Study Abroad

Contact: Staff, International Programs

Office: William S. Clark International Center Phone: 545-2710

E-mail: abroad@ipo.umass.edu

Web site: www.umass.edu/ipo/

The Amherst campus offers a wide variety of international exchange and overseas study programs. The office may be consulted for specific information on these and other overseas study opportunities. Information on summer programs is also given in the bulletin of the Summer Session. Under exceptional circumstances, programs listed below may be suspended due to conditions in the host country.

Study Abroad Credit

Many University departments encourage their majors to study abroad. Often students may fulfill requirements for the major overseas. Credits earned abroad may also be approved for General Education or minor requirements. For further information consult with the specific departments and International Programs.

Financial Aid for Study Abroad

Students retain normal eligibility for financial aid when participating in a program of study abroad which is approved for transfer of credit toward their University of Massachusetts degree. In addition, some programs offer financial assistance, including special incentive awards for Third World programs.

Locations Throughout the World

The University offers many opportunities for study in what may be considered "non-traditional" locations. Given that four-fifths of the world's peoples live in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, or the nations and territories of the South Pacific, students are encouraged to explore options in regions less commonly traveled by U.S. undergraduates. Opportunities exist for study in virtually all regions of the world. For a comprehensive listing of academic program options, both University Exchanges and others, visit International Programs.

Academic Exchanges in Britain

Reciprocal exchanges for the full academic year or a semester allow undergraduates in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering, as well as many other professional fields, to study in Great Britain. Participating institutions are the universities of East Anglia, Hull, Kent, Lancaster, Leeds, Manchester, Stirling, Sussex, Warwick, the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Oxford Brookes University, Queen Margaret University College (Edinburgh), Royal Holloway College (London), University College (London) and the University of Wales, Swansea. Some locations are available only for the full year. Special single semester/term programs exist at Oxford Brookes University and the University of Stirling (fall or spring) and the University of Wales, Swansea (spring only). One student per year may be selected to study at Trinity College, Oxford. The London Internship Program offers six-credit internships in many fields plus coursework.

East Asian Exchanges

Reciprocal exchanges allow study of Chinese language and culture in the People's Republic of China and in Taiwan. In China students attend Fudan University in Shanghai, Shaanxi Teachers University in Xi'an or Chinese University of Hong Kong. In Taiwan students attend Tunghai University in Taichung. Students can attend for a year or a semester.

The University has exchange programs in Japan with Hokkaido University (Sapporo), Nanzan University (Nagoya), International Christian University (Tokyo), Kwansei Gakuin University (Nishinomiya), Sophia University (Tokyo), Tsuda College (Tokyo), and Tsukuba University (Tsukuba). Students may enroll in a wide variety of academic subjects, in addition to Japanese language and literature courses at every level. Advanced students of Japanese may apply to the Japanese Studies Program at Hokkaido University. Students are encouraged to apply for the full year, but some semester options are available.

A reciprocal exchange offers the opportunity for study in the Republic of Korea at Yonsei University and Sejong University in Seoul. Course work in English focuses on Korean language and culture and Asian Studies. Other university classes taught in Korean are also available. Students may attend for a semester or a full academic year.

Baden-W¸rttemberg Program

The University of Massachusetts offers an academic year/semester program at the universities of the state of Baden-W¸rttemberg, Germany. Students in the program enroll in regular university courses at one of the nine Baden-W¸rttemberg institutions: Freiburg, Heidelberg, T¸bingen, Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Konstanz, or Ulm. A University faculty member serves as Resident Director at the program's office in Freiburg. Courses in all majors (except studio art and instrumental/voice instruction) are available to undergraduate and graduate students. Applicants should have two years of college-level German or equivalent when the program begins, if they plan to enroll in regular university courses taught in German.

Opportunities exist for students with less than two years of German. Interested students should inquire at International Programs. The program also offers work placements with German or international firms.

French Studies in Paris

The Amherst and Boston campuses of the University of Massachusetts sponsor an academic year/semester in France, featuring residence in Paris. College students of widely varied interests can enhance their knowledge of French language and culture while taking courses in their major in a French institution of higher education. Host institutions include the UniversitÈ de Paris VII, Institut des Sciences Politiques, Institut Catholique, and UniversitÈ Dauphine. The program begins in mid-September with a two-week orientation. Students may live in rented rooms or a dormitory at the CitÈ universitaire. The program offers excursions to acquaint students with sites of historical and cultural interest. Applicants should have completed two years of college French or equivalent when the program begins with a cumulative average of 3.0.

Italian Studies in Siena

The University offers a spring semester program of study in Italian language and culture that enables students to receive up to 15 undergraduate credits in Italian. The curriculum consists of daily intensive Italian language classes at every level at the Universitý per Stranieri di Siena. Classes on art, literature, folklore culture, etc. are also offered. Students share apartments in Siena that are provided by the program. Some knowledge of Italian is required.

Russian and East European Exchanges

Opportunities for study during the summer, semester, and year are available through exchanges with the American University in Bulgaria, Janus Pannonius University, Pecs (Hungary), Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan (Poland), and St. Petersburg State Technical University (Russia). The programs of study include language, as well as courses in history, culture, politics, business, and many other subjects offered in English.

South Africa Exchange Program

Reciprocal exchanges offer both undergraduates and graduates the opportunity to enroll directly for up to one full academic year at the universities of Cape Town and Fort Hare. In addition to regular course work, all students are expected to do independent study while in South Africa. The academic calendar runs from February to December.

Academic Exchanges in Spain and Latin America

The University offers various opportunities for study in the Spanish-speaking world. Programs in Spain include the fall semester program in Granada for students with little or no previous Spanish language study. Students can satisfy the foreign language requirement and take courses in conversation and culture for a total of 15 credits. The spring semester Oviedo program is designed for students in the early stages of their major or minor. Students can earn up to 15 credits at the Universidad de Oviedo in such courses as Spanish grammar, civilization, literature, and culture. Students may also participate in the summer exchange program in Salamanca.

The exchange program with the Universidad de los Andes in Bogot·, Colombia offers students the chance to directly enroll with native students in a variety of departments and classes. Two exchanges are also offered in Mexico. The Instituto TecnolÛgico y de Estudios Superiores do Monterrey (ITESM) offers the opportunity to enroll at one of its 29 campuses in regular courses or in courses for foreign students at selected campuses. The Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) offers programs for foreign students in Mexico City or Taxco. All of these exchanges offer the opportunity for students to spend a full year or an academic semester abroad. UNAM also offers summer opportunities.

During January Intersession a three-week program is offered in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Either the fourth semester of the Spanish language requirement or Advanced Conversational Spanish may be completed on this program.

Other University of Massachusetts Programs Abroad

Other academic year programs for study abroad include exchanges with the universities of Adelaide, Queensland, and Wollongong, Deakin University and Southern Cross University (Australia), Carleton University, Ottawa (Canada), the universities of QuÈbec province (Canada), Denmark's International Study Program and the University of Copenhagen, American University in Cairo (Egypt), CIEE at the University of Ghana, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (India), Trinity College, Dublin, the University of Limerick, University College, Galway, and University College, Cork (Ireland), the University of Ulster (Northern Ireland), the University of Leiden and the Haarlem Business School (The Netherlands), University of Link–ping and Uppsala University (Sweden), and the Interpreter's School of Z¸rich (Switzerland).

Information and counseling on non-University of Massachusetts programs is available from International Programs.

Summer Programs

Information about summer programs is available from International Programs. Summer overseas study programs are conducted in Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria), Oxford (England), Hokkaido (Japan) in alternate summers, Mexico, Pecs (Hungary), Salamanca (Spain), and Tunghai (Taiwan). Special summer programs are offered in art in France and Italy (in alternate summers), and in HRTA in Switzerland. Participants can earn 3-6 credits.