Emory vs. University of Michigan: Which offers better study abroad opportunities for undergraduates?

For the widest range of academic-year locations, program formats, and major-specific options, the University of Michigan has an edge. Its Center for Global and Intercultural Study supports exchanges, direct-enrollment options, provider programs, and Michigan faculty-led programs across many countries, which can make it easier to find a semester program aligned with a specialized major. Emory also offers substantial semester, yearlong, and summer study-abroad choices, but its smaller overall scale means Michigan is likely to provide more alternatives in any one field or destination.

The key practical step is reviewing how courses will transfer or count toward major requirements before committing; laboratory sequences, tightly structured engineering curricula, and some professional programs can still limit when a semester abroad fits.

Emory may appeal more to a student who wants a more personal planning process and a program that connects naturally to the university’s strengths in global health, public health, international studies, language study, and the liberal arts. Emory Education Abroad works with approved programs and helps students plan credit and course approvals, and a fall or spring term abroad is feasible for many Emory College students. Emory’s Atlanta setting can also be useful for students interested in internationally focused public health, nonprofit, or policy work alongside their coursework.