Study Abroad & National Student Exchange

Engage with the world through study abroad!

The Lougheed Center for Applied Learning helps students travel abroad to earn academic credit on programs around the world, and helps faculty to plan academic travel experiences.

Lougheed Center for Applied Learning staff give personal attention to all students and their families during the study abroad process. Our advisers will assist students in finding a program that meets their academic and personal goals, and guide students through the application process. Pre-departure documents and events help prepare students and families for their experience. Once abroad, we actively work to mitigate administrative issues to ensure that your experience is successful. When you come back, we welcome you back to campus and help you to articulate your experiences and integrate them into your future choices.

The National Association of Career Educators (NACE) has identified global awareness as a core career readiness skill for all graduates. We know from national data that study abroad is one way to acheive that outcome. Study abroad also helps all returning students to meet many of the other NACE Career Readiness goals.

“A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity”

A lifelong curiosity about the inner workings of humankind brought Alexandra Sveshnikova ‘25 to the SUNY Potsdam Department of Anthropology. The fire of that curiosity will be fueled by a research trip this summer to Kenya, where she will be part of a cutting-edge examination of our origins and the history that preceded human tenure on earth, as she joins Associate Professor of Biological Anthropology Nasser Malit and more than 20 researchers and experts from around the globe.

Tuned for Success

Holland Goddard '25 had the chance to explore the second-largest island of the British Isles during the summer of 2023. At the end of the semester, she boarded a plane for Ireland with the Crane Irish Ensemble where she studied at the University of Cork, and performed music at pubs around the country. “We attended some wonderful master classes with Irish fiddlers right in Cork. We also ended up in Limerick the last couple of days. We were playing in sessions every night. It was a lot of fun,” she said.

Study Abroad in Australia

With a tank of air on her back and fins on her feet, Natalia Anapolis ’20 stepped into the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia. Suspended in an underwater world with creatures she had never seen before, Anapolis explored the Great Barrier Reef and marveled at the rays of light refracting throughout the water. Anapolis spent 13 weeks Down Under, as part of a student teaching program in Australia. She toured Australia's tropical East Coast and the outback, tried skydiving, visited the Sydney Opera House, and went scuba diving, in addition to completing a nine-week student teaching placement as part of her degree in childhood/early childhood education.

World Class Experiences

From working on the floor of the New York State Assembly to helping with hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, Julissa Santana ’20 graduated from SUNY Potsdam with unrivaled hands-on experiences. When she was just 13 years old, Santana left her home in the Dominican Republic for a completely new beginning in New York City.

Crane Students Trek Through the Andes

Sixteen current and former Crane students traveled to South America for an epic journey through the Andes in Peru with Dr. Jeffrey Francom, an associate professor and coordinator of the choral area at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. They started by learning traditional Andean music at a cultural center in Calca, Peru, before setting out for a seven-day backpacking trip along the Salkantay and Inca Trails.

To Belize and Back

“This trip really made me realize how much I want to travel. The world feels very small here in Potsdam, so to go to another small part, in Belize, made me realize how large the world truly is. It was just so meaningful” -Madison Cleveland ’19