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Advising Resources

Thank you for your help in supporting UCSC students pursuing global learning. We hope these resources will further assist your efforts and support your interactions with students as they consider their global learning options.

Types of Global Learning Programs

UCSC Global Seminars are built by UCSC Global Learning in collaboration with UCSC faculty. They give students the opportunity to participate in a study abroad/away program during Summer Session while receiving UCSC credit. These short but intense programs are structured in such a way that students have the opportunity to take advantage of the program's location both inside and outside the classroom.

Program Snapshot:

Students take UCSC courses and receive UCSC credit (between 6-10 units)
Courses can satisfy both Major and GE credit
Program length ranges from 3 to 5 weeks
Open to UCSC, other UC, and non-UC students
Programs fill on a first-come, first-serve basis
Student cohort program
Students gain close working relationships with faculty
Financial aid applies and scholarships are available

UCSC Partner Programs are campus-based (not UCEAP) programs at host institutions abroad and in the U.S. Students earn UC credit while paying UC Santa Cruz tuition and fees. Some programs have pre-approved courses in certain departments.

Program Snapshot:

Students receive UC credit
Courses can be taken for major, minor, or GE requirements, pending approval. Some departments offer pre-approved courses for students articulated for upper-division major requirements
Exchanges may be for one, two, or three academic quarters. As exchanges run on the semester system, the fall and spring semesters sometimes overlap with more than one quarter.
Programs fill on a first-come, first-serve basis
Students pay UCSC tuition and UCSC campus fees, and living expenses at the host institution location.
Financial aid applies
Only open to juniors and seniors

UCSC Global Internships are department-specific and provide students the opportunity to intern with an international organization! Students can explore their career goals, expand their professional network and skills, and gain real work experience by participating in a global internship. Internships are customized according to their field of study.

Program Snapshot:

Students receive academic credit for the required course(s) through Summer Session.
Internship locations vary.
Internships are available according to a student's field of study.
Financial aid applies and scholarships are available.

The UCDC Washington Program’s mission is to provide the highest quality experiential learning program for UC undergraduates by offering professional development and internship opportunities that help inform students' transition from study to professional practice. UCSC students are strongly encouraged to supplement their undergraduate education with real-world, hands-on experiences through internships. UCDC offers eligible undergraduate students an exciting opportunity to combine course work, exciting field research, and unparalleled internship experience during a quarter's residence in our nation's capital.

Program Snapshot:

Students receive 12 UCSC credits for the required seminar and internship courses with an additional 4-6 units for an optional elective course
Students from any major have the opportunity to gain valuable on-the-job experience with professionals and experts in fields that interest them.
Students have the chance to test-drive a career, build their portfolio or resume, and make valuable industry contacts that can be essential to landing the ideal job upon graduation.
Program is open to juniors and seniors (occasionally sophomores) in all majors through a competitive application process
Financial aid applies

UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) is the University of California's official study abroad program provider that allows students at all ten UC campuses to study abroad/away as sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate students. There are UCEAP program options available for most majors, and students can petition UCEAP courses to count toward major, minor, or GE requirements. UCEAP offers several program types including immersion, language and culture, discipline-specific, internship, and UC Study Centers. To learn more about UCEAP, review their digital viewbook.

Program Snapshot:

Students receive UC credit
Students can study on programs during summer, quarter, semester, or year
Programs offered in over 40 countries with more than 400 program options
Most programs offer courses in English
Beginning to advanced language classes offered
Some semester programs offer full immersion into regular university courses taught in the language of the host country
Some programs begin with a required intensive language program (ILP) to help students prepare before host university courses begin
Financial aid applies and scholarships are available

Other UC Programs are usually faculty-led programs offered by other UCs during the summer. Some UCs offer quarter abroad programs.

Program Snapshot:

Students receive UC credit
Students can petition to have courses meet major, minor, or GE requirements
Some UCs offer domestic programs within the United States
Financial aid applies and some scholarships available through the respective UC Study Abroad office

Independent Programs are study abroad or away programs not managed or hosted by the University of California. Independent Programs can be a good option for students who are not able to find a UC program that meets their academic, professional, or personal goals.

Program Snapshot:

Students may receive transfer credit as long as their program issues a transcript from an accredited university and is approved by the Committee on Courses of Instruction
Financial aid is not currently available for these programs, but many scholarship opportunities available
Transfer students interested in these programs should make sure that they have not reached the maximum number of transfer units (70 semester or 105 quarter units)
Program locations offered all around the world; many times in places in which UC does not offer programs
Students can study abroad or away for a summer, quarter, semester, or year
Students can participate in various program types including domestic, language and culture, host university immersion, discipline-specific, internships, research, service-learning, or volunteer work

Academics

Below you will find types of academic credit for each global learning program:

Students on a Global Seminar and Global Internship earn UCSC credit. Courses offered to satisfy major, minor, or GE requirements.
UCSC Partner Programs offer UC credit, meaning all courses, grades, and units will automatically be added to a student’s UC transcript. For partner programs, a student must petition for courses to be approved for major/minor requirements with their major or minor advisor. To have courses fulfill GE requirements, students can request pre-approval by completing a proposed program evaluation through the Office of Admissions. We strongly recommended that students request pre-approval rather than assume their UCSC Partner Program courses will count toward GEs. After their Program courses have been added to their transcript, they can submit a review of transfer credit online to request their pre-approved GE be applied to their Program course. For department-based exchanges, many courses have already been pre-approved for certain major requirements by the major.
Students on UCDC receive UCSC credit. Students can take 12-18 units for the quarter. Participants must be enrolled on a full-time basis (12 units) and must take two required courses: a seminar (UCDC 194A; 5 units; P/NP or Letter Grade; meets PR-S GE) and internship (UCDC 194B; 7 units; P/NP only). Seminars are taught 1 day a week for 3 hours and there are typically 5-6 Seminars to choose from. The seminar features group meetings and tutorial sessions related to the student's internship placement. Each student completes a research paper, which is an essential component of the Washington program. For the internship, there are a wide variety of internships available in ANY field! Students are responsible for finding their own internship, typically after selection into the UCDC program. Staff in Washington, D.C. will assist students in this process, providing guidance and internship leads. Upon acceptance to UCDC, participants will gain access to the UCDC Internship Database, containing active internship listings by internship sites that routinely hire UCDC interns. In addition, students may choose one upper-division optional elective course from a range of classes offered by faculty at UCDC. These elective classes are 4 units each, and are in several disciplines. If students do take an elective, they are eligible for 2 additional independent studies units.
All courses taken on UCEAP are guaranteed UC credit, not transfer credit. To see what courses UC students have taken in the past for each program, students can visit the UCEAP Course Catalog. In order to have courses count toward major or minor requirements, students must petition to their major or minor department. The UCSC Campus Credit database is a resource to see what UCEAP courses have been approved in the past for major, minor, elective, or GE credit. To have courses fulfill GE requirements, students can request pre-approval by completing a proposed program evaluation through the Office of Admissions. Once UCEAP courses have been posted to their transcript, students can submit a review of transfer credit online to request their pre-approved GE be applied to their UCEAP course. Typically, UCEAP grades can take up to 4 months after the program end date to post to a student’s transcript.
Students studying on an Other UC Program receive UC credit. Similar to UCSC exchanges and UCEAP, students must petition to have courses count towards major, minor, or GE requirements with their major or minor advisor or through the Office of Admissions.
Students studying on an Independent Program receive transfer credit. However, to earn transfer credit from an IP, students must have an official transcript from their program sent to the Office of Admissions. Upon receipt of their official transcript, the Office of Admissions will award transfer credit for courses deemed UC-transferable. Transfer courses do not affect students’ cumulative UCSC GPA. Once their courses are transferred in and added to their UC transcript, students can speak with their major/minor advisors about how those courses may be counted toward major/minor requirements. Students must submit a review of transfer credit to the Office of Admissions for GE credit.

UCSC Global Learning advises students to work closely with all academic advisors throughout their global learning process:

BEFORE their program, we require students to get approval by their department and college advisor to participate in a UCSC Exchange or UCEAP program. During this process, students are encouraged to discuss their proposed course plan in order to see how courses might satisfy requirements.
DURING their program, we encourage students to reach out to their major or minor advisor if they register for a course not previously discussed with the advisor in order to see if that course may meet major or minor requirements.
AFTER their program, we advise students to meet with their major/minor advisor to formalize their credits. We encourage students to keep copies of all syllabi, coursework, tests, papers, notes, and other course information for their department to review.

Financial Aid

Students can receive financial aid for all UC programs, however, summer aid is limited to the student’s leftover aid from Fall, Winter, and Spring and depends upon unit enrollment. Currently, UCSC Financial Aid does not package for Independent Programs. If a student receives financial aid, their financial aid package goes with them on their program and is redesigned to meet their program costs. This means that a student may receive the same percentage of financial aid that they receive while attending UC Santa Cruz. Students can also request an estimate of how much financial aid they can expect to receive for a program before they apply. More information on requesting an estimate from a financial aid advisor can be found here.

Advising Resources

Below is a list of resources you may find helpful in advising students who express an interest in global learning or have come to you for assistance in the global learning process. Please feel free to print and make available any of these resources to your students or colleagues.

Advisor Guide – A quick snapshot of global learning academic features, finances, getting started, and global learning opportunities. We also provide a program types chart.

What Can Global Learning Do For Your Career

Affording Global Learning – Information about the cost of participation, financial aid, and financial planning for global learning, including scholarships.

Academic Planning – Academic information for each global learning program type.

Identities Abroad and Away – Resources for students to consider how to navigate their unique identities on a global program.

Programs with Lower GPA Requirements – A shortlist of programs that are available to students with GPA’s under 2.5.

Budget Worksheets – Fillable worksheets for students to use, particular to each program type.

Recommended Programs by Subject – Please note, majors listed here are top sending majors for study abroad. Not all UCSC majors are represented, but there are programs for all majors available.

UCSC and UCEAP Comparison Cost Charts by Term – Comparison charts to determine if a UCEAP program is less expensive or comparable in cost to the same term(s) at UCSC.

Most Affordable Programs – List of most affordable program types and programs.

UCEAP Language Programs – There are many options for learning languages as part of UCEAP programs. This page shares programs that are specifically for language learning.

How to Talk to Your Parents About Study Away – Resource for students looking for ways to share their interest in global learning with their loved ones.

Global Learning Images to Print/Share – Please email globallearning@ucsc.edu with any requests. We would be happy to provide you with any resources you may need including (but not limited to), a slide featuring Global Learning opportunities that match specific majors or student groups, flyers, website banners, social media posts.

For Additional Resources, please visit our Resources page.

Academic Integration

Academic Integration (AI) is a collaboration between UCSC academic departments and UCSC Global Learning to fully integrate global learning into the college experience and academic degree requirements (major/minor). The goal is to make global learning more accessible to UCSC students while at the same time ensure that global learning supports a student’s academic progress and timely graduation. AI seeks to resolve obstacles to student participation by working with academic departments to develop academic advising tools that promote student participation in global learning opportunities. UCSC Global Learning is committed to working with academic departments, including but limited to the following:

Mapping global learning by creating major advising pages that may include pre-approved courses
Department-specific workshops and outreach materials
Early academic advisement that provides 3 and 4-year academic planning guides that identify clear pathways for students to participate in global learning
Supporting department participation in the UCEAP Academic Integration Grant initiative
Increasing faculty engagement

If your department is interested in starting or continuing conversations related to AI, please contact our Global Learning Director, Alice Michel (acmichel@ucsc.edu).

Data Request

Are you interested in study abroad participant information for your department or college? Participant data may include location, duration, courses taken, GPA, among others. We can create a custom report to assist with academic integration and other efforts to support the increase of study abroad participation. If you are interested in receiving data for your college or department, please contact Alice Michel, Global Learning Director, with your request.