Advising for Education Abroad

UWRF offers a plethora of education abroad opportunities for students, and the sheer number of choices can sometimes be overwhelming. Students often look to their academic advisers to help them make the best choice for incorporating an education abroad experience into their time at UWRF. How can you help your advisees research and select an education abroad program that best supports their personal and academic needs? 

• Start by visiting the Office of International Education's education abroad webpage. This page is the best starting point to find out which programs are offered, how much they cost, and what academic components they contain. The page also contains other resources for students that may help them explore their options. 
• Talk to your advisees and encourage them to think about adding an education abroad experience to their academic career. Here are some topics to talk about from the perspective of your role as their academic adviser:
  • Why should your students study abroad? How will this experience directly impact their chosen field of study or contribute to personal growth?
  • When is the best time for your students to study abroad (i.e., do they have sequential courses or other requirements that would negate a certain time frame in their course of study? Best to go sophomore year? Junior year? Senior year? Spring/fall semester? Multiple options?)
  • Are there major classes that can be taken abroad and transferred back, or would it be better for your students to stick to general education requirements? Conversely, are there courses that cannot be taken anywhere but at UWRF?
  • Will faculty from your department participate in the Experience Scotland, Semester Abroad: Europe, or International Traveling Classroom programs? Develop a faculty-led short-term program? When?
  • Can your students complete a semester's worth (12 credits) of undergraduate research, independent study, and/or an internship and apply it toward their major/minor requirements? (In other words, would the Semester Abroad: Europe program be a good fit?)
  • Are there any other considerations (accreditation, licensure requirements, similar accreditations in other countries, etc.) that would guide your students toward the best possible education abroad programs?
• Are your students worried about the cost of the program? The Office of International Education and our faculty and staff program leaders work hard to create high-impact education abroad programming that is also conservatively priced, but we understand that any added expense can be daunting for students to consider. That said, many of UWRF's education abroad programs are more affordable than one would think. Please encourage your advisees to speak with a Financial Aid counselor to see what options are available to them and to check our Paying for Education Abroad webpage for additional funding sources. The main message in regards to cost is to encourage them to explore their options before they definitively say, "no, I can't afford it."

Want to know more? We'd be happy to speak with you at any time. Please contact or stop by the Office of International Education in 287 Rodli Hall to chat with one of our professional staff.