By Jillian Wrigley, news staff

Northeastern offered freshmen students the opportunity to travel abroad during their spring semester for the first time this year through the N.U.in Spring Program.

In contrast to the fall program, which is mandatory, the spring program was an optional opportunity for students in certain majors.

“The program, originally limited to the fall semester, was expanded to the spring to provide an increasing number of students with an earlier chance to begin their global, experiential opportunities,” Northeastern spokesperson Matthew McDonald said in an e-mail to The News.

According to the N.U.in program website, the N.U.in model was established in 2007 as a way to allow students to study in different countries early in their academic career and take courses to fulfill major requirements, as well as a class with cultural relevance to their location.

Since then, the program has also become a way of accepting a larger percentage of students per class by offering some applicants admission to the Boston campus in the spring if they spend their first fall semester abroad in one of six countries: Germany, Canada, Australia, Ireland, England and Greece.

This year, incoming freshmen from select majors in the College of Arts, Media and Design, the College of Social Sciences and Humanities and the school for undeclared students were given the option to spend their spring semester abroad in either London or Thessaloniki, Greece, after spending their fall semester on the Boston campus, according to the program website.

The N.U.in Spring Program in Greece program ultimately did not receive enough participants, so it is no longer available for the 2017 spring semester. Students who were accepted to the London program arrived on Jan. 11 to attend classes in South Kensington at the Foundation House Study Center, according to the program website.

“London is our oldest N.U.in site and is among our most popular, so it seemed a natural fit for the spring program,” McDonald said. “The Greece site did not receive the optimal number of interested students, so that program was consolidated into the London program to ensure the best experience for our students.”

Alyssa Schifano, a freshman graphic design major participating in the N.U.in Spring Program, said in an e-mail to The News that she was excited to explore a different part of the world at this point in her life.

“I think it’s a benefit to go abroad early in your college career because you are able to spread your horizons sooner rather than later and grow as a person,” she said.

Freshman political science major Eric Schulz said in an e-mail to The News that he believes studying in London will help him better understand his major.

“As a political science student, London is the ideal place to be studying right now,” Schulz said. “Europe is a ‘hot-spot’ of so many critical political movements that the proximity to the continent will only improve my holistic understanding of the very, very abstract science of politics. From the rise of far-right parties in France and Germany, to the handling of the refugee influx, to the infamous Brexit aftermath, it is a critical and exciting time to be in Europe.”

Schifano said she is also excited for the social events and opportunities that her trip abroad can offer. On weekends, students can explore London and take trips to other European cities like Dublin and Barcelona.

“I’m excited to visit the Brighton pier, ride on the London Eye, see Big Ben,” she said. “But I’m mostly excited to get to know the people and their culture. Being able to drink legally is also a plus.”

Schulz praised Northeastern for expanding the program and said that allowing students to travel earlier in their college career will benefit both the students and the school.

“Suddenly, you have students returning to campus as early as freshmen or sophomores with significant academic traveling experiences under their belt, so to speak,” he said. “The cultural immersion alone provides new perspectives, but this experience ensures that students will bring a critical new lens over the scope of their academic careers at Northeastern.”

Photo by Erika Christiansen