Taking the right courses on your home campus before you leave can greatly affect both your experience abroad and your return to campus afterwards. If you are able to choose classes before you leave, be sure to familiarize yourself with your academic requirements and available classes at your home university.

Language Courses

If you don’t have any knowledge of your host country’s language, getting a little under your belt is a good idea. Knowing the basics of the language will ease your acclimation and make the more unfamiliar parts of the culture more enjoyable.

Even if you have studied the language previously, you can benefit from taking further courses. Having a better language ability will allow you to place into the higher levels, opening the door to a wider range of elective and extra-curricular opportunities.

Core Requirements

You won’t be able to take that mandatory Interpersonal Communication class while abroad, but with a little planning you will have no trouble ensuring that you fulfill your home school’s requirements for graduation on time. As soon as you decide to study abroad, plan ahead with the following steps:

Familiarize yourself with your home school’s graduation requirements.
Create a list of requirements that you have yet to fulfill.
Consult your course catalog and determine which requirements you need to finish before you leave, and which you can fulfill when you return.

Completing Your Major

If you are a language major, going abroad is an ideal way to speed up the process of fulfilling your major’s requirements. In addition to confirming that the courses you take abroad will transfer credit back to your home school, check with your advisor that the classes can also count towards your major requirement.

If you are not a language major, you may benefit from a little planning to ensure a smooth transition when you return from abroad. Learn and understand your major’s requirements, and have a plan for completing the courses before and after your study abroad experience. You will also want to consult with your advisor to find ways your study abroad experience can complement your major.