“Because of the important contribution that an international experience can play in the
education of Harvard College students, we recommend there be an expectation that all
Harvard College students pursue a significant international experience during their time in
the College, and that completion of such an experience be noted on the transcript.”
Of all the recommendations made earlier this week in the Harvard College Curricular Review, the one that caught my attention most was this movement toward exposing all Harvard College students to study abroad. While the recommendation stops short of requiring that all students study abroad (one could imagine that international students may not want or need to spend a semester abroad, since Harvard Square itself qualifies as a foreign country for them), I have long thought that all true liberal arts graduates, especially in such an increasingly complex and international world, be exposed to other cultures.
As Harvard College’s Dean Kirby remarked in a radio interview yesterday: “From now on Harvard students had better arrive on campus with their passports.”
Well said, and hopefully a standard that other universities will follow.