For Advisors and Faculty

Resources for Advisors

The Office of Education Abroad recognizes advisors' significant role with Missouri State students as they assist them in reaching their students' academic goals and future career. Here is some important information to help prepare for conversations with advisees regarding Education Abroad.

Four Education Abroad Tips for Advisors

1. If students are interested in studying abroad, they should visit our office as soon as possible. General Education courses are the easiest classes to find abroad. We encourage students to begin planning their time abroad about one year in advance. Planning in the first year of college is not too early to begin! Please note that IDS 297, International Culture & Study Abroad, is an ideal General Education course (in the Cultural Competence category) for Education Abroad students. We highly encourage students to save the Cultural Competence category in their General Education Requirements for Education Abroad. Anything from Mexican Folklore to The Culinary Traditions of Italy have been approved as IDS 297 in the past! Dr. Kelly Wood, Associate Provost for Student Success, is the designated IDS 297 coordinator and is responsible to approve requests regarding this course. This course is also often offered on faculty-directed programs.

2. If students have fulfilled all General Education requirements, we offer an impressive portfolio of upper-level division course options as well as international internship and service-learning placements! We work with students with various budget and support needs and can assist students in finding classes for all majors on campus. Our primary goal is making Education Abroad accessible to the greatest number of students possible!

3. Education Abroad works closely with students on the financial aspects of study abroad. Students may apply their Financial Aid and University scholarships to study abroad. The Provost, Deans, Inclusive Excellence, and Board of Governors scholarships include a one-time Education Abroad voucher for $1,000, every college offers Education Abroad scholarships, and there are many external scholarship opportunities.

4. With course preapprovals, students can get the credits they need to complete their degree requirements while abroad, keeping them on track for graduation! Before students go abroad, Education Abroad team members encourage them to meet with their academic advisors to ensure they know how studying abroad will affect their degree program. The Education Abroad advisor works with students to determine which courses they can take abroad that will be a good fit for their degree program. Students then submit a Preapproval Request for their courses through the Transfer Credit Preapprovals and Reevaluations portal on My Missouri State for all courses (except for language courses) they plan to transfer back to MSU. Language courses require a different process which you can read about on the World Languages and Cultures website.

We also encourage Education Abroad students to bring our Advising Conversation Guide when meeting with their academic advisors. This is a new guide the Office of Education Abroad has created to help facilitate the study abroad advising process for academic advisors and their advisees. Advisors do not preapprove credits, but they can help students determine if their desired MSU courses will apply toward their degree program.

We appreciate the opportunity to partner with advisors as we seek student success.

Resources for Department Heads

When students decide to participate in an Education Abroad program, they will be prompted to submit a credit preapproval request from the Transfer Credit Reevaluations and Approvals portal. This request is sent directly to the corresponding department head for approval. The Office of Education Abroad requires students to secure prepprovals for all credits they plan on receiving from their study abroad program. Without those preapproval requests, all credits received from their host university will transfer as GEN 000. We ask that department heads carefully consider students' approval requests to ensure that their credits transfer back fairly and accurately, according to Missouri State's catalogue. When in doubt, please reach out. If you are a department head and received an Education Abroad preapproval request that seems odd to you, feel free to contact the Education Abroad Advisor, Amy Huff, who works with students on transfer credit preapproval requests.

Preapproving Credits from the U.K.

Credits in the U.K. system are not equivalent to U.S. credits. A full-time student in the U.K. will carry 60 credits per semester, which is usually the equivalent to 15 U.S. credits.

Department heads may be faced with a preapproval request from a student wishing to study abroad in the U.K. In this situation, please refer to this memo when determining how to best grant students' credits.