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Study Abroad for Engineering Students
Deciding what courses to take
Take Engineering courses abroad: There are students who want a study abroad experience that offers engineering coursework.
Take Gen. Ed. courses abroad: There are students who want a study abroad exprience that offers General Education (GE) coursework. And there are still others who look to do BOTH!
Tip: Want to study abroad your first summer at UC San Diego? UC San Diego's Global Seminars is a great option for engineering students who want to satisfy G.E.s and other UCSD-specific requirements (like the DEI requirement) as early as the summer after their first year.
Take technical electives abroad: Students may wish to find courses that can satisfy their Technical/Breadth electives. These may be easier to get accepted, and allows you to potentially study an engineering concept/course unique to the study abroad location.
Take courses in English (or another language) abroad: When researching courses, make sure that they are taught in English... Unless of course you are looking to study abroad in another language!
Get advised: Always be sure to discuss courses you intend to take abroad with your engineering advisor! Provide course descriptions: courses must have enough detail to allow for your engineering advisor to properly assess.
Deciding when to study abroad
Study in the summer: Summer is the most popular time for engineering students to study abroad. The upside to summer = it will not interfere with engineering course planning during the year. The downside = summer programs are shorter in duration and may have more limited options.
Study abroad during the academic year: A Fall program option is second to summer in popularity. That's because many universities around the world work on the semester system, meaning that usually Fall Semester = end of our summer + Fall Quarter. Spring Semester = Winter Quarter + Spring Quarter. While there are exceptions to this rule, Fall usually means being away one quarter while Spring covers two.
Mid-Point: Many engineering students study abroad during their third (Junior) year, though others may go as early as their first summer or during their second year, and as late as their final Quarter or Summer.
Paid internship.... or..... Study Abroad?: More senior engineering majors may find it harder to choose between study abroad and the prospect of a paid internship back home, so try to plan your timing early enough to maximize all of your opportunities!
Searching for courses
Search By Department or College (link below): Look up programs that were previously attended by students in your engineering major. (Note: some of the listed programs may not be engineering-focused programs, but rather G.E.-focused programs that engineering students took abroad.)
Campus Credit Database (link below): UCEAP's database of courses taken by UCSD students participating on UCEAP, and how those courses have been applied back to UC San Diego's academic departments and colleges.
UCEAP Course Catalog: (link below): UCEAP's database of courses taken by all UC students participating on UCEAP.
Use the UCEAP Academics Tab: To find ALL available courses on any UCEAP program, check out the Academics Tab. On UCEAP's website, each program is listed with a series of tabs. The Academics tab contains important credit and course information, including links to all available courses, often found through the host partner's university website.
JSOE Engineering Study Abroad Pages
Bioengineering Study Abroad page.
CSE Study Abroad page (includes list of previous courses).
ECE Study Abroad page (includes list of previous courses).
MAE Study Abroad Page (includes list of previous courses).
NanoEngineering Study Abroad page.
Programs Offering Engineering
Engineering Opportunities Through UCEAP
Computer Science Abroad
Over 70 UCEAP programs featuring Computer Science Abroad.
Engineering Summer Internships with UC Davis
Summer internship placements in large and small companies in a variety of engineering fields. Program is run through UC Davis.
Engineering-focused programs from non-UC providers
Students are allowed to participate on non-UC programs, where the type of credit earned is transfer credit. Transfer credit courses may be applied toward academic requirements, but the credit sits on a separate transcript.
Non-UC options offer alternative experiences and a wide choice of options and price points, and can be more affordable for Out-of-State tuition-paying students compared to potential non-resident fees that UC-based programs may sometimes charge.
Here are a few recommended non-UC programs with engineering options:
DIS Engineering
Consider DIS Stockholm's Engineering program.
Watch a Video on Engineering at DIS Stockholm & Check out DIS Engineering Blog
IFSA Engineering
Study abroad as an engineering, computer science, or math major through IFSA.
Preparing for your JSOE engineering advising appointment
Your engineering advisors at Jacobs School of Engineering must approve any engineering coursework that you take abroad. (Your College’s advisors must approve any General Education courses you take abroad.) To prepare for your advising appointment with your engineering advisor, be sure to do the following:
- Start with Study Abroad. Go over the basics in a Get Started session, meet with a Study Abroad advisor to discuss your interests, etc. Once you find your potential program, and have researched and collected some possible courses to take, you will be ready to approach your engineering advisors for discussion.
- Provide your engineering advisor with a list of engineering courses that you propose to take abroad, accompanied with detailed descriptions of the courses' content (e.g. a syllabus or detailed course description). Try to include a few extra course options as back-ups.
- Make sure all course details are in English, if possible.
- Maintain regular communication with your advisors in case any changes to your courses come up. If necessary, you can communicate via the VAC even while you are abroad.
- If necessary, your advisors should also discuss with you any alterations that you may need to make to your academic plans, including rearranging course schedules to accommodate your study abroad.
Study Abroad in Engineering Webinar
An IDEA Center WISE Session. How to Study Abroad as an Engineering Student at UC San Diego.
