Students line up for the Study Abroad Fair booth last spring in the Memorial Union. File Photo.

Every year, UND sends between 150  and 200 students to study abroad.

Those interested in being one of these students can attend the Study Abroad Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Memorial Union Loading Dock.

Every year, UND sends 150 to 200 students to study abroad.

The fair will have around 30 tables displaying the various study abroad programs that UND has to offer. There will be many former study abroad students and faculty working to inform future study abroad students about the programs.

Some of the tables will have study abroad program workers from foreign universities that offer anywhere from 50 to 100 programs.

Education Abroad Program Manager Matt Hiller advises UND students and faculty on study abroad programs.

“Spring semester seems to be more popular for UND students to do a study abroad program to get out of the cold weather,” Hiller said.

If a UND student is interested in doing a study abroad program, Hiller says the first step to get started would be attending the Study Abroad Fair to learn about the different programs UND has to offer.

“We’ve never ever had a student come back and regret doing study abroad,” Hiller said. “About 99 percent of students come back saying that they wanted to be there longer.”

As a student at the University of Minnesota Crookston, Hiller decided he needed to see the world, so during his junior year he signed up to study abroad in Japan.

He loved his study abroad experience in Japan so much he taught English there for two years after he graduated.

Hiller’s experience in Japan led him into his current position at UND, where he connects students to English-speaking countries, Spanish-speaking countries, Japan and Korea.

Fellow Education Abroad Program Manager Neva Hendrickson works with the rest of the countries UND offers for study abroad programs.

“We’ve strategized where we have our exchange and partner programs,” Hiller said. “This region of the country has a large connection with Norway so we have a fair amount of partners there. We are one of the few spots in the U.S. where Norway is one of the popular programs, probably because of the heritage here.”

UND offers 300 study abroad programs in more than 40 countries.

Norway, especially the American College of Norway, is the most popular program that UND students attend.

“Many courses there are taught by UND professors that choose to go over there for that term,” Hiller said.

Aside from Norway, UND has exchange agreements — where American students are exchanged with foreign students — with schools in Korea, Australia and Scandinavian countries.

“For those exchange programs, the benefit is that students would pay UND tuition and fees, so it’s very affordable,” Hiller said.

He added that South Korea is a great place to go for students looking for something affordable.

“They are paying UND tuition and fees, and housing for the full semester is about $1,500, whereas UND is about $3,500,” Hiller said. “So it is probably cheaper to go there.”

Adele Kieger is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].