Minnesota’s St. Olaf College receives $20M for study abroad tuition parity initiative

St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, has announced a $20 million gift from Louis and Mary Kay Smith to make semester-long study abroad programs available to students at the same cost as studying on campus. Beginning in 2027, every student accepted into a semester-long international program will qualify for tuition-parity. The funding will also expand January Term, summer, internship, and research-based global programs while supporting faculty at the school’s Smith Center for Global Engagement. The investment follows a 2025 pilot program that drove a 30% increase in semester-long participation and a 70% rise among middle-income students, enabling St. Olaf to scale one of the nation’s most active study-abroad programs.