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Study Abroad
As part of their program requirements, all Global Studies majors complete a semester-long study abroad program in a location that corresponds to their GS language and cultural area studies. The program abroad must allow students to develop and use their second language and cultural knowledge through coursework in the second language, living with people from the host culture, and/or working with local people. GS majors who have completed their study abroad program often remark on how critical their integration into the local culture was, not only for their second language skills advancement, but also for their cross-cultural understanding and proficiency. Majors also have the option of choosing a program that is located in their major cultural area and that has a thematic focus that corresponds exactly to their major thematic focus. The thematic focus must be clearly a formal option within the program abroad to ensure that students can get the necessary courses for their major. All programs abroad using this option must be approved prior to students' application.
View the Study Abroad Guide for Global Studies Majors.
While abroad, students may take a variety of courses to support their major, and language courses are always encouraged for students who do not have native/near-native proficiency in the host culture language. To be applied toward the major, courses abroad must be taken for credit and grades. Per university policy, students must be enrolled full-time on their programs abroad.
Global and International Studies majors should always check with our advisors prior to applying for a study abroad program to ensure that the program abroad will meet the requirement and their specific needs for their major.
Please see study abroad details for Global Studies and International Studies majors to determine how credit taken during study abroad can be applied towards your major requirements.
The Study Abroad Process
Students should begin study abroad research early in their college career, even during the first year, to gain familiarity with deadlines and scholarship opportunities. Campus resources for study abroad research include:
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Study Abroad Office
- National and International Scholarships Program
Generally, Global Studies students complete their required semester abroad during their junior or even sophomore year, usually when they have the basic foreign language proficiency necessary to have integrative experiences locally. Some students have studied abroad during their senior year, but this is usually not ideal for a final year synthesis or capstone experience so critical for this interdisciplinary program. In addition, study abroad credit can sometimes take several months to process, forcing students to defer graduation and return to campus to finalize post-program paperwork. All students must be on the Illinois campus for one year prior to their semester program abroad. Exceptions should be discussed with a GS advisor and must be petitioned to Dean Rich in the LAS Student Service Office, 270 Lincoln Hall. There is no such residency requirement for GLBL 298 faculty-led courses abroad.
Majors must get their study abroad program approved by a GS advisor prior to submitting their application and should have their Major Plan of Study completed prior to that time. Without such approval, the program cannot guarantee that the program abroad will meet the major requirement. Upon acceptance into a study abroad program, majors must have their intended study abroad coursework approved by the relevant department. For instance, the French Department approves French courses and the Political Science Department approves political science courses. The Study Abroad Office provides further description of the course approval process.
In some cases, students will not have sufficient course information to complete approvals before they leave for their term abroad. However, even in such instances, they should meet with departmental advisors to discuss how each department approves courses. Many departments have very rigid standards of what constitutes a particular course level, and students should be aware of these expectations prior to studying abroad. Find Study Abroad 299 Departmental Advisors here.
Once courses are approved by the departments, students must then have the courses approved by a Global Studies academic advisor. The advisor will not sign off on required Course Approval paperwork until the student has completed a Major Plan of Study. Once students arrive at the study abroad site, they should contact their GS advisor if they are not able to take the courses that were pre-approved and should indicate what their course options are at that time.
Upon return to Illinois, students will not have their study abroad coursework appear on their transcript until all course approvals have been properly completed, the University of Illinois has the student's transcript from the host institution, and the grades and credit have been translated. This process usually takes several weeks, and in some cases far longer.
