Study Abroad Information for Academic Advisors
Assisting Students to Study Abroad
A number of students are interested in spending some of their academic experience abroad. Many are interested in receiving academic credit. Students may go abroad to study (short or long term), intern, work or engage in service learning. The International Services Office provides information sessions, information tables, study abroad fairs, and a resource library available to all students to assist them in learning about and pursuing study abroad. We also provide individual consultation and assistance to students with their program selection, application and enrollment in study abroad programs.
Generally speaking, students tend to study abroad almost any time after completing their freshman year. Many programs will not accept a student who is only a freshman, but some programs may. Also, waiting until the final one or two semesters of a student's degree program, may limit the student's options to transfer credits back to FGCU. However, internships in the later semesters may be good options and fit well with the degree program. Most programs also require students to be in good academic standing. Please refer any interested students to our website or encourage them to contact us directly in 223 McTarnaghan Hall. We also have a general Study Abroad brochure that may be useful to Academic Advisors in promoting this opportunity to students. Please contact us if you would like copies sent to your office.
Study Abroad Course Transfer Equivalency Approval Process
Students who desire academic credit for study abroad need to visit with their academic advisors, prior to participating in the program, to determine whether or not courses of the study abroad program are transferable to FGCU. In order to ensure that credits are pre-determined for transferring to FGCU, the academic advisor must approve the courses by completing the Study Abroad Course Transfer Equivalency Form: (Click here) and return it to the student who will submit it to the International Services Office.
Your student advisee should provide you with a list of the potential courses, course descriptions and where possible, information on accreditation of the sponsoring school. Advisors should indicate the FGCU courses that are equivalent to the student's anticipated study abroad courses, and the equivalent credit hours. Students may be granted transfer credit as electives or required courses and this should be noted on the form. In some cases students may make an urgent request for course transfer approval once they are abroad when their selected courses are no longer available.
After the student has completed the study abroad course, the sponsoring agency or institution will forward transcripts to FGCU. Through the articulation process, the study abroad credits are then posted to the student's FGCU record.
