Plan for your International Experience

The choice of when and for how long you go abroad depends largely on your goals for an international experience, as well as the academic and extracurricular flexibility of you life at Yale.  If your goals include full cultural immersion and language acquisition, you might consider a longer term experience abroad because of the time you will need to get to know your host country and its language. If you haven't yet spent much time abroad, a shorter program may be the way to start-perhaps a summer study abroad program, or an internship offered through Yale. We strongly suggest that freshmen consider spending the summer following their first year abroad: before becoming too deeply involved in your major or starting to rise through the ranks of a student organization, you may wish to take advantage of the opportunities Yale offers, and expand your college experience to include another country.

Goals for an International Experience

There are as many goals for international experience as there are students, but from our conversations common themes emerge:

Improvement of language skills

Immersion in another culture

Research for a senior essay, thesis, or other academic project

Activity related to career plans

New perspective on the major

The opportunity to take academic courses not available at Yale

Important Documents

• Download and print a PDF file outlining your international experience options according to class year

Passport Reminder

In order to travel internationally, you will need a passport.  Make sure you've applied for your passport long before your experience abroad, in case there are any delays in processing your passport. 

• Apply for a passport now