Study Abroad and Summer/Winter Programs

Study Abroad    

Study Abroad, widely defined, means spending a semester studying overseas at a foreign university. This option enables students to truly immerse themselves in a new culture, gain cultural awareness/adaptability, and form international friendships and professional connections. Students will also learn from a global perspective in the classroom and beyond.   

Credit for Courses 

Ideally, courses taken abroad will count toward degree progress at CSUSM, ensured via the credit approval process, an online form/contract between the student and faculty advisor that details course transference. In some cases, the host university may offer an internship course or a senior experience course (in either case, completing those courses can count toward the experiential learning requirement).  

Financial Information  

Studying abroad through CSUSM exchange partners allows students to pay the same CSUSM tuition and make full use of their CSUSM financial aid. The difference in budget is due to the cost of living in the host country, but many options offer the experience at the same cost of attendance at CSUSM! 

Planning  

Given the Global Business curriculum, the Spring semester in junior year or the Fall semester in senior year is the optimal time for study abroad; however, students can study abroad at any time. It is preferable to plan your courses in a way that you have mostly electives to complete abroad. For summer options, junior and senior years are best.    

Steps  

Studying abroad is an exciting, transformative experience, but it requires careful, continual planning and several months’ advanced preparations.  These include: 

• Attending an info session to understand the variety of study abroad options at CSUSM 

• Lodging an Advising application for your program of interest (requires CSUSM username & password) 

• After researching program options, have some countries/programs in mind to discuss with a study abroad advisor. Book appointments online 

• Begin working through the application process in the CSUSM study abroad portal.  Depending upon program selection, a secondary application process through the host institution or program administering the study abroad will be necessary, i.e. CSU International Programs, ISEP Direct. 

• Ensure travel documents are up-to-date.  New passport holders have a 4-6 week standard processing timeline, so plan accordingly.  All U.S. citizen travelers must register trip details (once known) through the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.  This system gives helpful country updates and emergency alerts to all areas registered. 

• Credit approval is one of the most important steps of the study abroad process and should be considered an ongoing conversation between the student and the Global Business director before, during, and after study abroad.  Students should aim to list up to 10 classes for their programs abroad and provide an attached Word document with course titles, units, course descriptions & even hyperlinks to partner university pages so the Global Business director can quickly understand the proposed courses and how they will fit into Global Business at CSUSM.  While the credit approval process is done well ahead of the study abroad experience, courses can and do change once host university registration opens.  As such, students should update their credit approvals accordingly to ensure courses abroad can count toward the Global Business degree.  Students may also consider including perceived course equivalencies (for core courses) from the partner university to CSUSM courses, however final authority rests with the Global Business director to evaluate and determine course equivalency. 

• Upon acceptance, students will be guided through additional pre-departure steps, including student visas, health insurance, and student travel.  It is the student’s responsibility to stay active and alert in the study abroad portal to the timely requirements post-admission. 

For more information about study abroad options, visit the Office of Global Education website
Students should attend an info session for a general overview of programs, and then book a study abroad advising session to discuss programs in depth.   

Summer/Winter Programs 

Faculty-led Study Abroad in Summer/Winter are short 2-4 week group experiences led by CSUSM faculty focused on a specific topic and clearing a predetermined course for academic credits through Extended Learning. Due to the short-term nature of these programs, they are highly experiential in nature and allow for a glimpse of a new culture without the immersion of a longer-term program. Programs include field components such as walking tours, museum visits, and other cultural highlights to offer a perspective of life in the host country.   

The Business-related faculty-led study abroad programs (currently Travel Study Europe GBM 440C, Travel Study Latin America GBM 440B & Italy Operations Management 305) ensure that students gain practical and cultural insight into a variety of international businesses to deepen their understanding. Completing two of these faculty-led programs will satisfy the Global Business foreign residency requirement (Note that students have many options for faculty-led study abroad, but to clear foreign residency, at least one of their chosen programs must be a Faculty-Led program offered by CoBA).  Offered during optional terms at CSUSM (winter & summer), these programs are not eligible for financial aid. 

To learn more about the summer/winter programs, visit the Faculty-Led Programs tab. Please note that students must attend an info session offered by their program’s faculty leader to apply.