6 Steps to Studying Abroad 1 Visit the Office of Study Abroad (OSA)
Browse through the resource library (109 Lippincott) request brochures, view a video, discuss your options with a Peer Advisor and make an appointment with a Program Coordinator.
2 Narrow your options and find out about costs
Meet with your Program Coordinator at the scheduled time.Meet with a Study Abroad Financial Advisor regarding program costs and using your financial aid.
3 Inform yourself
Learn about the country where you wish to study abroad. Talk with exchange students and study abroad returnees or join the Study Abroad Club.
4 Apply
Begin applying for your program of choice the semester before you plan to go. Deadline is March 1 for fall, academic year, and summer and between Sept.1 and Oct.15 for spring Discuss your study abroad plans and courses and have your Academic Advisor's Approval form signed.
5 Submit your application to the OSA before the deadline
6 Orient yourself
Attend the OSA pre-departure orientation for program information and question-and answer sessions with past participants. Read carefully all the information in your orientation packet. Pack your bags!
Letter from the Editor
Dear Jayhawk.
"What are you doing here?" is a question the average tourist doesn't get asked very often. Locals can spot a tourist a mile (or 1.6 km) away and already know the answer to that question.
The main tourist attractions don't always neatly intersect the daily lives of the local population. So, how does one go from being the intruding tourist to an active participant in a foreign culture? Skip the hotels and hostels, set down your belongings, and live there. The tourist doesn't have to figure out the local Laundromat, schedule a doctor's appointment, have intimate knowledge of local politics, get invited to people's homes (or if they do, the offers are creepy), root for the local team, or go through a byzantine enrollment process at the local university.
books as well!
When you perform such "ordinary" tasks on a daily basis, you will meet an incredible variety of people, some of whom will care about your answer to the "What are you doing here?" question. The tourist gets a brief overview of a country from a book, from the author's point of view. The study abroad student can get as many local points of view as there are people playing pool in their local hangout, or living on their dorm floor. The language and opinions may be a bit more "colorful" that the tourist
Each issue of Jayhawks Abroad brings a new group of your peers relating their experiences while abroad. You'll notice that these articles aren't simple travelogues. They recount the excitement of uncovering unexpected gems in the middle of a newly familiar place, or the people that have made a lasting impression on them, or the journey of self-discovery that brings them back to KU with an enhanced view of the world and of themselves. These stories explain each writer's response to the repeated question "What are you doing here", the one that the travelogue-reading tourist never gets asked.
I encourage you to attend the Office of Study Abroad's Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, September 12, from 9:30am to 3:30pm on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union. Find the program that is right for you and get out in the world and experience all it has to offer. Be sure to thank Tim, Brian, Stephanie, James, Bonita, Trisha and Sarah when you return!
Sincerely,
David Wiley
Editor, Jayhawks Abroad
Where can I study?
What can I study?
Study Abroad programs are available in 20 different languages in locations throughout the world. Study in English is widely available, in 25 countries in 5 world areas.
The Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay
How is credit awarded? What about the costs?
Study Abroad participants come from most of the schools of the University. Most students are able to fulfill graduation requirements and maintain progress toward their degrees while studying abroad.A few examples of discipline-specific programs include those for: Architecture, Art and Design, Business, Engineering Environmental Studies, Languages, History,
Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine
Australasia: Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, People's Republic of China, Philippines, Thailand
Middle East: Egypt, Israel, Palestinian-Administered Territories
Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania Tunisia
International Business, Economics, Classics Education, Social Welfare, Humanities.
For most programs, upon return to KU and receipt of transcripts from the host institution abroad, grades are posted for KU equivalent courses on the student's KU transcript. Through the Office of Study Abroad, students remain enrolled at KU, earn resident KU credit, and are awarded grades for credit earned while studying abroad. Students from most disciplines may earn credit to fulfill KU degree requirements.
Program costs vary, but studying abroad does not have to be expensive. For instance, KU exchange agreements with universities in Costa Rica, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Australia, and with the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) provide study abroad opportunities of great value at tuition, room and board costs close to those of staying on the Lawrence campus. Students paying nonresident tuition will find that the cost of study abroad can be less than that of studying on campus. Normally, federal financial aid is applicable to study abroad programs and in most cases KU scholarships and grants may be applied to the study abroad program fee.
Jayhawks Abroad Staff
David Wiley, Outreach Coordinator, OSA e-mail: dwiley@ku.edu Trent Guyer, Jessie Pointer University Daily Kansan
Jayhawks Abroad
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