Passport to Prosperity: Measuring the Career Impact of Education Abroad

Education abroad fuels career and economic success. Yet its power as a career accelerator largely is underrecognized, and undergraduate participation in education abroad programs remains stubbornly low. While previous research has offered critical information about skills and employability developed through education abroad, research on additional impacts for employers and local economies has been lacking.

A major new research initiative addresses this literature gap and offers data that institutions can apply to localize the impacts of education abroad and strengthen student participation. In this session, leading education abroad professionals will share how they coordinated efforts to conduct five projects interrogating the impact of education abroad on career and economic outcomes. Presenters will share the motivations behind the research initiative, methods and outcomes, and advice on how colleges and universities can apply the findings to advance institutional goals for student success.