The Study Abroad Fair offers students a chance to travel around the world – for college credit.

The fair takes place Thursday, Sept. 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center. The fair features information on the numerous opportunities available for NIU students to travel away from DeKalb and experience learning from within another culture.

Though this will be the 15th year for the fair, it will be the first year in which faculty-directed programs are so strongly emphasized, said Anne Seitzinger, director of the Study Abroad Office.

“It’s a good foundation, and we’re hoping to build on it,” she said. Seitzinger said that faculty from many departments have been developing programs over the past year, and some of these are “off the beaten path” from study abroad programs offered in more developed areas, such as western Europe.

These programs are designed to attract students who normally wouldn’t consider studying abroad, but may now because of the multitude of options for curriculum and location, Seitzinger said.

Examples of programs include the option for mechanical engineering students to learn in China over the summer, while a program with allied health professionals has been approved to learn biomedical lab science in India.

The fair features information on a number of general eduction courses offered overseas, for students who may be considering studying abroad but are afraid of losing the opportunity to finish their general education requirements. Many programs offer students this ability, as well as programs through outside providers.

“It’s kind of a matching game,” Seitzinger said. Talking to a representative often allows students to discover options for their education they didn’t even know they had, she said.