Hot Grad School Programs for the First Quarter of 2004
Arts and medical programs comprise most of the top 20; service, business and science sectors also represented on the GradSchools.com most searched programs list
CHESTER, PA, April 21, 2004 -
Each quarter, StudyAbroad.com compiles a list of the top 20 most searched study abroad destinations based on activity on the website. Over the past 13 quarters, from January 2001 through March 2004, European countries are by far the most sought out study abroad destinations on StudyAbroad.com. During that time frame, Spain was the standard setter for six quarters, and England is right behind, having been number one for three quarters.
In addition to Spain and England sitting atop the top 20, Italy and Australia have each achieved the number one ranking twice in the past 13 quarters, and none of those countries has dropped from the top 20. Argentina, Ghana, Austria, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Taiwan all have intermittent representation in the top 20 lists, while Madagascar, Kuwait and Finland have all appeared once.
Europe is the most sought out continent on StudyAbroad.com, with 49.23 percent of all countries searched from January 2001 through March 2004. Canada and Mexico keep North America as the second most frequently searched continent with 18.07 percent of inquiries during that time frame, followed by Asia (15.78%), Oceania (7.69%), South America (5.00%), and Africa (4.23%).
As a continent, Asia is well established as a study abroad destination, but the Middle Eastern region is comparatively underrepresented in the StudyAbroad.com search data because of the few programs offered in those countries. During the January 2001 through March 2004 time frame, Kuwait was the only Middle Eastern country to appear in the top 20, at number 20 during the third quarter of 2002.
Like Asia, Africa has few countries represented in the top 20 lists for study abroad travelers because of the short supply of programs located there. Only three countries are represented in the quarterly top 20 lists during the last 13 quarters - Egypt, Ghana and Madagascar - and they are in the top 20 a combined ten times.
"It is not surprising that Africa and the Middle East are so underrepresented in the top 20 lists simply because the number of study abroad programs in those parts of the world are not as abundant as in others," says Mark Shay, President and CEO of Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc., parent company of StudyAbroad.com. "Political unrest and threats of unsafe conditions also seem to keep people away from these historic and exciting parts of the world, and that translates to fewer study abroad programs being offered in those areas."
Like the Middle East and Africa, however, there are fewer programs in South American countries listed on StudyAbroad.com, translating into lower rankings for those countries. There are a great number of Spanish language programs listed for Spain and Mexico on StudyAbroad.com, but there are many fewer for other Spanish-speaking countries. A similar situation exists between Brazil and Portugal, simply because Brazil has a greater offering of language Portuguese programs available.
The quarterly data correlates with the results of a recent survey posted during April on the StudyAbroad.com website. In that survey, 55.86 percent of respondents expressed interest in studying in a European country, 13.79 percent in a North American country, 9.43 percent in an Asian country, 7.13 percent in Oceania, 3.91 percent in an Africa country, and 2.53 percent in a South American country.
"Current world events seem to have an impact on which countries are popular for students looking to study abroad," Mark Shay comments. "For example, Greece has been in the top 20 several times within the past year, possibly because of the positive promotion surrounding this summer's upcoming Olympic Games. As much as political unrest can detract from someone's interest in living and studying in an area, upcoming world events seen in a positive light can boost a country's popularity."
The top 20 list for the first quarter of 2004 is as follows:
1.
England
2. France
3. Italy
4. Spain
5. Germany
6. Japan
7. India
8. Australia
9.
Egypt
10. Ireland
11. Canada
12. Brazil
13.
Sweden
14. Mexico
15. Argentina
16. Cuba
17. The
Netherlands
18. Greece
19. Russia
20. Taiwan
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