You’ve selected your program! Now what?

Financial

As soon as you’ve been accepted into a study abroad program, you need to schedule an appointment in the Education Abroad office to fill out a Financial Aid Study Abroad Budget Sheet, submit any promissory notes or financial paperwork from your program, and discuss scholarships.

EKU will not package or release any financial aid or scholarships until your completed budget sheet (and associated paperwork) has been received, so early submission is very important.

Deadlines for completing Study Abroad Financial documents:

• Studying abroad in Fall: May 1*
• Studying abroad in Winter: October 1*
• Studying abroad in Spring: November 1*
• Studying abroad in Summer: April 1*

*Students who submit the above financial paperwork after the deadline may experience significant delays in receiving financial aid or scholarships.  

If your study abroad program provider has earlier deadlines for paperwork submission, please allow adequate time for EKU offices to process your materials — a minimum of two weeks is recommended.  Every program has unique deadlines and it is the student’s responsibility to keep up with all deadlines and paperwork.

Academic

Once you have been accepted to your program, you will need to speak with your Academic Advisor(s) to go over your progress towards your major(s). Before meeting with your advisor, review your Degree Works audit to determine what type of courses you might want to take abroad.

Bring the following items to the meeting with your Academic Advisor:

• Study abroad handbooks and academic information relevant to your program

• Available courses for your chosen Study Abroad program

• An up-to-date copy of your DegreeWorks audit

• A Study Abroad Course Pre-Approval Form

• A list of questions and concerns you want to discuss, including the types of courses you should take abroad and what courses you should take (and register for) when you return to campus.

Remember, it is also a good idea to stay in contact with your Academic Advisor throughout your Study Abroad planning.

International Transfer Courses

If you’re taking courses at an international university, it’s important to know how they’ll transfer back to EKU. The Study Abroad Course Pre-Approval Form will help you with that!

After initially filling out the form with your Academic Advisor, please take the form to each relevant department for course evaluations and signatures.  (Example:  If you plan to take a Spanish course abroad, you will need to see how the Department of Languages, Cultures and Humanities evaluates that course to be recorded at EKU).

Be prepared with course titles and descriptions. In some cases, a syllabus may be required.

If the course does not have a direct EKU equivalent and you’d like to see if it can still be used to satisfy a requirement on your DegreeWorks, please ask the Education Abroad Office!  We can help find out if approval can be granted.

General

Please see the Helpful Links page for helpful trip-planning info on issues such as passports, vaccinations, insurance, visas, etc.

Post-departure Advising

Sometimes, the courses you planned to take abroad are unavailable and you may end up with an on-site schedule change.  Perhaps the course you wanted was full, cancelled, or had a time conflict with another course.  In this case, it is your responsibility to let your advisor and the Education Abroad Office know and to gain approval for the new courses you take.  Save the syllabus and/or course description!  In certain cases, you may be required to save writing assignments and/or tests in order to have the course properly evaluated upon your return.  Check with your academic advisor.