Education Abroad
Explore Your Study Abroad Options:
Study abroad has become vital for participation in our global community. It can be a life-changing experience for students, and is attractive to many employers. Plan II encourages all students to study abroad, whether for a month, summer, full semester, or more. Texas Global offers a wealth of programs, with something to fit any schedule or degree plan. The earlier you begin looking into study abroad opportunities the better.
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Visit Texas Global's Education Abroad website to learn more and stay informed. You can search programs by country, program length, language of instruction, and area of study. Planning sessions and program specific information sessions are held regularly each semester. (Check out the International Office calendar to explore these opportunities.)
Education abroad programs are categorized in several ways (exchange, affiliated, faculty-led, etc.), so students can find the program type best suited for them. Students can also find resources to help define their goals and fund their abroad experience.
Plan II offers a travel grant fund to help support students with study abroad expenses. Additionally, Plan II has its own study abroad May Term Programs in Costa Rica and Italy, led by experienced Plan II teaching faculty, and which provide academic credit for coursework required for the Plan II Major.
- When can I study abroad?
Plan II students can study abroad as early as the summer after their first year. Second and third year are by far the most common times for Plan II students to study abroad. Occasionally a fourth year student will go abroad, but working out the timing of the Plan II thesis project as well as getting course credits from abroad posted to a student's record in time for graduation can be tricky.
If you want to study abroad during the summer and need to maintain full time enrollment status (e.g., for funding), consider applying for Independent Study and Research (ISR). The cost of ISR status is $600 per semester, including the summer term.
- What Plan II major requirements can I fulfill through a study abroad program?
Courses from study abroad programs are most often used to fulfill the Plan II Non-US History, Plan II Fine Arts/Humanities and Foreign Language requirements. The two Plan II Maymester Programs each award credit for one Junior Seminar course. Tip - keep all course descriptions and syllabi as this documentation may be needed to demonstrate that the content of courses taken abroad are appropriate to fulfill the above requirements.
- Where can I study abroad?
Anywhere in the world with the exception of some locations that present heightened health and safety risks, visit the UT Travel Policy to Restricted Regions to learn more.
- How can I pay for study abroad?
There is a great deal of funding available to help students afford to study abroad. The key is to start early, do your research to figure out which funds you are eligible for, when you need to apply, then apply to everything you can. Often students are awarded small amounts from multiple funding sources which add up to take care of a good portion of their study abroad costs. When thinking about eligibility for funds think about your Major (Plan II Honors), your College (Liberal Arts), and your University (UT Austin); if you are pursuing a second Major in Liberal Arts or a dual degree through another College addition to Plan II, you may have access to additional funding through that Major/College. Next, some study abroad funds are specific to a particular study abroad program, type of program (i.e., exchange, semester-long, maymester, faculty-led, internship), geographic location, or may target students who meet a particular demographic criteria (i.e., first generation, hometown). Additional ideas include fundraising, using Financial Aid or taking out a Student Loan.
- Can I intern or volunteer while abroad?
Yes, there are variety of study abroad programs abroad that offer internships or service learning opportunities.
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