Science and engineering study abroad: An assessment of outcomes for underrepresented graduate students and recommendations for program design and implementation

While there is widespread recognition of the need for students to gain global experience, research indicates that the majority of study abroad programs at U.S. colleges and universities focus on the liberal arts and foreign languages and few study abroad opportunities exist in the science and engineering disciplines. In the 2009-2010 academic year, college students from the life and physical science and engineering disciplines comprised just 11.4 % of study abroad participants, compared to 22.3% in the social sciences and 20.8% in business and management. In addition, numerous obstacles exist for science and engineering graduate students wanting to pursue an international experience and currently only 0.6% of study abroad participants are doctoral students.;The purposes of this study were to develop and validate an assessment instrument for measuring students' academic STEM learning and personal growth outcomes and to use this tool and the Intercultural Development Inventory to investigate the self-reported academic STEM learning, personal growth and intercultural development outcomes of graduate students who participated in short-term science and engineering-related study abroad programs at a large research university. In addition, this study investigated which components of the implemented science and engineeringrelated study abroad programs enhanced and/or limited the impact of these programs on participant outcomes.;This study used a mixed-methods approach and quantitative results indicate that graduate students who participated in science and engineering-related study abroad programs experienced significant changes in their academic STEM learning and personal growth outcomes. Specifically, significant differences were found in students' perceptions of the socio-cultural role of science and engineering, career perceptions, personal confidence and general global awareness. However, these students did not experience any significant changes in their intercultural development as a result of participation in a study abroad program. Detailed recommendations and best practices for program development, implementation and evaluation for graduate study abroad in the science and engineering disciplines include the incorporation of extensive networking opportunities and collaborative research or service-learning projects with host country counterparts. The results of this study indicate that appropriately designed graduate student study abroad experiences can provide unique opportunities to develop globally-minded scientists and engineers.