Advising for Education Abroad
Faculty play a crucial role in promoting and supporting education abroad as an important part of engineering students’ studies at Penn State and planning for their professional career. Global Penn State offers additional resources on advising students interested in education abroad.
Education Abroad Advising Support Through Global Engineering Engagement and Education Abroad
The Coordinator of International Experiences in Global Engineering Engagement provides support to students through the selection and preparation for studying abroad and facilitates support for students upon reentry from education abroad.
Engineering students who have an initial interest in studying abroad should first meet with a Global Engineering Fellow to learn more about general program options, funding, and the application process. Following the general advising session, students can schedule an appointment with staff in Global Engineering Engagement. Global Engineering Engagement staff and Global Programs Education Abroad advisers help students to select the appropriate program for their academic and personal goals and help students through the processes and logistics related to applying to, planning for, and returning from an experience abroad.
Completing a Recommendation for a Study Abroad Applicant
Submitting a recommendation for a student applying to study abroad is submitted via an online system. The faculty recommender will receive an email to access a form that takes about ten minutes to complete. The form will include specific questions regarding the student’s readiness to go abroad. Faculty members and academic advisers are ideal choices as references because they are most familiar with a student’s academic needs and abilities. The comments provided are considered carefully when placing a student on the appropriate program.
Courses Abroad and the Course Equivalency Process
Faculty members and academic advisers help students plan for courses to take while abroad. The Education Abroad website offers a simple search tool to find information for each program abroad, including academic content and previous course equivalencies. The course listing can be found under the academics tab on each program site brochure. The program site brochure also has a link to a historical course list showing courses taken abroad that have already been granted Penn State course equivalencies.
Students should meet with their faculty advisers to discuss course equivalencies. Once a student has already applied to their program of choice, Global Engineering Engagement advising staff can help students submit a course equivalency request. Internships and special cases will require additional steps. The Education Abroad site provides a Course Equivalency Process resource to guide faculty through the online program to manage assigning course equivalencies.
