Study abroad is the latest "must have" experience for undergraduate students according to an article in the November 4, 2007 "New York Times" (Pappano, 2007). University mission statements increasingly emphasize internationalization and employers increasingly seek graduates with experience in the global arena. This focus on international experience has led to the development of a variety of models for study abroad, including research abroad programs. To assess the value of an international research experience for undergraduates, the authors examined the impact of two international programs on their respective participants and compared these to the gains achieved by students participating in research on their home campus. They surveyed students from two study abroad programs along with a comparison group of students doing research on the University of Arizona (UA) campus. The two study abroad programs were the Biomedical Research Abroad: Vistas Open (BRAVO!) Program and the Semester at Sea (SAS) Program. Subjects for the domestic comparison group were recruited from the UA Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP). The authors provide a brief description of each program, then go on to discuss more specific conclusions they draw from their data, based on classifying the data into Meyers-Lee and Evans's three categories of direct impact of international experience: (1) gains in disciplinary knowledge; (2) intercultural competence; and (3) social growth. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)