Do you want to study overseas but need to find schools with affordable tuition costs? You should attend one of these 15 cheap universities around the globe that offer exceptional study abroad programmes in 2023.
The top study abroad programmes are provided by World Scholarship Forum to the 30 Most Affordable Colleges in 2023. Due to their low tuition rates, these institutions have earned the title of “most affordable colleges” worldwide.
If you’re interested in studying overseas but aren’t sure where to start, the institutions on this list offer a wealth of options for designing a fantastic programme that fits your needs.
These prestigious universities offer excellent opportunities to satiate your wanderlust, whether you want to broaden your horizons through spontaneous travel or participate in a structured, academically demanding study abroad programme guided by expert faculty.
We analyse the relative worth of each school and degree programme as before. By evaluating schools that send students to the best countries for study abroad, programme costs, benefits, whether or not the school offers study abroad scholarships, and other factors, our ranking system aimed to highlight the best study abroad programmes.
Top 15 Most Affordable Institutions for International Students in 2023
Students interested in studying overseas in 2023 can find lists of reasonably priced universities here.
1. Indiana’s Goshen College
Awarding 13 Points
Amount Spent: $18,878
The expense of the programme is comparable to that of a regular semester on campus in terms of tuition, housing, and meals, but the college notes that summer terms have different fees.
Founded in 1894 and associated with the Mennonite Church USA, the 135-acre campus of Goshen College is home to 800 undergraduate students from 31 different states and 26 different nations.
Nearly 8,000 Goshen College students have participated in the Study-Service Team’s (SST) programmes abroad since the programme’s inception in 1968.
U.S. News & World Report found that 83% of the school’s pupils took part in study abroad at least once during their time there. According to U.S. News & World Report, the intercultural study prerequisite is a crucial part of the Goshen College education.
In order to fully immerse themselves in the host country’s culture, study abroad students always reside with local families.
In order to earn 14 credits, students in Goshen’s SST programme spend 13 weeks split between rigorous language study in the country’s capital and community service in a more rural setting.
These trips can include anything from spending time with natives in the Amazon to picking up the nuances of sign language in Peru to witnessing the impact of ecotourism on a country like Tanzania.
Goshen offers trips and other authorised programmes during the May and Summer terms through partner organisations that students can participate in.
2. Maine’s Bates College, located in Lewiston.
Total Points: 14
Amount Spent: $24,956
Cost of the programme begins at about $3,600. (international, short-term)
Bates College, located in beautiful southwest Maine, was founded by abolitionists in 1855 and is a private, nonsectarian liberal arts institution with 2,000 students, a 10:1 student-faculty ratio, and 36 different disciplines.
From pre-departure planning information like how to vote abroad and country/currency data to working through re-entry into campus life at Bates, the Off-Campus Study Office offers active and detailed resources for students who want to study abroad.
Short-term study abroad programmes in China, the Galapagos Archipelago, Germany, and central Europe will be offered in addition to Bates’ faculty-led Fall Semester Abroad — Spain in 2023.
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Students interested in gaining credit in Spanish, history, European studies, or Latin American Studies can participate in the Bates Semester Abroad, an open programme that brings them to Tarragona, Spain.
Participants may sign up for educational trips to other Spanish cities in addition to Tarragona, such as Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville.
The university partners with outside groups to provide more than two hundred different options for semester and year-long study abroad, as well as information and support for summer study abroad.
3. Aliso Viejo, California’s Soka University of the Americas
Total Points: 14
The Subtotal is $12,295
The cost of the programme is included in the standard education rate.
Soka University of America, a private four-year liberal arts college and graduate school founded on Buddhist principles, is located on 103 acres just inland from the coast. It has a student-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, with average class sizes of 12.
All undergraduates at Soka University are required to study overseas as part of their curriculum, and the cost of doing so is built into the tuition.
The mission of the Study Abroad & International jobs Office (SAII) is to help students find jobs and study abroad opportunities in countries all over the world.
Four of the 32 destinations listed on Soka’s website are administered by the university itself; these programmes take students to cities in Japan. The remaining 26 destinations are administered by eight separate providers who have been approved by Soka University; programmes administered by any other external providers are not accepted.
Homestays, dormitories, and off-campus apartments are just some of the options available to students studying overseas. Undergraduates can receive up to 16 credits while studying abroad.
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4. Kalamazoo, Michigan’s own Kalamazoo College
Gain 15 Points
Spending Money: $25,906
Price of the Program: Comparable to the Cost of Regular Schooling
Kalamazoo College, also known as “K,” was established in 1833 and is one of the nation’s 100 oldest private, extremely selective liberal arts institutions. It provides its 1,443 children with a well-rounded education that includes the K-Plan, a curriculum widely regarded for its excellence.
What the Americans say. According to U.S. News & World Report, 75 percent of K’s undergraduates take advantage of the school’s established (over 50 years) study abroad programmes.
In their junior year, the vast majority of K’s students participate in one of the 42 study abroad programs, which take them to one of 24 various countries.
For an additional K-unit of credit, some students who study abroad also complete Integrative Cultural Research Projects, in which they select an activity that is meaningful to them and the host community and write a reflective article about their experience.
Some of the countries that host university-sponsored study abroad programmes are: Ecuador, France, Germany, Kenya, Sénégal, Spain, Thailand, and Trinidad.
Scholarships for international students are available in a range of sums and can be found on the CIP website.
There are three different duration options to choose from: one quarter, two quarters, or three quarters. Some schools will take up to twenty students on a single trip, while others will accept only one or two.
5. Irving, Texas, home to Dallas’s own university
Earned 17 Points
Money Spent: $27,029
Cost of the programme begins around $2,500.
The University of Dallas, which was founded in 1956, is a private, independent Catholic institution with more than 2,500 students from around the globe enrolled in its bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and continuing education programmes.
Students from the University of Dallas have the opportunity to study in a variety of countries thanks to international collaborations and programmes such as the Rome Program. Outside of Rome, there are study abroad programmes where students can gain language credits.
More than 92% of Dallas undergraduates, according to the institution, take part in the Rome Program.
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Dallas’s twelve-acre Eugene Constantin Campus is located in scenic foothills about an hour southeast of Rome, and it serves as the students’ home base for either the summer’s six weeks or the academic year’s complete semester.
By attending classes on the Due Santi campus, at archaeological sites, and in museums, participants in the Rome Semester Program can receive up to 17 credits in either the Italian or liberal arts concentrations.
6. University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Guilford)
Earned 17 Points
Amount Spent: $26,577
Total approximate cost of attendance is $11,500.
Guilford College, founded by Friends in 1837, is a small liberal arts institution with a scenic 300-acre wooded site and a five-tiered curriculum for each of its 41 undergraduate majors.
The Study Abroad Office at Guilford College organises short-term (three-weeks or less) and long-term (semester-long) study abroad programmes run by Guilford College teachers and affiliate organisations.
The expense of a semester at Guilford isn’t much higher than at other colleges, and there are a number of scholarships available to help cover the rest. If you need financial support to study abroad, the study abroad office can provide a catalogue of external award sources.
The college’s semester and summer programmes allow students to journey to Germany, Italy, Spain, Ghana, and India using any combination of federal, state, and institutional funding. Several “top study abroad programmes” lists now include this university because of the Brunnenburg Semester.
In this faculty-led study abroad program, 14 students live in the grounds of a castle built in the 13th century in the Italian Alps, complete with a working farm and vineyard, and concentrate on sustainable living while learning about food systems.
Mary de Rachewiltz, Ezra Pound’s daughter, hosts weekly Sunday teas where participants can discuss poetry, and the group also takes day trips to notable towns in the area.
7. Danville, Kentucky’s Centre College
Total Points: 18
Overall Price: $25,326
The price of the programme will be around $1,000.
Centre institution is a small private liberal arts institution with a non-sectarian, Judeo-Christian heritage and about 1,400 students from 45 different states and 11 different countries. It was founded in 1819.
The Centre Commitment ensures that students who live up to the university’s social and scholastic standards will have the chance to participate in an internship or research project, go on an international exchange, and complete their degrees in four years.
The Centre will pay for a student’s fifth year of school if he or she has not acquired these skills after four.
In 2019, Centre was ranked second on the most popular study abroad programmes by The Princeton Review. Over eighty-five percent of this institution’s students participate in at least one international study program, and staff members often accompany them.
Students can spend a semester in any of nine different nations, including Northern Ireland and Spain. Students have the opportunity to travel to virtually every continent during the three-week winter CentreTerm and the eight-week summer study abroad programme.
The Centre’s Air Travel Mitigation Fund collects money to put towards eco-friendly projects on campus as a means of offsetting the environmental damage caused by flying. There are two types of “study abroad” programmes available through the Centre: “Study away” and “non-Centre.”
Centre-in-Washington and Centre-in-Chicago are able to offer internships for academic credit in the autumn and spring semesters because of their partnerships with Butler University and the ACM College Program.
8. Cleveland, Tennessee’s Lee University
Total Points: 18
Spending $18,139 on Net
The majority of the programme fee (75%) goes towards covering the cost of the journey itself; additional costs are not listed on the website.
Lee University is a private liberal arts institution with over 5,300 students, a 106-acre campus, and 52 majors. It was founded in 1918 and has traditionally been associated with the evangelical Christian Church of God.
According to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Education, more than 90% of Lee University’s student body participates in some form of international education. The News & World Report.
Lee’s lessons require his pupils to work together across cultural boundaries. For example, students can spend a semester in the United Kingdom, choose from more than 30 faculty-led trips during the winter, spring, and summer breaks, or create their own independent or group study abroad adventures.
These excursions can last anywhere from seven days (not counting transport time) to an entire academic term.
Each student is only eligible to receive an institution-funded bursary for one of Lee’s approved study abroad programmes.
Australia, Egypt, Israel, Honduras, Cuba, and many more are just a few of the countries visited on these Global Perspectives tours.
At the yearly World’s Fair hosted by the Global Perspectives office, Lee University students can learn more about each of the available study abroad opportunities.
9. Charleston, Illinois’s Eastern Illinois University
Total Points: 18
The Subtotal is $15,549
The average cost of the programme is less than $2,000.
Eastern Illinois University, founded in 1895, is a large public institution with a 320-acre site, 7,415 students, and 51 different majors and concentrations for undergraduates to choose from.
There are 583 different study abroad programmes offered by EIU, including affiliate, faculty-led, direct enrollment, and exchange choices, and they are located in 53 different countries.
Short- and long-term academic study and internships, as well as field and practical opportunities, are available to EIU students around the world through authorised study abroad programmes.
Students can spend anywhere from eight days to an entire semester participating in faculty-led programmes that take them to more than ten different nations to study things like art in Florence, archaeology in Belgium, and politics in Ireland.
EIU offers semester-long exchange programmes in the autumn, spring, and summer, and year-long direct enrollment programmes through affiliate providers.
The university provides scholarship funding of up to $100,000 per year for students intending to study abroad.
If a student completes 12 credits overseas, they are eligible to have their financial aid processed by the Office of Study overseas.
If accepted into the OSA, students can then work with their chosen academic department to design a foreign internship experience and enrol for EIU credit.
10. Evansville, Indiana‘s University of Evansville
Total Points: 19
Amount Spent: $22,041
Price of the programme ranges from about $150 to $2,000. (not including airfare)
The institution of Evansville opened in 1854 and is a small, independent, United Methodist-affiliated liberal arts institution with an enrollment of 2,643 students and an average class size of 18.
Only two American universities made Abroad101’s ranking of the best places to study abroad, but Abroad101 singled out the University of Evansville’s Harlaxton College in Grantham, England.
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EU students studying overseas can call Harlaxton, a 100-room Victorian manor house in the bucolic countryside an hour north of London, their second home.
Courses are structured to incorporate field trips and other forms of hands-on learning for both semester and summer pupils.
If you’re not interested in studying in England, Evansville has exchange programmes with colleges in Spain, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Mexico where you can study abroad for the price of EU tuition plus a small fee.
Shorter, more intensive trips led by university professors to places like the United Kingdom, South Korea, Cuba, and more can be found for a slightly higher price.
Students majoring in a language other than English are eligible for the university’s single study abroad scholarship; however, the study abroad website contains links to numerous other sources of funding for such trips.
11. Richmond, Virginia’s University
Total Points: 19
Sum Incurred: $21,744
Summer study abroad programmes start at $5,600 (*not all programme costs are mentioned online).
Founded in 1830, the University of Richmond is a private, nonsectarian, liberal arts college with over 60 undergraduate majors and 4,181 students. It offers the resources of a big research university but the intimacy of a small college.
Each academic and athletic department at the university provides its own one- to three-week study abroad trip, in addition to the semester and academic year exchanges offered by the Office of International Education and the School of Professional and Continuing Studies.
By enrolling in a partner institution or participating in an exchange program, UR students can study at universities all over the globe and earn up to 18 credits per term. The school provides individual guidance for its study abroad and short-term programmes.
Students can spend about a month studying in one of nine different countries through UR’s Summer Study Abroad programme. There is some variation in what is included in the price, and the journey to the Czech Republic also includes stops in Latvia and Lithuania.
Students at UR have access to a wide variety of institutional and external bursaries, grants, and other forms of financial aid to make study abroad possible.
UR has compiled a list of its study abroad opportunities, categorises them by major, and provides links to suggested trips for each major to make the programme search process easier.
12. The University of Texas at Denton for Women
Total Points: 19
Overall Price: $8,995
The average cost of this programme is around $4,000.
There are about 15,000 students enrolled in the three main campuses and in online programmes at Texas Woman’s University, making it the largest public, coeducational university in the country that caters primarily to women.
TWU offers its students the opportunity to participate in internships and service-learning projects overseas through its Education overseas programme.
The foreign Education Fee Scholarships are funded by a portion of TWU’s tuition and are available to any enrolled student at any university who wishes to participate in a foreign exchange or study abroad programme.
This university offers three distinct types of study abroad programmes to help students find the right fit: (1) short-term (1–3 week), faculty-led programmes in places like Greece, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and more; (2) the Harlaxton College Program, administered by the University of Evansville in Grantham, England (also on this list); and (3) immersion programmes offered by worldwide affiliated partners in the summer, fall, and spring.
The duration of these travels ranges from one week to an entire school year. University-sponsored faculty-led programmes have ranged in topic and destination from global fashion studies in Montreal to healthcare administration in Switzerland, with as many as 29 students participating in a single trip.
13. Richmond, Indiana’s Earlham College
Total Points: 20
Price tag: $23,258
The base price of the programme is $1,200, and then there are meal costs and a $385 non-refundable fee.
Earlham College is a private liberal arts institution that was founded in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends and is currently home to 1,031 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 60 different nations.
The IPO coordinates foreign exchange students, programs, and events for the university.
More than 65% of Earlham’s undergraduates participate in off-campus study programs, making it an integral component of the college’s curriculum.
Students from any academic discipline at Earlham are welcome to participate in any programme and receive complete academic credit for their work.
Students interested in studying abroad must finish a one-credit, pre-departure course, interview with the programme’s director, and get approval from a student and faculty committee.
The Ecuador Program is a good illustration of a varied and extensive semester-long programme. Students can receive up to 18 credits studying the Andean region’s history, culture, arts, and literature while also improving their Spanish language abilities.
In addition to classes, they engage in internships, fieldwork, and ethnographic research in the nation’s metropolis of Quito. The Center for Career and Community Engagement at Earlham College provides students with internships in a variety of scholarly fields and countries.
14. Jackson, Mississippi’s Millsaps College
Total Points: 20
Overall Price: $22,512
Cost of the programme begins at about $4,300. (not including airfare, food, and personal expenses)
Millsaps College, founded in 1890 by members of the Methodist Church, is a private liberal arts institution situated on 100 lush acres in the state capitol with fewer than 1,000 students, a student-faculty ratio of 9:1, and 33 majors, one of which is student-designed.
The Office of International Education (OIE) at Millsaps recognises the value of international education and provides a variety of semester, year, summer, and winter intersession programmes for students interested in studying abroad.
Courses in history, biology, literature, environmental science, and more are offered at the 4500-acre tropical forest biocultural reserve run by Millsaps’ non-profit organisation Kaxil Kiuic in the centre of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
Internships and research chances in fields like archaeology and biochemistry can also be found here. Millsaps also offers study abroad programmes in Italy, Vietnam, and Africa for students to earn college credit.
More than half of the college’s faculty regularly teach overseas, and some trips involve visits to multiple countries.
In addition to faculty-led study abroad opportunities, students at this school have the opportunity to engage in direct exchange programmes with the University of Liechtenstein in the Principality of Liechtenstein, the world’s smallest German-speaking country.
With the college’s participation in ISEP, students have access to a wide range of additional study abroad possibilities.
15. The University of Colorado, located in Colorado Springs
Total Points: 20
Price tag: $21,027
For off-campus sessions, the cost of the programme can start at around $800 (not including travel). Tuition typically consists of a programme fee, airfare, and other miscellaneous costs, and it includes the entire semester or academic year.
Colorado College is a private, coeducational, four-year institution that first opened its doors in 1874. The university’s “Block Plan” allows its 2,000 students to enrol in individual courses across 80 different degrees, minors, and concentrations.
Eighty-one percent of graduating CC students choose to study overseas, and they can do so for a week, a block, a summer, a semester, or an entire academic year thanks to the Block Plan’s adaptability.
The diversity of CC’s study abroad offerings—including programmes in Japan, Cuba, and Botswana—likely contributed to the school’s ranking as the No. 2 top study abroad programme by College Rank.
Through its Office of International Programs, the university offers a total of eight semesters’ worth of programmes and five semesters of international exchange. The school’s affiliation with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and other recognised outside organisations opens up even more opportunities for its students.
Participants spend a semester studying Spanish in Argentina and Chile with the help of CC and receive four CC units.
To discover opportunities like the two full scholarships that CC German students can receive annually to study at either the University of Regensburg or the University of Göttingen, interested students should get in touch with their academic department.
The Coffee Exchange Challenge (Marketing Practicum) in Nicaragua and Movies, Monuments, and Mythmaking in Greece are two fascinating instances of academic year blocks presented away from campus.