Study Abroad

Steps To Go Abroad

The key to success is planning and pre-approval!

1. Prior to Going Abroad:

• Check out the Study Abroad website and talk with a Study Abroad advisor to make preliminary plans.
  • Bring your completed Academic Planning form to the Psychology Advising office during advising hours, to discuss your plans with an advisor. No course descriptions or syllabi are necessary at this step, as you are simply making your plans known (this step is encouraged but not required). 
• Approximately four to six weeks before you leave for your program, you should submit an individual course Pre-Approval petition for each study abroad course you would like reviewed, with a syllabus from a previous iteration of the course, so that our faculty can review your request and you can be ready to enroll when you arrive at your institution abroad.
  • All Psychology courses taken abroad MUST be pre-approved and petitioned, even if you found them through the Study Abroad Office.
  • All Business courses for the Business Psychology major should be petitioned through Rady School of Management.

• Please submit a Petition through the Online Portal to submit your Study Abroad paperwork and formally petition your courses taken abroad. Keep in mind that it can take several days for an advisor to review your form; please plan ahead. We recommend that you submit your petition as soon as you can.
• After your return to UC San Diego, your transcripts from abroad will be processed. While EAP transcripts should be processed by the University automatically, you may need to take action to facilitate this if you participate in a OAP program. Once your classes are showing properly on your Academic History, you must petition the Psychology Department to officially bring them into your Degree Audit.

Courses to Take Abroad

The Psychology Department allows students to transfer no more than three upper-division (UD) Psychology classes toward the Psychology Major and Minor.

• Best choice for courses to take abroad:
  
  • Elective-level Psychology classes that may not be offered on campus
    
    • These are the easiest to get approved.
    • You'll be petitioning for course substitution when you return.
• Good choice to take abroad:
  • Core-level courses, Specialization courses, Statistics, or Research Methods classes
    • Our faculty generally prefers that these classes be taken on campus at UC San Diego
    • Can be difficult to get approved; must be at least 90% the same in course content as the equivalent course here on campus
    • You'll be petitioning for course equivalency when you return
• Don't plan to use toward major requirements if you take abroad:
  • Research classes, internships
  • Therapy-based courses
  • Classes heavily based in another discipline or heavily cross-listed classes
• Remember:
  • Any course used toward major or minor credit must be deemed UC-eligible and at least four units.
  • Any course used toward major requirements must transfer as Upper Division credit.
  • Any course used toward major requirements must be taken for a Letter grade.