The Syracuse Abroad computer science program in London is designed for the fall semester of a student’s junior year.
“Getting a chance to see what it is like to live here on a day-to-day basis and see people working has made me think about it in the future,” says Amofah-Boafo.
“It is an opportunity that will change your life, how you look at the world and it is invaluable,” said Mosca.
Learn more about Computer Science in London
Students enrolled at Syracuse Strasbourg are getting a rare glimpse of the Olympics, given their proximity to Paris. Recent highlights include the Olympic Torch Relay, which came to Strasbourg on June 26.
Read more: Orange at the Olympics
Jacob Grindstaff-Espinal ’24 grew up in Miami speaking English and Spanish. Despite his bilingual childhood, he never imagined he would one day take a French history class—or a class taught in the French language—while studying abroad in Strasbourg, France.
“Strasbourg is a diplomatic city and the perfect place for an internship,” Grindstaff-Espinal says. “I dream of going into government consulting or international development. My internship with the Council of Europe helped me figure out if this is the right career for me.”
Read more about Jacob’s semester in France
Students can now begin applying for spring 2025 study abroad programs through Syracuse Abroad. With over 60 program options in dozens of countries around the world, there is a study abroad opportunity for each and every Syracuse University student.
In alignment with the Academic Strategic Plan, Syracuse University is committed to encouraging and enabling every undergraduate student the opportunity to participate in a study abroad or study away experience before they graduate.
Spring-only programs:
View all center semester and World Partner programs
Learn more about spring 2025 abroad
For Whitman School of Management student Talia St. Angelo, one of the highlights of her study abroad experience in Madrid, Spain was a marine ecology course focused on the biodiversity, conservation and communities of the Mediterranean coast.
Fourteen Syracuse University students and alumni have been named as 2024 recipients of awards through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Five students were also chosen as alternates. This is the largest number of U.S. Student Fulbright recipients that Syracuse University has had in one year.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program funds a range of awards that include English teaching assistantships (ETA) and study/research grants in over 140 countries.
Three current/former Global Ambassadors and five program alumni were selected:
Alternates:
Starting in the 2024-25 academic year, science and pre-health students from A&S and Maxwell can spend their sophomore fall semester in Madrid on the Health & Science program, where they will be able to complete required courses like Cross-Cultural Psychology, Sexuality in Spain and Healthcare in Europe: A Comparative Approach.
All University students going to Madrid are required to take CAS 200: Mapping Spain, but a signature section specifically tailored to the needs of science-minded students has been developed for the pilot program. Best of all, science students will still be able to interact with other peers spending the semester in Madrid and participate in many of the same cultural and social activities the abroad experience provides.
Read more: A&S new program Health and Science in Madrid
Thirty-five students have been chosen as the 2024-25 Syracuse University Remembrance Scholars. Of the 35 students named as scholars, 20 have participated in Syracuse Abroad programs.
The scholarships, now in their 35th year, were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the students studying in London and Florence through Syracuse University who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Those students were among the 270 people who perished in the bombing. The scholarships are funded through an endowment supported by gifts from alumni, friends, parents and corporations.
“Remembrance Scholars represent Syracuse University at its best through their academic achievements, their leadership skills and their contributions to the University,” says Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter. “They reflect the talent and promise of those students whose memories they honor. We are very proud to call them members of our University community.”
The Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars plan the Remembrance activities held at the University each year. The scholars will be recognized during a convocation in the fall.
The 2024-25 Syracuse Abroad alumni Remembrance Scholars, their hometowns, majors and schools and colleges are the following:
Hi! My name is Brady Arruda and I just returned from a semester abroad in Sydney, Australia in fall 2023. I am an aerospace engineering major and chose to study abroad during the fall of my junior year. I decided to study at the University of New South Wales World Partner program in Sydney as Australia is home to some of the most diverse landscapes and wildlife and would allow me to travel in a part of the world few get to travel to while still getting the engineering credits needed to stay on track for graduation.
As an engineering student, there are several challenges when it comes to studying abroad. One of the primary challenges is finding a location that offers engineering classes that Syracuse accepts credit for. Another is making sure you stay on track for graduation. Since I already knew I wanted to study abroad, I took every opportunity to take classes early allowing me more flexibility in my schedule during my junior fall semester. As easy as this may sound, there are several potential drawbacks. I needed to pack my schedule my first four semesters to achieve this and will be taking a third year class as a senior. However, I do not regret my decision for a second. The opportunity to study abroad is well worth the extra planning and commitment up front.
While abroad, I took four classes. The first consisted of an accelerated marine environment class where I got to learn all about tidal zones and the abundant marine wildlife off Sydney’s coastline. Additionally, during the traditional spring term, term 3 in Australia, I took an astronomy class for fun and two engineering classes: Fundamentals of Advanced Vibration and Fluid Mechanics for Engineers, which both counted for credit for my major.
While in Sydney, I had the chance to meet many new friends and peers. I ended up meeting three Syracuse students who I did not know before and wound up traveling all around Australia with one of them. I also met many other American students studying abroad from Miami, Duke, and even Binghamton. However, through my classes and other acquaintances I was introduced to local students who shared the best spots to eat, where to go, and even got the chance to watch the National Rugby League final with a local friend while having a home cooked Australian dinner.
While in Australia I took the chance to travel whenever I could. I visited Tasmania, the Hunter Valley, the South Island of New Zealand, Western Australia, Fiji, and the Great Barrier Reef twice! One of my favorite memories was when I went to Cairns (the city near part of the reef) and went skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping, and wake boarding all in one weekend. I ultimately ended up getting scuba certified in Sydney before going again in Milford Sound in New Zealand and the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.
Out of all the amazing places I visited, my favorite was the south island of New Zealand. The scenery was incredible and being able to drink glacial runoff and do cold plunges every day was very restoring. I also really enjoyed traveling New Zealand and Western Australia with my twin brother when he visited me in December. The last highlight was driving around Tasmania for 5 days in a Mystery Machine themed campervan and seeing penguins.
There are two things I highly recommend bringing besides typical clothes and toiletries. Bring a journal to write about your travels in detail as they happen so you can go back and relive your experiences. The other is to pack an empty bag, duffel size works well, so you can fill it for your return as you will accumulate more souvenirs and items throughout your travels.
One of the best parts about living in Sydney was that I lived in an off-campus apartment just 2 minutes from the beach with two people from the UK. Most nights I would find myself strolling down to relax in the sand as I looked up at the stars and listened to the waves as they rolled in. The small beach community also housed several laid back cafes and was always a fun spot to hangout on a sunny afternoon. Living with people from a different country was also very rewarding as we all learned a lot about each other’s lives back home and could hear about how life differs across countries and continents.
Overall, studying abroad has had an immense impact on my future career path and hobbies. After spending time traveling, exploring, and meeting new people, I want to strive to make traveling a key aspect of my life. Since getting open water scuba certified as well as some specialty add-ons, I am strongly considering returning to Australia to become a certified dive master so I can lead others on dive trips and spend more time scuba diving and traveling. Additionally, I have become interested in obtaining my private pilot’s license so I may fly recreationally.
Now that I know what’s out there, I will always yearn for the feeling of uncertainty and excitement I had when I first landed in a completely unfamiliar environment. I crave the adventure of immersing myself in the unknown.
Studying abroad has taught me to always be prepared, but always be flexible. Adaptability and anticipation are key. Never stay fixed on what image or expectations others have of you and live the life that will bring you happiness and satisfaction whether physical, emotional, or otherwise.
Brady Arruda ’25
Aerospace Engineering
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, Fall 2023
Hello, my name is Sahara Vinneccy and I am now a Senior. My graduation year will be the Spring of 2024. I studied abroad at the Madrid Center, I major in Biology and minor in Psychology. What led me to study abroad in Madrid, was that I had always had an interest in going abroad in general and lots of my friends who went abroad would always boast to me about how they loved Madrid and how the life is over there.
Also, I grew up speaking English and Spanish in my household so I thought it’d be more of a plus to go to a place where I felt more comfortable to communicate with others and strengthen my Spanish. Furthermore, As I said, I am a Biology major and I minor in Psychology so going to Madrid also worked in my favor when it came down to the classes I’d be taking and if they’d count toward my major or not.
I participated in the Marine Ecology Seminar, where we got to visit many different cities of Spain such as Cabo de Palos, Valencia, Murcia, and many more. During our seminar, we were able to scuba dive in the Mediterranean and obtain our Scuba Diving License. This seminar actually counted towards my major as an upper-division biology course.
I also took a drug discovery course which was very interesting because you learned the history of pharmaceutical drugs and recreational drugs as well, along with their uses and how some of them are even being used in today’s medical world. Another interesting class was my psychology class, drugs, and human behavior, another closer look into the way human behavior is altered by drugs and we go over criminal cases and get to go on really exciting field trips!
Overall my experience was phenomenal, I had met so many people abroad and many locals as well that I’ve stayed in touch with. There are many opportunities to be involved with your other peers, for example, the Syracuse Madrid Center offers a program called the Mad Passport program where, weekly, you’ll receive emails of events the school is paying for and providing for the students. The activities can range from cooking with local chefs to making traditional paella, day trips to different cities such as Segovia, Visiting local fish markets, etc.
While I was abroad I did a work study with the student life department. I was in charge of making a presentation with my fellow peer who worked with me and it was a presentation for the host families. The presentation went well and we had to present it in Spanish which I had never done before so it was definitely something out of my comfort zone and I am thankful for the opportunity that was given to me to be able to work abroad. I would say that I definitely left my mark in the offices at the center because I would always pass by and say good morning. One thing I felt from the overall office was the comfort they gave not only me but all the students. They always made an effort to make you feel welcomed no matter what.
Furthermore, other travel I did while I was abroad was being able to visit London, Copenhagen, Majorca, Berlin, Barcelona, and lastly Morocco. My favorite trips by far had to be Morocco and Berlin. While I was in Morocco, I was off the coast of Agadir and so my friends and I spent most of our days surfing we were fortunate enough to go to the Sahara Desert which is what I was named after and had been a dream of mine to visit. We even went sandboarding! So many fun memories were made on that trip! Then I really loved Berlin because I am a big fan of techno music and Berlin is the heart of techno music and culture. So my friends and I really were able to get the full experience I’d say.
My living experience with my host mom was phenomenal! I was fortunate enough to be able to live with my best friend as well. She and I both made sure when doing the applications that we put our names down under the “preferred roommate” for housing selections. Our host mom was the best lady ever! She’d make us the best traditional food and she was very nice and funny! I really liked that we had our own rooms because it gave me my own personal space and my host mother never invaded that and respected both my roommates and my downtime.
To conclude, study abroad has greatly impacted my college experience in the best way possible. I have been able to expand my horizons and open myself up to many different people and learn how to be adaptable which I think is very important for the real world. I have also been able to strengthen my Spanish skills and learned to be more independent as well. When you leave your host country, I felt like a part of me stayed there and that I brought a piece of Spain with me back home.
Words aren’t enough to explain how studying abroad has forever left a mark in my heart in the best way possible. Ironically, I always encouraged others to study abroad before I even did and now that I have, I am really glad that I was encouraging others to do so. You make endless memories and make so many friends! You learn more about yourself on a deeper level. I plan to travel more when I graduate. I am planning on trying to do some medical volunteer work in Africa perhaps after I graduate. The opportunities become endless really. Now it’s your turn to take on this spectacular journey and create unforgettable memories!
Sahara Vinneccy ’24
Biology/Psychology (School of Arts & Sciences)
Syracuse Madrid Center
