Study Abroad for Engineering Students

The College of Engineering offers a number of study abroad opportunities for engineering undergraduates. Students can study abroad in either the second semester of their sophomore year or in their junior year.

Sophomore year programs are offered in Dresden, Germany; Grenoble, France; Madrid, Spain; and Sydney, Australia, and offer courses that are functionally equivalent to those taken at Boston University during the second semester of the sophomore year. All majors can participate.

While abroad, students take three technical courses—CAS MA 226 Differential Equations, ENG EK 307 Electric Circuits, and an elective course—as well as a Hub elective that studies the historical, cultural, and social dimensions of the host country. These courses are all taught in English and appear on the student’s transcript as Boston University courses. In European locations, students also take an introductory course in the local language. In Sydney, students participate in a 6-week internship program instead of taking a language course.

Junior year direct-enroll programs are also available (in English) at universities in Auckland, New Zealand; Dublin, Ireland; Sydney, Australia; or Singapore. In these programs, students will take three technical courses, choosing from those already offered at these universities. Students must do the research to identify courses at the abroad site and obtain appropriate approval to use these courses toward the degree requirement. Students on a junior-year study abroad program are also required to take a culture course relating to the host country.

Through studying abroad in any one of the engineering programs, students are expected to gain the following learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate a knowledge of foundational concepts and principles in the technical coursework.
• Gain an understanding of the historical, cultural, and social dimensions of the host country.
• Develop new perspectives on one’s own culture and ability to think critically about one’s own values, beliefs, and goals.

Approximately 20–25 percent of College of Engineering students study in one of these programs each year. All programs being offered are subject to enrollment capacities and students must be in good academic standing in order to attend. We reserve the right to cancel a program with insufficient enrollment.

For more information, please contact the Study Abroad office, the Engineering Undergraduate Programs office, or visit the Engineering Study Abroad web page.