Yang Meng teaching her Yiddish language class at Peking University.

The World's Global Classroom

Professor Juan Madrid with his students from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley at a radio telescope in Fort Davis in West Texas.

1-HOUR SPECIAL: Breaking Barriers: The challenges immigrants face in accessing higher education

An hourlong, education-focused special on The World delves into issues around language, borders and cost.

1-HOUR SPECIAL: Breaking Barriers: The challenges immigrants face in accessing higher education
College students wearing bear costumes

College football hype can be lost in translation for international students

College football hype can be lost in translation for international students
Two girls holding paper signs that say "Education is our right"

Afghan student struggles with adjusting to life in the US

Afghan student struggles with adjusting to life in the US
College campus with large yellow block letters that spell out C-E-T-Y-S

Hundreds of US students cross the border daily to attend college in Tijuana

Hundreds of US students cross the border daily to attend college in Tijuana
Students walk through a gate at Harvard University, Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Cambridge, Mass.

Colleges struggle to balance free speech, international politics and public safety amid Israel-Hamas conflict

Colleges struggle to balance free speech, international politics and public safety amid Israel-Hamas conflict
college protestors with signs and banners

West Virginia University votes to ax foreign language degrees

Faculty and students who are opposed argue that the move puts the state's flagship university at risk of offering a subpar education, especially in terms of producing graduates who can compete in the international workforce.

West Virginia University votes to ax foreign language degrees
College campus crowded with multiple people

Accreditors approve historic shortened bachelor’s degrees in the US

In much of Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand, three-year undergraduate degrees are standard. Now, a US college accrediting body is allowing Brigham Young University in Idaho and affiliated Ensign College to offer shorter programs that require fewer credits.

Accreditors approve historic shortened bachelor’s degrees in the US
silhouette of two people walking on a college campus

Visa wait times for international students has many reconsidering US studies

Getting an acceptance letter from a US university is cause for celebration. However, getting a student visa in time to attend the first day of class can be a bigger achievement. That's because the wait can last months, even more than a year, for some countries. The World looks into the delays that are discouraging global talent from coming to the US.

Visa wait times for international students has many reconsidering US studies
People demonstrate in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington, June 30, 2023.

Student loans can be ‘simple’ and ‘automatic.’ Other countries offer lessons to the US.

In the US, interest on student loans started accruing again on Sept. 1. Soon, more than 40 million borrowers will have to resume their payments. The US is an outlier when it comes to high tuition and the debts that students take on.

Student loans can be ‘simple’ and ‘automatic.’ Other countries offer lessons to the US.
A woman seen washing pots and pans

Despite lack of govt loans for college in Cambodia, these students are making it work

Most Cambodians live in rural areas, with many struggling to make a living on small farms. Even with low public school tuition fees, sending a child to college is nearly impossible. Those who want a higher education must be resourceful.

Despite lack of govt loans for college in Cambodia, these students are making it work
three white women outside laughing on a campus

Denmark pays students to go to college. But free education does have a price.

Borrowers in the US and the UK rack up the highest debt in the world. In Denmark, tuition is free and students are given grants to pay for things like food and housing. Hardly anyone takes out loans, but free education comes with a price.

Denmark pays students to go to college. But free education does have a price.
woman standing in desolate field

Researcher visits the Odessa Meteor Crater — hoping it will help prepare humanity for future asteroid strikes

Odessa bears the scars of a blast that killed everything in its path. That's Odessa, Texas. It was hit by a meteor about 60,000 years ago. Fulbright scholar Ania Losiak from Poland has been studying the crater, looking for what she describes as the meteor's "murderous behavior" to see how mankind can be prepared for the next one. Mitch Borden, of Marfa Public Radio, met her at the crater to learn more about her work.

Researcher visits the Odessa Meteor Crater — hoping it will help prepare humanity for future asteroid strikes
From left to right: Maria Perez, Vania Davina, Hulyana Rodriguez and Yareli Suarez were members of Dreamers Welcome, a student organization at Cardinal Stritch University.

With the closure of Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee's undocumented students lose a home

A financial deficit that forced Cardinal Stritch University in Wisconsin to close down left many of Milwaukee’s undocumented community with nowhere to go. Stritch was seen as a welcoming place for undocumented students facing additional barriers to higher education. Now, students are trying to replicate its services at other colleges.

With the closure of Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee's undocumented students lose a home
yearbook photo

This Brazilian immigrant to the US says the American dream still exists

Brazilian immigrant Jose Jube told The World about finding opportunities in the US.

This Brazilian immigrant to the US says the American dream still exists
students taking photos

Is the US still the No. 1 education destination?

Yingyi Ma, who teaches sociology at Syracuse University and has written extensively about Chinese students' experiences in the US, and Tianrui Huang, a senior at the University of California San Diego studying philosophy and economics, discuss the challenges of studying in the US with The World's host Marco Werman.

Is the US still the No. 1 education destination?
Cité Internationale Universitaire campus in Paris, France.

How the Bologna Process expanded opportunities for students across Europe

Exchange programs allow students to move freely between universities across the European Union, while paying local tuition fees — which, in some cases, can be free. The Bologna Process has united university degrees across the continent under a common set of quality assurance controls and recognition standards.

How the Bologna Process expanded opportunities for students across Europe