Study Abroad

Yes! During the 2022/2023 academic year, summer ’23 & Maymester ‘23, 129 Engineering students studied abroad on VU-approved programs.  There are 125 engineering students abroad in Spring 2024. VUSE is committed to helping you experience the world while keeping you on track towards your degree!

Learning in another culture provides unique opportunities and challenges to grow and broaden intellectually, personally, and professionally. College is an ideal time to experience different cultures, gain language skills, and explore your own interests and abilities.

You can study engineering abroad at more than 25 universities in 12 countries/regions. Check out this page to see where you can study abroad and in particular which programs are the best fit for your major.

Most VUSE students study abroad during a semester of their junior year, though you may go abroad any time after the freshman year. There is a very good program specifically for spring of the sophomore year and many popular Maymester and summer programs too. Note that senior design requires all bachelor of engineering students (BME, ChE, CE, CompE, ECE, EE, Environmental, and ME) and bachelor of science (ES) to be on campus the entire senior year.

VUSE students are not allowed to study abroad in the final year. Computer Science students can request special exemption to this rule. Email vuse-studentsuccess@vanderbilt.edu.

The earlier the better! Since applications are typically due very early in the semester preceding the planned study abroad semester and since you may need to make adjustments to the courses you take now to facilitate study abroad, it is best to start planning about a year in advance. At the same time, it is sometimes possible that last minute planning will still yield a viable study abroad plan.

Courses have to be evaluated for credit towards your degree. Examine the Study Abroad course lists in YES to see what classes at your intended host institution have already been evaluated and how they will count toward your degree. If you are interested in a class that has not already been evaluated, use the “Course Evaluation Request” process linked in YES to get the class evaluated. It is really important that you supply as much detail as possible including the level of the class, its prerequisites, a syllabus, and the amount of time spent in class. Note that the approval process typically requires many weeks. The more complete your course evaluation request, typically the faster the response time is.

Here are the steps you need to follow to appeal for a non-equivalent study abroad credit to count towards the Liberal Arts Core:

1. Obtain the syllabus for the course and take a screenshot of the evaluation.
2. Ask for the advice from the Department. You will need to contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) in that department to ask them if they would support a variance for the course to count as an Engineering Liberal Arts Core (LAC).
3. If the DUS supports this non-equivalent course counting towards our LAC requirements, our office then sends this support to the DUS in your primary major department. The DUS usually approves if they see the Liberal Arts Core department would support it.
4. Finally, we would submit a Degree Audit correction to allow this course to count in the LAC.

It is important to note that students are not guaranteed by our partners to be placed in their top-choice courses. Similar to registering for courses at Vanderbilt, availability for certain courses may be limited, and we encourage all students planning to study abroad to work with their Academic Advisor to plan for alternative course options should they not be admitted into their first-choice selections. Generally speaking, students should identify at least one back-up course for each course they hope to take abroad.

All Vanderbilt-approved programs administered through GEO receive Study Abroad/Away Credit. Study Abroad/Away Credit does not count toward your cumulative Vanderbilt GPA. However, grades earned during study abroad will be converted (where necessary) from the original grading system and reported on your Vanderbilt transcript. Study Abroad/Away Credit courses earn credit when you score the equivalent of a D or better, and they may fulfill major, minor, and/or graduation requirements. Students are not eligible to earn Dean’s List honors for the semester in which they study abroad. You are responsible for making sure that all the courses you plan to take abroad have been evaluated for VU credit. Study Abroad/Away Credit counts toward Vanderbilt’s residency requirement, and is separate from transfer credit. Courses earning Study Abroad/Away Credit will not count toward transfer credit limits. For more information - https://www.vanderbilt.edu/geo/advising/academics/ 

While there is a wide variety of teaching styles around the world, in general outside the U.S. you can expect that you will have a greater level of responsibility for your learning. You are likely to have fewer formative assessment activities throughout the term contributing to your grades and a corresponding greater emphasis on summative assessments like final exams. While this gives you more flexibility throughout the semester, it does mean that you will need to be self-disciplined and studious in order to succeed in your classes.

There is no language prerequisite for our engineering study abroad programs; classes are taught in English. For those non-engineering programs for which a foreign language is a prerequisite, the requirement is usually four semesters or more of college language study or the equivalent fluency in that language since all coursework, including lectures, papers, and exams, is conducted in the language of the host country.

All participating students must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.7. However, many programs require at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Students who study abroad must also have academic, financial, and disciplinary clearance. To participate, students must not be on any sort of probation from the time of application THROUGH the end date of the study abroad program.

Students who have had a lapse of judgment that led to probation any time between the time of application and the end of the proposed study abroad term are not ready to serve as ambassadors of Vanderbilt abroad. Also, host institutions and program providers do not want the risk of taking a student who is or who has recently been on probation. Once you are off probation, you are welcome to submit an application to study abroad.

You will make your own air/ground transportation plans. Some program providers will assist with ground transportation from the airport to the campus. These costs are not included in the program fee.

Housing arrangements for students enrolled in Vanderbilt-approved study abroad programs vary according to the local provider. Vanderbilt requires students to reside in program-provided housing where available, for issues of program design, safety and security. Most Vanderbilt-approved programs offer such arrangements, and many offer several options from which to choose. Students enrolled in Vanderbilt-approved programs may seek independent living arrangements only where program-provided housing is unavailable.

We encourage all students to choose the housing options that allow them to interact most intensively with their host societies.

All non-exchange programs feature on-site Resident Directors. Resident Directors help the students in all areas from academic counseling to dealing with culture shock and are available 24 hours a day for students abroad. All exchange programs have international staff available to provide similar support though they might not have someone on call 24/7.

Exchange programs are based on specific agreements between a host institution and VUSE and do not involve a program provider such as CIEE, Butler-IFSA, etc. With exchanges, students at each institution study at the other institution. Students pay tuition at their home institution and then receive a tuition scholarship at the host institution. Instead of paying a program provider to arrange housing, the student works directly with the host institution to arrange housing. Exchange students pay fees other than tuition directly to the host institution.

Visit GEO's “Costs” page for more information and to access a cost calculator that will give you estimates specific to your program(s) of interest. You should take only courses that will transfer back as part of your individual graduation requirements, so no credit is lost. Visit the Global Education Office for more information or speak with your financial aid officer to best understand how to apply your financial aid to study abroad.

Regular financial aid applies to Vanderbilt-approved study abroad programs during the academic year. It does not apply to programs in the summer or to any programs offered outside of GEO. However, there are a number of fellowship programs that can assist with summer study abroad, including the VU Global Summer Fellows program. Click here for info about a variety of funding mechanisms.

DEADLINES: The deadline for most spring semester study abroad programs is generally early September while the deadline for most fall semester study abroad programs is generally late February. Note that some programs have earlier deadlines such as the National University of Singapore; check the GEO website for each program. Note that some programs, like the GA Tech Lorraine program, use a rolling-admissions approach and typically fill up far before their deadline.

REQUIREMENTS: Applications are completed online through the GEO website and may require submission of additional items. Most applications will ask for personal data, essay or short answers, and professor recommendation(s). Some may ask for passport photos and a photocopy of your passport. See Global Education Office website for the application requirements for each program provider.