"No one who has lived through the second half of the 20th Century could possibly be blind to the enormous impact of exchange programs on the future of countries." ~ Former President Bill Clinton

Gaius Charles, a 2005 CMU drama graduate, who played Brian "Smash" Williams on NBC's "Friday Night Lights" studied abroad in Australia at NIDA (National Institute for Dramatic Arts).

In an episode of "The Simpsons", Bart Simpson participates in a student exchange program in France for three months.

In an episode of "The Simpsons", the family hosts a student from Albania.

Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) an American author and artist, studied abroad at Oxford University.

Desmond Tutu, the first black South African archbishop of Cape Town and activist, studied abroad at King's College in the UK.

Marie Curie, best known for her discovery of radium and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, studied abroad at the Sorbonne in France.

ABC's This Week host and former communications director for President Clinton, George Stephanopoulos, was a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College at Oxford.

Approximately 28% of Carnegie Mellon students study abroad at some point during their Carnegie Mellon careers.

Over half of Carnegie Mellon students who study abroad are women.

Approximately half of the Carnegie Mellon students who study abroad do so during short-term periods like spring break, winter break and summer.

The UK, China, Italy, and Spain were top destinations for Carnegie Mellon students in 2007-2008.

Over 95% of Carnegie Mellon study abroad students said "Yes!" they would do it again, according to a 2007 survey.

Carnegie Mellon students studied in 44 foreign countries around the world in 2007-2008.

80% of returned Carnegie Mellon students applied study abroad units to their primary major, per a 2006-2007 OIE study.

The number of U.S. students studying abroad for academic credit has increased by 47% from 1998 to 2004, per IIE’s Open Doors.

Employers value foreign language and cross cultural competence, per a recent study by the National Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.

There are language and cultural skill shortages in more than 70 U.S. agencies, according to the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Act of 2006.

Study abroad accelerates skill building and strengthens strategic relationships.

Living in a foreign country helps students better understand the world at large.

HR personnel believe that study abroad produces valuable interpersonal skills which are ranked as the most important ability for job candidates.

60% of U.S. study abroad students study in Europe, per IIE’s Open Doors.

97% of students said that study abroad made them more mature, per a 2004 study.

96% of students felt more self confident after studying abroad, per a 2004 study.

50% of U.S. college bound high school students express interest in study abroad.

75% of U.S. students think it’s important to study or participate in an internship abroad.