Study Abroad - Programs
Offered by Other Institutions

• Finding Programs
• Advisement
• Transfer Credit #1
• Transfer Credit #2
• Leave of Absence
• Financial Aid and Scholarships
• Registration and Housing
• Forwarding UD e-mail

• Finding Programs: After you've investigated the wide array of programs that UD offers, you still might not find what you're looking for. If that's the case, you will have to go outside the University to find a study abroad program that meets your needs.

  Seeking your own study abroad program through another school can be an overwhelming task. There are many sources you can use to find out about programs, but some of the most common are:

  • www.goabroad.com
  • www.studyabroad.com
  • www.iiepassport.org
  • www.planetedu.com
  • www.petersons.com
  (Note that UD does not endorse these or any other search engines.)

  Narrow down your search by deciding on where you'd like to study and during what term (spring or fall semester, summer, full academic year, or "intersession", which can have lots of meanings-make sure you check the program start and end dates!) Then look closely at the details of each program and decide which one meets your needs best. Cost and course offerings are particularly important things to consider. You may also want to contact the program provider and ask if they can refer you to former participants; that way, you can learn about the program from a student's perspective.
  
  

• Advisement: When it comes to courses, you should involve your UD academic advisor. Make sure that your advisor agrees that the courses you want to take abroad will help you progress towards your degree.
  
  
• Transfer credit #1: Once you and your advisor have agreed on a program that works for you, you should ask a staff member in the Registrars area of the Student Services Building to verify that UD will accept credit from the program you are applying to. If you are going through a program run by a well-known American college or university (such as Arcadia, Rutgers, Butler, or Syracuse), there should be no question that UD will accept the transfer credit. However, sometimes study abroad programs are sponsored by unknown schools or "providers" that are not accredited institutions at all. For your own protection, check with Student Services.
  
  
• Transfer credit #2: While at Student Services, pick up a "Transfer Credit/Post Admission" form. The TCPA form requires you to list all the courses that you might choose to take abroad, and to obtain a list of UD course equivalencies from the appropriate UD departments. For example, if you plan to take courses in political science, history, and geography on Arcadia's semester program in Australia, then you will need to take the TCPA form and the course descriptions from Arcadia to the UD departments of Political Science, History, and Geography and ask that the appropriate individuals sign off on the UD course equivalencies. The TCPA form also requires that you obtain signatures from your academic dean and from an administrator in the Center for International Studies.
  
  You need to collect signatures before you make a final commitment to the non-UD program. Give yourself plenty of time for this process. Sometimes it can take weeks to track everyone down, and they may ask you to obtain more information about the courses offered on your program, which can delay the process even further.
  
  Once you've collected all the signatures on the TCPA, deliver it to Student Services. The Registrars office will keep it on file while you are gone. After your study abroad program is over, have an original transcript of the courses you completed sent to UD. The Registrars office will match up the courses on the abroad transcript with the ones approved on your TCPA form and post them to your UD transcript. Note that the grades you earn abroad will not become part of your UD gpa, although they will appear on your transcript. The credits, if approved, will count towards your UD degree. You must earn at least a grade of C in order for your course credits to transfer back to UD.
  
  
• Leave of absence: There is a place on the TCPA form where you can indicate that you're requesting a leave of absence. If you plan on being away from UD for a semester or more, you should do this.
  
  
• Financial aid and scholarships: If you receive any type of financial aid or scholarship, you should meet with a staff member in the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to find out 1) if any of this money is transportable to your non-UD study abroad program, and 2) if it isn't, whether the money will be there for you when you return to UD. If some of your aid comes in the form of student loans, you need to make sure that the lending agency knows that you will be a full-time student at another institution. Otherwise they may think that, since you are not at UD, you are no longer a student, and they may expect you to begin paying back your loans.
  
  
• Registration and housing: Finally, if you are going to be away from campus for a semester or more, make sure you make note of dates for pre-registration for the following UD semester so you can take care of that online from abroad. If you want to live on campus when you get back, be sure to make arrangements with the Housing Assignment Services office before you leave.
  
  
• Forwarding UD e-mail: When studying abroad on a non-UD program (i.e. while not enrolled at UD), you will not be able to log on to your UD e-mail account. In order to continue receiving e-mail sent to your UD account, you can forward your UD e-mail to another address. See instructions at: http://www.udel.edu/help/udelacct.html#forwarding