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With more and more students gaining interest in study abroad options, the South Asian region is starting to feature more prominently than ever before.
South Asia, home to approximately 1.6 billion people today is fast becoming a hot spot for study abroad programs. With the region constituting three of the ten most populated countries in the world (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), it has become a victim of global politics, intellectual curiosity and a hub for rich language and culture. Given this scenario, it is no surprise that there has been an increase in demand for study abroad programs focusing and catering to South Asia.
Study abroad programs can range from a number of options including but not limited to, university exchange programs, summer or semester abroad and even international internships. The exposure gained is almost invaluable to the students' knowledge. Living and thriving in a new culture, exposing oneself to new experiences, tastes and people and understanding the customs of a new country provide an unprecedented experience. Additionally, some programs offer the option of staying with a host family or working with a local firm, thus furthering their regional understanding.
Very different from field research and international aid projects, study abroad options focus exclusively on younger students enrolled in a program of study at the university level. Currently, U.S. colleges and universities such as Middlebury College, Boston University, Cornell, UC Berkeley, Bowdoin and University of Wisconsin at Madison (to just name a few), all have comprehensive programs in the South Asia region. A majority of these are language intensive and foster the learning of Hindi and Urdu. Geographically, India constitutes the largest percentage of exchange students with Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan trailing behind. What is highly appealing about such programs is their scope outside the prescribed curriculum. Very often, a course of study held in one city can expand across a range of cities within the country, thus providing the student with a wholesome and varied understanding of the entire host country rather than just a sliver of experience.
Often when American students apply to U.S. colleges, study abroad options feature very highly on the priority list. Additionally, more and more college students are getting involved and interested in this region and feel that a study abroad option that enables them to understand a growing strategic language and interact with the locals under a safe and guarded sponsorship is paramount to their college experience. Universities have recently expanded their programs in South Asia in efforts to provide their study abroad programs with more diversity and gain added advantage over their counterparts. At Middlebury College for instance, a certain proportion of students has been pushing to develop a program in South Asia due to its rich language culture. Intellectual curiosity also pushes many professors to promote such programs thus creating a supplementary exposure to their courses.
South Asia is certainly an important region that will only feature more extensively in the near future. It is integral for foreign students to gain a first hand understanding of the region and its people, since they are the next generation that will be making worldwide decisions. The importance of South Asia has been reflected in the rise of the number of exchange programs catering exclusively to this region and their equally positive responses. 
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