The Office of International Education has added two new locations to the range of study abroad destinations at St. Edward’s University. Students can now spend a semester or a full year studying in Chile.

“It takes several months to put these together, and these were just finalized,” said Erin Garcia, an international advisor for the Office of International Education.

The university’s two new Chilean partners are Adolfo Ibáñez University (UAI) and Federico Santa María Technical University (UTFSM). UAI has four campuses, two of which are available to exchange students. One campus is located in Santiago, the capital city of Chile, and the other in beach town Viña del Mar. The UTFSM campus available to students is also in Viña del Mar. Students will be able to study at either of these locations in fall 2012.

“[UAI is] a very highly-ranked school in Chile, a very prestigious school there, with a great business school—that’s one of their big focuses,” Garcia said.

This makes UAI a destination for students interested in studying business, but others can partake in the experience, too. The university also offers courses in the humanities.

“You wouldn’t have to be a business major to study there,” Garcia said. “They’re not accepting only business students by any means… there’s a number of different areas students could take courses it.”

As with all the exchange programs offered at St. Edward’s, any financial aid a student has received still applies abroad, and the cost of tuition does not change.

“The tuition cost stays here at St. Edward’s, you don’t pay any tuition costs to the other university,” Garcia said.

This emphasis on studying abroad fits in with St. Edward’s Strategic Plan 2015, which outlines the goals of the university within the next 4 years. The plan emphasizes global education and understanding as an important component of success in the 21st century.

According to the St. Edward’s website, St. Edward’s has “embarked on new partnerships around the world to provide students every advantage for the new century…this will enable students to experience education through a vast and diverse array of