April 21
The Benefits of a U.S. Education, Part One: Diversity!
If you enroll to study at a “typical” U.S. university, you’ll encounter students and professors from a bewildering array of backgrounds. Students of many different nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds will share the same classrooms, assignments, and living spaces. A look at the list of the top 20 source countries for international students at U.S. universities will give you some idea of the variety of nationalities represented at U.S. campuses.
There are three main reason why you should care about diversity in a university you attend:
First, diversity among the student body may increase the quality of the education you receive. Here, for example, is the President of the University of Virginia’s view of the value of diversity in the educational process:
We value diversity here because it has to do with the human richness, the variety of experiences and backgrounds and perspectives and reasons for learning that distinguish us as people, based on our own backgrounds, our own expectations and our own prior experiences.
If you are in a classroom with twenty students from an identical cultural background, chances are that all twenty will have a similar approach to material presented in that classroom. If you are in a classroom with twenty students, each of whom is a from a different cultural background, then you will most likely experience many different perspectives about the material presented. Although different studies have come to different conclusions regarding the impact of diversity on education, there is a general consensus that a diverse learning environment presents certain unique opportunities to students and teachers alike.
Second, as we move into a more and more globalized world, the ability to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds, and to perform well in a variety of cultural settings, will become more and more in demand. For example, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a ” leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education,” lists, among others, the following skills as vital:
- Global Awareness
- Communication and Collaboration
- Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
It’s very easy to see how studying at U.S. university with a diverse student body would help you build all of these skills.
To put it more simply, imagine that you have just graduated and you are interviewing for a great job with a large, international company. The interviewer asks you, “How do you work with others from different cultural backgrounds?” If you’ve just graduated from a U.S. university, you’ll be able to answer that question very confidently, providing a number of concrete examples.
Third, the contacts you make with students from different countries and cultures can help you in your professional career. This is especially true if you see yourself going into an international career.
And let’s not forget the most important reason for you to value the diversity you’ll find on U.S. campuses: meeting students from other backgrounds is just plain interesting.
For Your Consideration:
Does the thought of studying with people from all over the world interest you? Why or why not?
SERIES: Why study in the U.S.?
- April 20 – Introduction
- April 21 – Diversity at U.S. campuses
- April 22 – Value of U.S. degrees
- April 23 – The Facilities
- April 24 – Practical focus of U.S. education
- April 25 – Variety of U.S. programs
- April 26 – The supposed disadvantages of study in the U.S.: visas
- April 27 - The supposed disadvantages of study in the U.S.: cost
- April 28 - Some real disadvantages of study in the U.S.: it might not help in your profession
- April 29 – Some real disadvantages of study in the U.S.: will you fit in “going back?”
- April 30 – Other disadvantages
- May 1 – So, should you study in the U.S.?
Leave a Reply
Tags: benefits of a U.S. education, diversity, diversity among the student body, diversity and the quality of education, diversity in education, international students, International students in the U.S., Partnership for 21st Centruy skills, Should I Study in the U.S.?, study in the United States, U.S. universities
