Get Set for Study Abroad (Get Set for University)

200 Pages·2016·1.4 MB·English

by  Tom Barron

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G E T S E T F O R U N I V E R S I T Y G E T S E T F O R U N I V E R S I T Y
Get Set for Study Abroad
Tom Barron G
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‘As a comprehensive survey of the subject, it will be valuable for students, parents,
school advisers and indeed for universities – International Officers, academic S
programme coordinators and others . . . It is a very readable book, with nice touches of e
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humour and thoughtful, helpful insights into issues related to study abroad.’
f
J. E. Reilly, Director, UK Socrates-Erasmus Council o
r

‘Tackles a complicated subject with some aplomb.’ S
John Alexander, International Office, University of Glasgow t
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Get Set for Study Abroad is a guidebook for students who are thinking of studying
y
outside the UK as part of their home degree and for others who want to know what is
involved. A
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It takes you through the whole process, from finding out about the opportunities r
o
available and making your selection of a programme up to completing the studies and a
returning home. It explains what things you need to think about at each stage as you d
make your preparations and then carry out your studies. There are sections on academic
requirements, costs and funding. The book also offers advice on study skills and
outlines issues which arise in intercultural communication. It gives particular coverage
of programmes in the European Union (such as Socrates/Erasmus) and the USA, the
two main areas of interest for UK students.
Though the focus is largely on undergraduates, there are sections dealing also with post- T
o
graduate study. Also included are student commentaries, a guide to web sites and m
printed materials, and a glossary of the terms you are most likely to encounter.

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The text cuts through the red tape and bureaucratic language of much of the programme a
r
literature and presents a student-friendly viewpoint with candour and good humour. r
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Tom Barron was Director of the International Office at the University of Edinburgh and is
now a programme director and consultant on international education. He is the author
of Get Set for Study in the UK(Edinburgh University Press, 2003).
ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE GET SET FOR UNIVERSITY SERIES
Study Abroad
American Studies • Communication Studies • Computer Science • English Language • English
Literature • History • Linguistics • Media & Cultural Studies • Nursing • Philosophy • Politics •
Psychology • Religious Studies • Sociology • Study in the UK • Teacher Training
Cover design: River Design ISBN 0-7486-2030-3 E
Edinburgh University Press d
22 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LF in Tom Barron
b
ISBN 0 7486 2030 3 u
r
g
www.eup.ed.ac.uk 9 780748 620302 h
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Get Set for Study Abroad
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Titles in the GET SET FOR UNIVERSITY series:
Get Set for American Studies
ISBN 0 7486 1692 6
Get Set for Communication Studies
ISBN 0 7486 2029 X
Get Set for Computer Science
ISBN 0 7486 2167 9
Get Set for English Language
ISBN 0 7486 1544 X
Get Set for English Literature
ISBN 0 7486 1537 7
Get Set for History
ISBN 0 7486 2031 1
Get Set for Media and Cultural Studies
ISBN 0 7486 1695 0
Get Set for Nursing
ISBN 0 7486 1956 9
Get Set for Philosophy
ISBN 0 7486 1657 8
Get Set for Politics
ISBN 0 7486 1545 8
Get Set for Psychology
ISBN 0 7486 2096 6
Get Set for Religious Studies
ISBN 0 7486 2032 X
Get Set for Sociology
ISBN 0 7486 2019 2
Get Set for Study Abroad
ISBN 0 7486 2030 3
Get Set for Study in the UK
ISBN 0 7486 1810 4
Get Set for Teacher Training
ISBN 0 7486 2139 3
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Get Set for Study Abroad
Tom Barron
Edinburgh University Press
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© Tom Barron, 2006
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
22 George Square, Edinburgh
Typeset in Sabon
by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Manchester, and
printed and bound in the United Kingdom by William Clowes, Beccles
A CIP Record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 7486 2030 3 (paperback)
The right of Tom Barron to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vi
1 Introduction 1
2 Study Abroad 4
3 The mechanics 17
4 Exchanges 30
5 Studying abroad outside exchanges 44
6 The European programmes 53
7 The United States 68
8 Getting advice and applying 81
9 Making preparations to go: longer term 92
10 Making preparations to go: shorter term 105
11 Arrival 114
12 Registration 124
13 Study skills: the requirements 132
14 Studying in a new environment 148
15 Intercultural communication 158
16 Re-entry 170
A note on websites and sources 179
Glossary 183
Index 187
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Each chapter of the book begins with a couple of quotations
from students reporting on their experience of Study Abroad.
These are real opinions, culled from questionnaires issued to
students in the University of Edinburgh at the end of their
time abroad. A few verbal changes have been made in some
of them, partly for stylistic reasons, partly to remove any pos-
sibility of the author being identifiable. All these question-
naires were completed anonymously but an extra safeguard
still seemed sensible. None the less, I have tried to ensure that
what is quoted captures precisely the sense of the original. I
want to thank the students whose quotations I have used and
all the others who are not quoted but whose views have
enhanced my understanding and influenced much of what is
written here. I also want to thank the University of Edinburgh
for its co-operation and assistance (not to mention gainful
employment over many years) which enabled the work to be
researched and then completed.
My greatest debt is to my former colleagues in the
International Office at Edinburgh whose help, advice and
cheerfulness saw me through this project. In particular, I must
thank Sandra Morris, Acting Director and European Co-ordi-
nator, whose knowledge of Study Abroad is encyclopaedic
and who taught me most of what I know about the subject.
Lesley Balharry, the European desk officer, who read a section
in typescript, and Alan Mackay, with his expertise in North
America, were also very helpful; and Helen, Clare, Kirsty,
Ann, Kerry, Stacey, Jane, Mark and Adilia all chipped in gen-
erously. Craig Mathieson, my successor as Director, gave me
his assistance and encouragement at a difficult time for him.
I must also record my thanks to the two anonymous readers
of the typescript for Edinburgh University Press, who made
vi
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
several helpful suggestions which I have adopted, and to col-
leagues elsewhere, particularly Peter Whitelaw of Queen
Margaret University College who read and commented on
parts of the work. Nicola Ramsey of EUP provided ideas and
guidance. The section on intercultural relations and study
skills owes a good deal to a ukcosa workshop, organised by
Alison Barty, which made much profitable use of Colin Lago
and Alison Barty’s Working with International Students(2nd
edition, 2003, published by ukcosa). Thanks go to Alison,
the workshop leaders and its participants. As always, I have
pestered the students from Pomona College in California, for
whom I act as local Programme Director during their semes-
ter in Edinburgh, to provide me with their advice. I am grate-
ful to them, particularly Ellen Perkins, and to Susan Popko of
Pomona’s Study Abroad Office. I am also indebted to Jim
Strachan who showed huge interest and much concern for the
work. But only I, of course, am responsible for any errors or
inaccuracies which, in defiance of such skilled assistance, still
remain.
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1 INTRODUCTION
If you are a student in the United Kingdom, you have the
opportunity to study abroad. It can be a really worthwhile
experience, enjoyable, exhilarating and enlightening. It can
also be difficult and frustrating. Getting to grips with study-
ing in another country is not simple though the rewards are
great if you succeed. Those who have experienced it often feel
they have gained a good deal. They claim to have acquired
amore balanced appreciation of different cultures, and a skill
and sensitivity in dealing with cultural issues which has
enhanced their subsequent studies. Some even suggest that the
opportunity to study abroad has opened their eyes to the
outside world and made them feel more like true global citi-
zens. But because Study Abroad is not without its challenges,
everyone is agreed that, to get the most out of it, you have to
prepare carefully, to know what you are taking on and to be
ready to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. That
is what this book is about.
If you do decide that you would like to study abroad, it is
no longer difficult to arrange. It is not necessary to do all the
work of setting things up yourself. There are dozens of pro-
grammes available which have the approval of the universities
and colleges in the United Kingdom. You don’t need to be con-
cerned about identifying places abroad which would be good
for your studies. That is done for you. You don’t have to worry
about different curricula or different marking systems. Your
own university will have decided what you need to do and how
your work will be assessed. All you have to do is to discover
what is available and what will suit you best. And you then
have to make up your mind to apply. This book is designed to
help you with this decision and to give you a sense of what
might be involved once the decision is made.
1
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2 GET SET FOR STUDY ABROAD
Study Abroad is the term generally used nowadays for pro-
grammes that allow students in one country to do part of their
degree studies in another. Despite its widespread use, it can
cause confusion. It is obviously meant to indicate that the
main purpose of the programmes is to enable you to study
outside your own country. But many students who go abroad
to study are seeking an overseas degree, which Study Abroad
students usually are not. Other terms have also been
employed – visiting study, occasional study, non-graduating
study – to make this distinction clear. But they, too, have their
weaknesses. As a Study Abroad student, you are not simply
visiting another university, you are studying there. Nor are
you studying only on occasions (or at least it is hoped not) but
on a full-time basis. And you certainly will have the intention
of graduating, even if not at your host institution. ‘Study
Abroad’ has probably become accepted only as the least mis-
leading term.
The key element in these programmes which the term misses
is that your studies abroad can count towards your degree at
home. Whatever courses you take or projects you complete can
replace whatever you would have been required to do had you
remained at home. You don’t normally have to take work
abroad with you and you don’t normally have to catch up on
what you have missed when you return. The overseas work
substitutes entirely for the work at home and is held to be
equivalent to it in almost every way.
Over the last two decades, Study Abroad has become much
more popular and its academic value more widely appreciated.
Where once it was largely undertaken only by language stu-
dents, it is now often a requirement for other degree subjects,
particularly those with an immediate vocational relevance, like
engineering or business, and those with a strongly international
curriculum, like fine art or area studies. But the largest growth
has been the result of students opting for Study Abroad not
because it is a requirement but simply for its own sake.
This book is intended to help everyone contemplating study-
ing abroad or confronted by the need to do so and who perhaps
knows little of what is involved. It is designed for students at