The Role of the Academic Advisor

The Academic Advisor plays an enormously important role in the Study Abroad Process. Students are advised to be in touch with their academic department during all steps of the process: the program selection phase, the pre-departure paperwork phase, the actual time abroad, and the return to campus.

The Study Abroad Office staff encourages all students to complete a graduation audit before beginning the study abroad process.

Program Selection

Students begin their journey by attending a General Advising session in the Study Abroad Office. During General Advising, a study abroad advisor reviews the program options and discusses the best way to research programs. Students are then advised to spend a few weeks looking for program options and considering which programs best fit their academic and personal goals.

At this point, it is recommended that students speak with their department to determine the best semester for study abroad and to discuss which requirements they can feasibly complete overseas. However, the academic advisor is not responsible for determining whether or not a particular program is approved - or for assisting students in program selection. All program selection questions can be referred to the Study Abroad staff.

Pre-Departure Paperwork

Once a student has applied to – and been accepted into – a study abroad program involving the transfer of credits back to Maryland, he or she must meet with a Study Abroad Advisor to begin a Permission to Study Abroad (PSA) Form. Students are advised to list more courses on their PSA than they will feasibly take while abroad, so as to have some back-up choices if their first-choice courses are full. The Study Abroad Advisor determines the number of credits that can transfer in for each course. Students are allowed to transfer up to 18 credits per semester.

The student then is required to meet with his or her academic advisor and Dean to determine the applicability of credits.

Questions about the PSA form can be directed to any advisor in the Study Abroad Office.

Students opting to study on programs that offer only UM resident credit do not need to complete a PSA form. However, they are still encouraged to meet with their academic advisors about how study abroad will fit into their curricular plans. Please see the Academic Credit page for more information about resident and transfer credit.

 

Once a students’ paperwork is received in the Study Abroad Office, the student will be registered as a study abroad student.

While Overseas

If a student arrives in his or her host country to find that his or her course options are not available, it is imperative that any new courses are discussed with the advisors in College Park. Students are advised to email their academic advisors with any new courses. Advisors should confirm the applicability of the new credits and forward this information to Study Abroad.

While overseas, students register for UM courses for the semester when they return to campus. Occasionally, students will have blocks on their registration, so they are advised to contact their academic advisor if a block needs to be lifted.

After Returning to Campus

At the end of the semester, students are responsible for having their study abroad transcripts sent to the Study Abroad Office for evaluation. Once a transcript is received, it is compared to the PSA, evaluated and sent to the Registrar for posting to the students’ official record.

If you have specific questions about a students’ record, please contact the Study Abroad Advisor responsible for that geographic region.

Please note: Academic advisors should use the PSA form when completing graduation audits, not the Transfer Credit Equivalencies in SIS. Although it is our hope to perfect this system in the future, it is not yet fool-proof, so students are informed that the equivalencies listed on their PSA are correct, not the equivalencies that automatically populate in their record.