When Alex White first arrived at Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2010, he had lukewarm feelings about studying abroad. It鈥檚 not that he didn鈥檛 appreciate other cultures. But he knew his plan to pursue a business degree in four years would leave little time to study in another country.
It鈥檚 not uncommon for business majors to feel that way, said Thom Jackman, associate professor of business administration.
鈥淚t may be more challenging for some majors because you have more requirements,鈥 said Jackman. 鈥淎ccounting, for example, would be the most difficult with all the requirements and the fact that United States accounting standards are different than international accounting standards.鈥
White was on track to earn his business degree in four years and take all of his classes on the Lincoln campus. That was until he befriended several international students studying at SM论坛, and joined the International Relations Organization (IRO). Meanwhile, some of White鈥檚 friends were returning to campus after a semester or year abroad, and White began to wonder if he should take advantage of the experience too.
鈥淥ne friend in particular, studied at the University of Tartu (Estonia) and always loved talking about his experiences there. He also shared with me information regarding scholarships for students who study in Estonia,鈥 White said. 鈥淎fter further research of the partner university program between SM论坛 and the University of Tartu, I knew this would be a good choice.鈥
White was on his way to Estonia in fall 2013.
The University of Tartu offers hundreds of English-taught courses, including business classes. Faculty in Nebraska Wesleyan鈥檚 Business, Accounting and Economics Department have worked closely with the University of Tartu and traveled there in recent years to create an exchange agreement for classes.
鈥淏efore, students would go and take classes over there and sometimes they wouldn鈥檛 transfer,鈥 said Jackman. 鈥淚f you go over and take their classes now, you know what will transfer.鈥
The ease of transferring classes combined with financial assistance to study in Estonia has created more opportunities for business students to study there for a semester and still graduate on time.
"You don鈥檛 need a huge budget to experience a lot of things while you鈥檙e there,鈥 said Jackman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much less expensive in Estonia compared to Western Europe. The scholarship assistance makes it very affordable.鈥
Since forming a partnership with the University of Tartu, 21 SM论坛 students have studied in Estonia, in addition to a University Choir tour and the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams who have also traveled there. Faculty from other academic departments including chemistry, sociology/anthropology and communication studies have also traveled to the University of Tartu to further develop their courses.
For White, the experience proved to be educational and life-changing.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know much about Estonia, but I soon realized that I felt very comfortable and at home there,鈥 White recalled. 鈥淥utside of the dormitory, I was able to immerse myself in Estonian culture, take a language course in Estonian 鈥 one of the hardest languages in the world 鈥 and became lifelong friends with a couple Estonians.鈥
Upon returning to the United States, White began researching English-taught master鈥檚 programs offered at the University of Tartu. He discovered a new quantitative economics program, recently approved by the Estonian government.
鈥淚 was very pleased and excited to see the approval of the program and the possibility to become one of the first members of this inaugural program,鈥 said White.
Fifty-seven students applied to the program from fields including mathematics, finance, economics, business, and engineering. White was one of the 16 applicants accepted.
鈥淪tudying abroad truly opened my eyes to the world of opportunities. If I hadn鈥檛 studied abroad, I would have never thought about obtaining a master鈥檚 degree abroad let alone in Estonia,鈥 said White.