Wartburg College ranks No. 15 among all U.S. four-year baccalaureate institutions in the number of students who took short-term study abroad programs in 2011-12.

The Institute of International Education listed 221 Wartburg students in short-term study abroad courses, which primarily occurred during the four-week May Term.

Wartburg offered 14 courses abroad during May Term 2012, including Tour of the Arts, which enrolled 33 members of the Castle Singers who toured and performed in northern Europe.

Other popular courses and destinations included Hispanic Culture and Intensive Conversation in Costa Rica, 31; Ecology and Culture in Guyana, 15; Tanzania Culture and Current Issues, 12; French Culture and Intensive Conversation, France, 11; Church in Latin America, Brazil, 11; and Historical Roots of Math and Physics, Britain, 10.

Other courses traveled to Germany, India, Senegal, Japan, Nicaragua and Spain.

Students are attracted to the courses, said Kathy Traetow, Study Abroad Office coordinator, because the experiences help broaden them personally and academically.

“Students learn things about the human condition in other places in the world, and those immersions could never happen with textbook learning,” she said. “Students gain confidence, empathy, and passion. These experiences change lives by creating memories that cannot be forgotten but rather impact their decision-making coming back home.”

The Institute of International Education is a private, nonprofit organization that works with the U.S. government, foundations and other sponsors to create study-abroad opportunities, including the State Department’s Fulbright program and Gilman Scholarships.