotland - Elainea worked on web sites and social media for the Scottish government as an internship during her study abroad and took classes at the University of Edinburgh.

Tristan Avelis '16 (Computer Science), Lille, France - Tristan spent his senior year at Lille intending to do the 3-2 program, but a job offer lured him back to the states early.  Tristan enjoyed courses in Lille that Juniata does not offer such as the IoT and specialized cybersecurity courses.

Duncan Morgen-Westrick '15 (Computer Science), Yehud, Israel - Not a study abroad, but an internship abroad!  Duncan worked for Hewlett-Packard in Israel in the fall of his senior year.