The University of Georgia has moved up six places to rank 11th among all U.S. institutions in the 2015 Open Doors Report on the number of U.S. students studying abroad.

UGA sent 2,240 students abroad for academic credit in the 2013-14 academic year, which represents an 11 percent increase over the previous year at UGA and more than doubles the national increase of 5 percent. UGA is the top-ranked institution in the Southeast and the only institution in Georgia among the top 25.

“The latest Open Doors ranking is yet another indication that hands-on learning experiences are a defining characteristic of a University of Georgia education,” said Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “Our new experiential learning requirement will build on this strong foundation to ensure that each of our incoming students will benefit from high-impact learning opportunities such as study abroad, research, service-learning and internships.”

The announcement of the top U.S. institutions for study abroad coincides with the start of International Education Week, Nov. 16-20.

The majority of UGA students participated in one or more of the 92 faculty-led programs in 2013-14 around the world, including programs at UGA’s year-round residential centers in Oxford, England; Cortona, Italy; and in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica. Others enrolled in one of 50 exchange programs with UGA’s exchange partners abroad, or joined external programs. Students also may pursue experiential education abroad programs in service-learning, field work and other research, internships, and volunteer experiences.

“Education abroad is a 50-year-long tradition at UGA, where everyone from students and their parents to faculty, staff and academic administrators recognize the value of its impact on student development and career prospects,” said Yana Cornish, director of education abroad in the Office of International Education. “We are very grateful to UGA champions of education abroad.”

The majority of UGA students travel abroad while pursuing degrees from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, but the Terry College of Business, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the School of Public and International Affairs each send more than 200 students abroad annually. Professional and graduate students accounted for 8 percent of all UGA study abroad participants. The top destinations in 2013-14 for UGA students were Italy, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, Costa Rica and France.

With so many students traveling abroad, safety is a top priority. The Office of International Education provides pre-departure safety workshops, and distributes travel safety booklets and waterproof emergency protocol wallet cards that contain important contacts and outline the steps to follow in an emergency. A centralized education abroad database enables staff to search within a given radius of any location on the planet to find every student, staff and faculty member who might be close to an area in crisis.