1. Globalization of Engineering: As advances in technology shrink the world, engineering fields demand more interaction with diverse others. Crossing cultural boundaries is already part of an engineer's job responsibilities. Considering that engineers have colleagues both domestically and abroad from diverse backgrounds, students need to be prepared to enter the workforce with some international understanding. Learning to be sensitive to different cultures is an essential part of an undergraduate curriculum that is enhanced by studying abroad.

2. Competitive Advantage: Studying abroad will distinguish your son or daughter from his/her peers. Employers are looking for the soft skills that students typically develop abroad, such as flexibility and communication skills. Employers also need employees who are able to examine a problem from more than one perspective, which experiences in a different educational system or different work ethics and customs can develop.

3. Develop lifelong friendships and Have Fun!: In addition to being academically rigorous, study abroad should be fun. Your son or daughter will meet people from all over the world and share the adventure of being away from home together. This bond usually creates life-long friendships.

4. Build self-confidence: Students who study abroad have to engage in a variety of tasks that develop independence, problem-solving skills, and maturity. By successfully completing these tasks and negotiating life decisions during pre-departure planning and while abroad, students' confidence in their abilities to manage life issues on their own markedly increases.

5. Intercultural Communication Skills: Studying abroad builds tolerance and skills to interact with others unlike your son or daughter, which is an important skill, in the corporate sector as well as academia. Learning to accept differences of opinion and consider multiple points of view as valid is a valuable skill.

6. Learn about your culture: Especially if this is your son or daughter's first time abroad, they will learn a lot about the culture in his/her host country and they will learn a lot about themselves. Interacting with diverse others enables one to look at his/her culture critically and from another's perspective.

7. Learn a Foreign Language: Students are immersed in a different culture and therefore, get tons of language practice with native speakers. Whether your son or daughter is just beginning to learn a language or he or she is trying to perfect another language, spending time immersed in the culture and language is invaluable for language improvement. And sometimes more important than a developing a second language is learning how to communicate with someone with whom you do not share a language.

8. Affordability: One of the most persistent myths about study abroad is the expense. For many IPE programs, students pay University of Michigan tuition and students can apply financial aid to these programs. In addition, the government is planning to invest 80 million dollars in a national study abroad act, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act, to reduce the expense of study abroad and increase participation in study abroad to one million students annually by 2017.

9. Real world experience as an independent adult: By participating in life tasks outside of his/her cultural norm, your son or daughter will gain perspective on the impact of the decisions he or she makes. From negotiating living arrangements, to staying healthy, to managing finances…

10. We are here to help!: IPE is here to help your son or daughter find a study abroad program that is right for him or her. We are here to assist during the program selection process, pre-departure planning, time abroad, and re-entry and re-integration back on campus.