Even without the aid of a scholarship, students who study abroad pay the same fees as if they were attending SF State. They are not charged overseas tuition, administrative costs or other fees.

"We want to dispel the myth that study abroad is expensive," said Kati Bell, senior study abroad adviser in the Office of International Programs.

Despite the relative affordability of studying abroad, students like Kenny Loui are grateful for the support.

Loui, a political science graduate student who will study Japanese at Mejiro University in Tokyo, earned a $14,000 scholarship from the Japan Student Services Organization. Loui, who has long been interested in Japanese culture and studied the language for several years, aspires to become a Japan-based legal attaché for the FBI.

"With the scholarship, I won't have to worry as much about money," Loui said by phone from Washington, D.C., where he has a summer internship with the bureau.

SF State students study abroad through two state-supported programs: the CSU International Programs and SF State Bilateral Exchanges. The CSU International Programs enable hundreds of students to pursue their studies abroad each year at 65 affiliated universities in 20 countries. The Bilateral Exchanges program allows students to study abroad for one semester or more while studying at one of 31 associate universities in 14 countries.