In Exchange Programs, Berry College student swap spots with a student at one of our partner universities. Berry has exchange agreements with Seoul Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea and the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, England.
Academics
Students attending semester programs are required to take at least the equivalent 12 U.S. credits while abroad to maintain full-time status and financial aid eligibility. If students take over 18 credits hours, they will receive an additional tuition charge.
The grades students receive abroad will be factored into their GPA after being converted into the US grading scale.
As part of the application process, students will complete a course pre-approval form so that before they go abroad, they will know exactly how the classes can count at Berry.
All classes can come back as general elective credit by default and can count as credits toward graduation.
Students will work with their advisor, department chair and dean to determine how classes can count for their major and/or minor.
Provost approval is required for approving a study abroad class as a Foundations requirement.
If students change classes while abroad, they can get course approvals via email.
All students will enroll in STA 305 for the semester they are abroad. STA 305 is 12 credits, regardless of how many credits you take abroad. Once transcripts are received, this placeholder class will be dropped and replaced with the grades/credits taken abroad.
All classes taken or attempted abroad will be included on your Berry transcript and factored into your GPA.
International Experiences usually receives transcripts one to two months after the program ends, though it can sometimes take longer. Berry has no control over when transcripts arrive.
If you are planning on graduating the semester after your study abroad experience, there is a chance the transcripts could not arrive in time, which would push back your graduation date.
Students will be notified when their transcript comes in, and a copy of it will be uploaded to their Berry Abroad application.
If the classes on the transcript match the course pre-approval form, the documents will be sent to the Registrar’s Office to be added to the student’s record.
If there are classes on the transcript that were not pre-approved, the student will be notified by International Experiences about getting approval for those classes.
Once your classes have been posted, it is important that you review your degree audit to double-check that everything came back as you anticipated.
Semester study abroad students will register for classes for their next semester while they are still abroad. There are some steps to follow to make sure your course registration is as smooth as possible.
- Email your advisor during pre-registration week to be cleared for registration and to discuss your class choices for the next semester.
- Check the email from the Registrar’s Office that indicates your registration window.
Your registration window will be based on the Eastern Time Zone, so you will need to make sure you convert that time into your local time. This may mean you could wind up registering late at night or early in the morning.
Finances and Aid
Tuition and fees include Berry College tuition, host program's housing (instead of Berry's room and board fees) and an international health insurance rate. Students are billed the 12-18 credit tuition rate. If a student takes over 18 credits, they will be billed for the additional tuition. Students are billed following Berry's typical billing cycle.
Instructions on how to make payments will be included in the application process.
If students have qualified for financial aid for the semester, they may be eligible to apply those to their study abroad fees.
Applications
There are several steps that are recommended prior to applying for a study abroad course.
- Browse programs in Berry Abroad.
- Meet with the director or a student advisor in the International Experiences office by making an appointment through Bookings.
- Meet with your academic advisor.
- Meet with your financial aid advisor.
- Apply or renew your passport if it is going to expire within 6 months of your last day abroad.
- Start the application to study abroad at least a semester in advance. Applications submitted after these deadline dates will still be reviewed, but it is understood that late submissions will not be eligible for scholarships and may receive a shortened orientation session to accommodate the timeframe.
- Fall Semester Deadline: March 1
- Spring Semester Deadline: October 1