Sample Custom
Study Abroad Programs

Working with CEA has been a pleasure for students, faculty, and administrators at Ilinois State University. All logistic and programmatic matters both in the U.S. and abroad are handled by CEA staff with efficiency, competence, and friendliness. We couldn’t be happier and greatly appreciate CEA’s superb service.

As a faculty member at Illinois State University leading a summer study abroad program, I attribute much of the program’s success to the dedication and programmatic expertise of CEA. From student recruitment and virtual orientations to housing and cultural experiences in the city of Paris, CEA has been with me every step of the way, ensuring students are well prepared for their study abroad experience. I cannot speak more highly of the staff at CEA; their guidance and support has led to several successful and safe years of the program and I highly recommend the services CEA provides to any faculty director leading students abroad.

My colleague and I team-teach a short-term study abroad course in Ireland and have partnered with CEA since that program's inception in 2015. Delivering a high impact study abroad experience with only three weeks in country is incredibly challenging; I can't imagine pulling it off without the expertise and support of Francis, Damien and the rest of the CEA team in Dublin. They go far beyond just handling the logistics of housing, guest lecturers and cultural events - which is valuable enough. They partner with us to design immersion experiences for students so that they don't just skim the surface of Irish culture and arts. We would never even think of going it alone now, or working with a different study abroad provider. The staff at CEA Dublin are absolute gems: flexible, generous, knowledgeable, welcoming and so, so good at supporting customized programs.

I have been working with CEA in Florence since 2007, when I began to plan a study abroad program for Ohio University. I had very precise ideas about what I wanted to do, and a lot of dreams and visions for my program. I also had high academic standards, which I had reinforced by CEA staff who were willing to provide the very best for me. After much planning and preparation, I directed my first Florence program in 2009, and it has been going strong ever since! I could have worked with other providers, but I stayed with CEA all these years because of the outstanding staff at the Florence office. The staff have always given me and my students 110 percent – and helped me make my dream program for students become a successful one. Not only have they supported my ideas and helped me create them, but they have suggested others that they think might interest me or my students. My program is truly unique because of the caring, giving, and engaged staff in Florence.

Each excursion, from the tapas cooking class to the flamenco workshop, provided a level of cultural engagement we could not provide for our students. They allowed us to bring the experiences back into the classroom to help frame much of the content of our psychology and public health courses. All of the CEA staff were generous in sharing their lived experience locally and abroad, and the personal connection and ability to compare/contrast cultures helped frame things for the students.