Academic Planning
The Global Learning Office (GLO) advisers are students’ primary resource for information about study abroad, but students also consult with their departmental and school advisers to determine how study abroad will fit into their plan of study at Northwestern. You should be prepared to advise prospective study abroad students and students already abroad about their academic plans.
Prospective Students
Mapping out their course plan
During the application process and while they are abroad, students will be selecting and registering for study abroad courses. Help them determine which courses are eligible for transfer to Northwestern, as well as which courses will be most useful in their degree progress. Also make sure they know which courses they need to take before, during, and after study abroad to stay on track with their degree requirements. Encourage them to challenge themselves academically, linguistically, and culturally when selecting courses, but also to consider credit transfer policies and possible restrictions within their majors, minors and/or school.
Preparing for a different academic culture
The academic culture of students' host institution abroad will likely be different than Northwestern's. Encourage students to be open-minded, to plan for unexpected academic and non-academic challenges, and to take personal initiative to seek help and solve any issues early. If you have questions about the academic culture in a certain location, contact the relevant regional adviser in the Global Learning Office.
Participating in research, internships and service learning
- Ideally, research conducted abroad will compliment a student’s course of study at Northwestern. We encourage students to discuss any research ideas with a faculty member before studying abroad to ensure that the final product of this research is in line with the student's degree program. Learn more about research abroad.
- Internships and civic engagement opportunities are becoming more common on study abroad programs, with placements in fields such as the arts, business, government, health services, marketing and many more. Learn more about requirements for internship opportunities.
Considering the Undergraduate Registration Requirement
It is essential that students understand how study abroad impacts the . If students have questions about this, please direct them to their degree auditor in the (847-491-5234).
Students Abroad
While abroad, students will likely be contacting you regarding changes in their planned course enrollment, for advice regarding courses they should take, and with questions about degree requirements. We appreciate your communication with students about these department and school specific issues. For more general questions, however, you can refer them to the following:
- If they have general questions about choosing courses, enrollment requirements, credit transfer or grades and transcripts, please direct them to the detailed information in our academics section.
- If they have questions about program specific requirements, please have them discuss this with their onsite program director or advisers, or have the student contact their GLO adviser.