Webster Ranked as Top School for Study Abroad Programs

ST. LOUIS - Webster University is one of the top universities in Missouri for sending students to study in other countries, and for hosting students from other countries to study in the state, according to the 2017 Open Doors Report. The report was released by the Institute for International Education (IIE) earlier this month. The report surveyed study abroad programs at more than 1,500 colleges and universities in the United States.

Nationally, Webster is in the top third for hosting international students out of all colleges and universities in the United States that participated in the study, according to the report.

“Webster’s global perspective is evident across our network of campuses,” said Julian Schuster, Webster University’s provost, senior vice president and chief operating officer.  “We have a strong study abroad program that supports students who want to study abroad at one of our campuses or at a partner institution.  And in the past year, we have focused on increased outreach to international students who would like to earn a Webster degree in the U.S. or abroad.  This two-way student mobility enriches the international diversity at all of our campuses so that all students, whether they study abroad or not, have a global experience.”

In the Open Doors Report, Webster was ranked:

• First among the 10 private Missouri institutions included in the report for sending the most student abroad
• Fifth among the 19 public and private Missouri institutions included in the report for sending the most students abroad
• First among the 7 private Missouri Master’s-level institutions in the report for hosting the most international students
• Third among the 18 private Missouri institutions in the report for hosting the most international students
• Twelfth among all 35 public and private Missouri institutions in the report for hosting the most international students.

The data used by the report was for the 2015-2016 academic year. According to the report, Webster hosted 441 international students in the United States and sent 229 U.S. citizens to other countries to study. Webster was in the top 30 percent for hosting international students out of 1,550 institutions included in that segment of the report, and in the top 35 percent for sending students abroad out of 1,011 institutions included in that part of the report.

The Open Doors report only measures the movement of U.S. students or permanent residents of the United States who traveled to another country to study, or non U.S. citizens who attend a University in the United States to study. The report does not include international students who study abroad at international locations controlled by U.S. institutions. Webster University has locations in seven other countries and those sites host students from nearly 140 other countries. Those students were not part of the IIE calculations.

The complete “Open Doors” rankings can be found online at https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors.