Where in the World is Bastyr?

Bastyr University doesn't have a degree program in international relations or global health, but it might as well. Last September alone, Bastyr students traveled to China to study traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), to Italy to study herbal medicine, and to Ecuador to study medical Spanish and complete rotations in public hospitals. In fact, if one picked up a globe and chose any country in the world, chances are a Bastyr student has either studied, lived or worked there – or has plans to in the near future.

Global traveling student

Bastyr takes pride in its interest in global health, in being both a place where borders dissolve – the student body is drawn from all across the U.S. and 28 other countries – and a school that respects and incorporates the healing traditions of other cultures. To this end, the University supports a variety of study abroad experiences that count toward university credit. Such opportunities include: an internship program in China through the School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine; a course in Italy through the Department of Botanical Medicine; and preceptorships in Vanuatu, an independent island nation off the coast of Australia, for students pursuing a Certificate in Naturopathic Midwifery (visit Bastyr Magazine, Spring | Summer 2008).

"It was the perfect capstone to my master's program," says Brandon Leahy, 26, of the China trip. "It was incredibly worth it to study there with doctors who have made this science their life's work."

A recent Master of Science in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MSAOM) graduate, Leahy was among a group of students who completed internships at two of Bastyr's sister schools, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The internship, which focuses primarily on clinical observations, is intended to give students insight into the roots and mainstream practice of their medicine.

"It played a role in my decision to come to Bastyr," says Leahy of the opportunity to study in China. "For me it was comforting to know that Bastyr had relationships with not one, but two prestigious TCM schools in China, and that we would be able to graduate with first-hand experience and knowledge under our belts."

While the China, Italy and Vanuatu trips may be the best-known of Bastyr's study-abroad opportunities, travel options aren't limited to specific degree programs. In addition to trips organized by student clubs, many students also take advantage of the Student Council's venture grant program, which has helped more than 170 students fund trips to 36 different countries since 2000.

Applicants are awarded grants up to $1,000 for developing innovative projects that will benefit the communities they visit and, later, the Bastyr community when they return and share what they've learned. Past venture grants have helped fund a month-long stay in the Basque region of Spain to study local cuisine and develop a cookbook; a two-week stay in Nepal to help develop a more comprehensive approach to child care; and a month-long stay in Malawi to study traditional African medicine.