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The process of selecting a study abroad program is similar to selecting your major or minor.

• Begin researching study abroad options by visiting the Office for Study Abroad and seaching progams online at least 6 - 9 months before you go overseas.
• Even better: discuss your desire to study abroad with your academic advisor as early as your first year on campus, so that you can plan accordingly. It is never too early to start this process.
• Set some goals. There is probably no such thing as a perfectly designed study abroad program for Business majors. Rather, there are many good study abroad options, and the best one for you depends on what you want.
• Prioritize your goals. Consider your long-term academic and professional goals, as well as your on-campus degree requirements. Consider whether a short-term program or a semester/academic year program will help you achieve your goals.
• Prepare academically. You may need to complete some major requirements here on campus before you go abroad, or take prerequisite courses for your chosen program. With proper planning, study abroad can help you prepare for your professional life after college.

Office for Study Abroad

The Office for Study Abroad (OfSA) website contains descriptions of over 75 study abroad programs coordinated or sponsored by the UI. The OfSA Resource Room contains printed information about these programs and about hundreds of others the world over, offered by other U.S. colleges and universities as well as foreign universities. Friendly peer advisors (returned study abroad students) are ready to help you understand how to use the materials, and can give you some advice to get you started. Once you have spent a little time researching possibilities in the Resource Room, you can schedule an appointment to meet with a member of the professional advising staff to go into specifics about study abroad options.

Resource Room

Visiting the Resource Room is one of the first steps you need to take in your search of the perfect program. Here we have shelves of information on studying abroad, internships, work and volunteer programs abroad. We also have computers that are available to look up webpages and/or email other universities' programs.

The office is staffed by peer advisors who are students that have previously studied abroad. You can ask them questions about specific programs, travel, as well as any other general questions you might have about the study abroad experience.

The resource room is located at 1111 University Capitol Centre and is open Monday-Friday from 9-12am and 1-4pm. No appointments are necessary.

Tel. (319) 335-0353

Peer advisors

The Office for Study Abroad Resource Room is currently staffed by Peer advisors who have studied abroad in China (Drew), Spain (Brett), Chile (Janice), Brazil (Brett), Wales (John), Sweden (Ingrid), Costa Rica (Gumbo) and India (Gumbo, Ingrid and Janice).

Peer advisors staff our resource room, talk with students interested in studying anywhere abroad, make presentations to interested groups, help maintain our website, and generally pitch in. To contact the Peer advisors, please feel free to e-mail them at study-abroad@uiowa.edu.

Already studied abroad? Become a Peer advisor!.

Online Programs Database

Be sure to search study abroad programs online

Begin Planning... Early

You will have more choices and more flexibility if you integrate a study abroad experience into your academic planning and advising from the moment you arrive on campus. At a minimum, try to allow 6 – 9 months before you intend to go overseas to research and select your program.

Degree Evaluation

The best place to start your planning is your degree evaluation, available on ISIS. You have to know where you stand in order to decide where to go next. The Office for Study Abroad produces an Academic Credits Worksheet that can help you with this process.

• What requirements for you major(s) have you already completed?
• Do you still have General Education Requirements to complete? What about elective credit?
• What requirements will be finished by the time you study abroad?
• Are there major courses that you must complete while you are overseas in order to graduate on time?

A good way to approach this exercise is to draw up academic plans for the next two semesters, listing the classes you would be taking here in Iowa City if you were not going to study abroad. Then, figure out how much “wiggle room” you have: are certain classes in your academic plan pre-requisites for classes you have to take later, or can you substitute some classes here and there?

Generally speaking, the longer you stay abroad, the more you will learn – about yourself, about the country where you are living, about your academic field – but for academic and financial reasons, not everyone is able to devote a semester or academic year to overseas study. If a semester or year isn’t possible for you, consider a summer program or internship.

Once you have determined which classes must be completed while abroad, you are ready to begin searching for a program that meets your academic and personal needs. There are three excellent resources to help you do that.

IIE Passport

IIE Passport is an on-line database of study abroad programs offered by U.S. colleges and universities as well as foreign universities. You can use the search engine to find study abroad programs in your major field and in the location you would like to study. Printed directories of IIE Passport also are available for browsing in the OfSA Resource Room. Discovering potential programs is just a start, however; you have to do some digging to determine whether the courses offered by the program are available during the time you want to go abroad, and whether they can be approved for transfer credit by the Tippee College of Business.

Credit Approval Form

Once you have done your homework and consulted with a professional advisor in the Office for Study Abroad about program options, you can apply to the program of your choice. Simultaneously, you will obtain a “Credit Approval Form” from your study abroad advisor and complete it with your advisor in the UPO. The Credit Approval Form lists courses you propose to take overseas and approvals by the UPO. It represents a “learning agreement” and is used by the Office for Study Abroad to transfer your credit from your study abroad program back to the UI. In addition to your academic credit, the Credit Approval Form is critical when it comes to applying financial aid to the costs of study abroad. Don’t omit this critical step!

What do I do after I have selected a program?

Make an appointment with your academic and study abroad advisors for an application and help with financial, academic and travel planning.

Also, begin considering and searching for extracurricular activities in which your could participate while abroad. Look for chances to try new sports and activities. Have you always wanted to go rock-climbing, do more hiking, or join a choir? Studying abroad might just be your chance!