The Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP) at Stanford offers students wonderful opportunities to experience many countries around the world. Stanford-run centers in Florence and Berlin allow for controlled immersion, where local living is supplemented by an English-speaking facility. Traveling programs, like the one in Australia, expose students to a wide landscape of the country, a luxury not afforded though single-city abroad programs. But however varied, these options are still limited in number and location.

Many Stanford students do travel abroad with BOSP programs. However, others choose to enroll either in other college’s abroad programs or private study abroad programs, demonstrating student interest for a broader variety of programs than those currently offered by BOSP. Stanford should form partnerships with other colleges around the world, allowing students to study abroad in more locales than are currently offered.

The Education Abroad Program offered by the University of California partners with local institutions, providing students with opportunities to study abroad in 34 different countries. The University of California takes advantage of existing facilities in many locations. The school does not set up centers and hire its own staff, as Stanford does in most of its locations, but instead relies heavily on local university faculty. If Stanford invested in similar partnerships, it could greatly expand the number of study abroad sites available to students.

Stanford should send students to local universities in countries like Brazil, Israel, Egypt and India. By attending such schools, advanced-language students would have the opportunity for substantial cultural exchange. Furthermore, Stanford could ensure that the quality of education would not by sacrificed by approving a list of courses and requiring a research paper or thesis. For students who have command of a foreign language, the opportunity to research in a foreign country, coupled with the opportunity for full cultural immersion, would provide a valuable academic and cultural experience.

With the recent addition of the Stanford in Madrid program, the University is responding to student desires for more study abroad options. The recommendations offered here, however, would allow an even greater number of students to study in the country of their choice. Although these suggestions would force the character of BOSP services to change fundamentally, we believe such alterations would greatly benefit the student body, allowing students to take full advantage of their time spent at Stanford.