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Selecting a Study Abroad Program

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Is your student interested in an academic adventure overseas—an academic adventure that will earn him or her real Georgia Tech credit towards graduation requirements while adding an impressive experience on the resume?  If so, then your student should consider Georgia Tech’s Study Abroad Programs.  

By taking the following steps, your student will be able to select the study abroad program that best meets his or her academic and personal goals.

1. Visit the Office of International Education (OIE) website.

We know that students want information at their fingertips; that is why we have designed our website to be an interactive part of choosing a program. On the OIE website, oie.gatech.edu, students will find:

  • Detailed information about more than 100 Georgia Tech study abroad programs;
  • An interactive search tool for programs by discipline or country;
  • Tools to compare programs by costs ;
  • Up-to-date scholarship Information;
  • Program application requirements and instructions; and
  • Testimonials, pictures, videos and quotes from former participants 

2. Make an appointment with an advisor.

Once a student has researched the different opportunities available within our catalog of programs, we recommend that he or she contact OIE either in person at Savant 211 (our front desk), by phone at 404-894-7475, or via email at study.abroad@gatech.edu to set up an appointment with the appropriate advisor.

If a student is interested in an Exchange Program, where students enroll directly at top-ranked partner schools around the world while keeping full-time Georgia Tech student status and earning Tech academic credit, the OIE advisor will go over the following topics during the appointment:

  • Information about exchange programs in all parts of the world;
  • Application instructions and selection process;
  • Orientation process;
  • Academics and credit transfer;
  • Program costs; and
  • Financial aid and scholarships.

Note that some partner schools visit Georgia Tech and want to meet with prospective study abroad students to directly answer students’ questions. These information sessions will be posted on the Georgia Tech Study Abroad Facebook page www.facebook.com/GTStudyAbroad.

For students interested in participating in Faculty-led Programs, which typically involves a group of Georgia Tech students and takes place during the summer semester, we encourage students to contact the respective program coordinatorslisted on the individual program website about the following:

  • Program costs;
  • Program itinerary and dates; and
  • Program courses.

Although not required, if your student still has questions after meeting with the program coordinator, an OIE advisor will be happy to meet and answer questions about:

  • Application process and deadlines;
  • Which summer program might best fit personal and academic goals;
  • Study abroad eligibility requirements; and
  • Details about the general study abroad orientations.

3. Apply for the program.

Applying for just about any Georgia Tech Study Abroad Program takes a few simple steps:

  • Apply online to OIE - instructions and the online form is at www.oie.gatech.edu/apply.
  • Bring or send official Georgia Tech Transcript - to request the required hard-copy transcript, go to www.registrar.gatech.edu.
  • Pay deposit online - the non-refundable deposit is payable through the web only; no credit cards accepted. The online payment system is located at: www.oie.gatech.edu/apply.
  • Submit any required supplemental documents - application instructions will specify when certain programs require additional documents (ex: recommendation letters, essays, or foreign language reports.)

Final deadlines for program applications are usually at the beginning of fall semester (for spring programs) or the beginning of spring semester (for summer and fall programs). See program pages online (oie.gatech.edu) for specific program deadlines. Exchange Programs normally wait until the final deadlines to process applications, but Faculty-led Programs process applications on a rolling basis. Students should apply early for the popular Faculty Led programs like Oxford, Pacific and Georgia Tech Lorraine!

We encourage your student to take ownership of this process. Even though it may be tempting for a parent to do the legwork, remind your student that he or she must take these steps and contact our office on their own – it is demonstration of how well they will be able to navigate the details and responsibilities of participating in an overseas program.

For more information, visit the Office of International Education website www.oie.gatech.edu.

Status

  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Rachael Pocklington
  • Created:03/04/2014
  • Modified By:Fletcher Moore
  • Modified:10/07/2016

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