Purpose: Building on existing study abroad literature, the purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of both short-term and long-term study abroad programs on students' leadership skills and their career aspirations. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of college students were invited to complete an electronic survey about their experiences with study abroad programs. This survey included study abroad participants and non-study abroad participants and aimed to assess areas such as academic performance, leadership qualities, international exposure, and study abroad. Findings: The authors' results suggest that study abroad programs have a significant effect on leadership skills and career aspirations. Short-term programs, in particular, were found to impact both leadership skills and career aspirations. Research limitations/implications: The limitations of this study lie within the nature of the survey data used. Surveys are subjective and it was left to the respondent to determine, for example, what defines a leadership position. Nonetheless, the survey data collected implies how students feel about study abroad programs and the results provided implications about the importance of these programs. Social implications: According to the results, study abroad programs have value to students who participated in these programs. The authors conclude that study abroad is an important supplement to post-secondary education and participation in such programs should be encouraged. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the study abroad literature by focusing on short-term programs, which have not been heavily studied in the field. The authors' results suggest that study abroad has a significant impact on students, thus has practical implications for college students and educators.