When Alex White first arrived at Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2010, he had lukewarm feelings about studying abroad. It’s not that he didn’t appreciate other cultures. But he knew his plan to pursue a business degree in four years would leave little time to study in another country.
It’s not uncommon for business majors to feel that way, said Thom Jackman, associate professor of business administration.
“It may be more challenging for some majors because you have more requirements,” said Jackman. “Accounting, for example, would be the most difficult with all the requirements and the fact that United States accounting standards are different than international accounting standards.”
White was on track to earn his business degree in four years and take all of his classes on the Lincoln campus. That was until he befriended several international students studying at NWU, and joined the International Relations Organization (IRO). Meanwhile, some of White’s friends were returning to campus after a semester or year abroad, and White began to wonder if he should take advantage of the experience too.
“One friend in particular, studied at the University of Tartu (Estonia) and always loved talking about his experiences there. He also shared with me information regarding scholarships for students who study in Estonia,” White said. “After further research of the partner university program between NWU and the University of Tartu, I knew this would be a good choice.”
White was on his way to Estonia in fall 2013.
The University of Tartu offers hundreds of English-taught courses, including business classes. Faculty in Nebraska Wesleyan’s Business, Accounting and Economics Department have worked closely with the University of Tartu and traveled there in recent years to create an exchange agreement for classes.
“Before, students would go and take classes over there and sometimes they wouldn’t transfer,” said Jackman. “If you go over and take their classes now, you know what will transfer.”
The ease of transferring classes combined with financial assistance to study in Estonia has created more opportunities for business students to study there for a semester and still graduate on time.
"You don’t need a huge budget to experience a lot of things while you’re there,” said Jackman. “It’s much less expensive in Estonia compared to Western Europe. The scholarship assistance makes it very affordable.”
Since forming a partnership with the University of Tartu, 21 NWU students have studied in Estonia, in addition to a University Choir tour and the men’s and women’s basketball teams who have also traveled there. Faculty from other academic departments including chemistry, sociology/anthropology and communication studies have also traveled to the University of Tartu to further develop their courses.
For White, the experience proved to be educational and life-changing.
“I didn’t know much about Estonia, but I soon realized that I felt very comfortable and at home there,” White recalled. “Outside of the dormitory, I was able to immerse myself in Estonian culture, take a language course in Estonian — one of the hardest languages in the world — and became lifelong friends with a couple Estonians.”
Upon returning to the United States, White began researching English-taught master’s programs offered at the University of Tartu. He discovered a new quantitative economics program, recently approved by the Estonian government.
“I was very pleased and excited to see the approval of the program and the possibility to become one of the first members of this inaugural program,” said White.
Fifty-seven students applied to the program from fields including mathematics, finance, economics, business, and engineering. White was one of the 16 applicants accepted.
“Studying abroad truly opened my eyes to the world of opportunities. If I hadn’t studied abroad, I would have never thought about obtaining a master’s degree abroad let alone in Estonia,” said White.