Study Abroad FAQs

Students will be scored on factors such as (1) credit hours completed; (2) GPA; (3) Pell Grant eligibility; (4) institutional hours; (5) previous funding for study abroad. Institutional GPA and total hours earned at the time of application will be considered to determine eligibility. A committee of faculty and/or staff will review each application to verify information and evaluate the open responses based on coverage of the topic questions and clarity of ideas.

The amount of each award is based on (1) the availability of funding; (2) the amount of other scholarship funding for the selected program; (3) guidelines and eligibility requirements published by the UCA Financial Aid Office; (4) committee review; (5) scoring factors mentioned above.

Applicants will be notified of their award status via email by the stated deadline on our website. All applicants will be notified of award status. Notification will be sent to the email address provided on the application.

If approved by the Office of Education Abroad and Financial Aid for a scholarship, students must submit a completed application, including payment of deposit (faculty-led, language immersion) or application fee (semester exchange, direct enroll) by the designated deadline to secure funding. This constitutes acceptance of the scholarship award offer.

Students must continue to meet scholarship eligibility requirements up until departure. In addition, students must register for and attend the program to maintain the scholarship. All awards are contingent upon review of the Scholarship Compliance Office and subject to applicable university policies. Funding eligibility is based on the information submitted on this application. Any changes to program plans could affect an applicant’s funding.

If a student wants to decline an offer for funding by the Office of Education Abroad, they should write an email to studyabroad@uca.edu stating that they would like to decline their offer.

The Office of Education Abroad Scholarship may only be applied to programs sponsored by UCA or with UCA partner universities. UCA students may not use UCA Education Abroad scholarships or other financial aid to travel or study in locations listed at Level 3 or 4 on the U.S. Department of State’s Travel Warning website.

Students traveling in areas or countries with active travel warnings or alerts should consult the Travel Advisory page and heed all warnings.

No. Scholarship offers are only valid for the term indicated in the application. If a student decides to postpone their plans to study abroad, they must reapply for scholarships during the corresponding application cycle.

Awards will be released through UCA Student Accounts based on each student’s eligibility following acceptance in the program. Program payment deadlines are independent of all funding disbursement dates. Students should be prepared to make all program payments by the published deadlines.

PLEASE NOTE: The UCA Office of Education Abroad does not determine student federal aid or scholarship disbursements.

If a student withdraws from a program after their scholarship has been awarded, any funds received should be returned to UCA Student Accounts.

While not required, applicants are strongly encouraged to “give back” after studying abroad by volunteering time and expertise to the Office of Education Abroad. More information on how to “give back” will be made available for scholarship recipients.

All required materials must be received by the deadline for scholarship consideration. Late submissions will not be reviewed or considered for scholarship funding.

Yes! You can and should apply for as many scholarships as you qualify for. It is possible to receive a scholarship award from multiple sources and stack them to cover a larger portion of your program costs.

Typically, no. We encourage you to reach out to the Office of Financial Aid to clarify any questions regarding your aid and how it will apply to study abroad.

Students participating in short term study abroad programs (faculty-led and language immersion) must have a minimum 2.5 GPA and 30 credit hours completed by the time the program begins.

Students interested in spending a semester abroad should have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA with 60 credit hours completed by the beginning of the term abroad.

If an applicant’s GPA is below the program requirement, the student will be asked to submit a letter explaining any circumstances faced that may have contributed to the current cumulative GPA.

No, you do not! While few of our programs, mainly language immersion programs and select semester length programs, require a minimum proficiency in a foreign language, none of our faculty-led programs have a language requirement and most of our semester length programs are open to students with no knowledge of the local language.

We always encourage students to learn some basic phrases in the local language before departure, but formal coursework is not required.

If you are at UCA studying on an F-1 visa, then yes, you can! Recently, international students have participated in summer study aboard programs, but can also participate in programs during the semester. International students need to check the visa requirements of the country where they will be studying. Students also must make sure they know how to maintain their F-1 visa status so they can return to UCA to complete their degree programs. As you start to plan for study aboard, one of your first stops should be the Center for Global Learning and Engagement to learn what you must do to maintain your F-1 visa status.

For faculty-led and language immersion programs, budgets are available on our website, on each individual program’s page. Find your program and scroll down to the section labelled “Program Cost” to open the budget PDF. Budgets for all programs can also be found on the application page, under “Costs and Funding.”

Itineraries for faculty-led programs are posted on our website, on each individual program’s page. Find your program and locate the itinerary under “Program Description”. All itineraries are posted by mid-October. We do not publish day by day itineraries for language immersion programs, or semester length programs. If you have questions about the structure of your program, and day to day expectations, please reach out for more information.

You can apply to multiple programs at once, as long as the program dates do not overlap. If you are looking at multiple programs in the same time frame, you will need to pick one program to apply for, but you can list your second choice as an alternate on that application.

As a general rule, it is not required that you have a passport at the time you apply for a UCA study abroad program, however you should apply for your passport as soon as possible in order to ensure you have a valid passport before departure and to prevent delays with your study abroad plans.

Yes! You are welcome to ask us for assistance. We can provide you with application materials and information about the passport application process. You may apply at the post office on Hogan Lane in Conway anytime, or through our on campus Passport Fair in early Spring. Students are encouraged to apply for their passport as soon as possible and well in advance of their planned departure.

Depending on the destination and length of program, students may have to apply for a student visa. Most participants in faculty-led and language immersion programs are not required to seek a visa while students participating in semester length programs often have to obtain one.

Every program is different and not all programs require a visa. If your program does require you to obtain a visa before traveling, our office will provide you with information on this step. Each country’s consulates and embassies have unique processes and required documents and some students are required to travel out of state to visit the consulate or embassy assigned to the state of Arkansas in person. Other consulates allow mail-in and online applications. The Office of Education Abroad will assist with this process, but obtaining the visa is solely the student’s responsibility.

No, the program deposit is non-refundable, except when the program must be cancelled by the university due to under enrollment or other extenuating circumstances.

Students can pay installments for summer programs using any of the payment methods accepted by the UCA Office of Student Accounts. For more information on accepted payment methods, click here. Late payments may incur charges from the Office of Student Accounts.

See Student Accounts’ Payment Deadlines page for tuition payment due dates. All payments are submitted to Student Accounts.

Semester Exchange students can expect to be charged for UCA education abroad tuition, the UCA education abroad fee, and international insurance coverage.

Direct Enroll placements will be charged the partner school’s tuition, the UCA education abroad fee, and international insurance coverage.

No, this fee is non-refundable.

Students work with the partner university to determine housing options. At times, there may be multiple options such as apartments, dorms, or home-stays to choose from. The exact cost and payment process will depend on each program’s options and the individual student’s selections.

Please review the Financial Aid Overview and Funding Options here.

Students who spend a semester abroad are often put on temporary probation the semester they return and until their UCA transcript is updated with final credits from the semester abroad.

Once you log onto myUCA and see all study abroad transfer credit on your UCA transcript, you will need to complete the following steps to send your transcript to ADHE and ensure you remain in good standing for the purpose of your scholarship(s):

Request that your transcript be sent into the Arkansas Division of Higher Education. You can do this through Parchment here. Be sure to mark the Arkansas Division of Higher Education and/or finaid@adhe.edu as the transcript recipient on your request form.

Alternatively, if you would like to confirm ADHE receives the transcript and track its processing, you can upload it to ADHE directly by having the official transcript sent to yourself. Once sent to yourself, you can upload the transcript in your SAMS account by clicking on “Details” for the scholarship in your account where an “Upload” button should appear in the application.

Official transcripts may also be mailed to ADHE at the following address:

Arkansas Division of Higher Education, ATTN: Financial Aid Department, 101 E. Capitol Ave., Suite 300 Little Rock, AR 72201

Students do not register themselves for education abroad classes. The Office of Education Abroad will register you for all study abroad coursework based on information provided at the time of application.

Participants of Faculty-Led programs receive a letter grade. Language Immersion participants do not receive a letter grade for coursework completed abroad. Instead, participants will see CR (Credit) on their UCA transcript after successful completion of study abroad coursework, but their GPA will not be affected at all.

Students will receive credit for all courses passed during the study abroad program. Students will not receive credit for any failed coursework. On the UCA transcript, passed coursework will be recorded with CR (Credit) instead of a letter grade. Failed coursework will be recorded with NC (No credit) instead of a letter grade.

The exact transfer credit awarded depends on approval by the corresponding department(s) at UCA. Students should keep in mind that their study abroad transcript may be requested for future applications to graduate programs, so every effort should be made to have an academically successful semester abroad.

Yes, this is possible but will require additional arrangements and may lead to additional costs. Once the UCA study abroad program ends, you are an independent traveler, unaffiliated with UCA and UCA programs. Our flight coordinator can work with you to find suitable flight options, but you will be responsible for any increase in costs due to your deviation from the established itinerary. In addition, it is up to the individual study to book accommodations and extend travel insurance.

Students can study abroad with programs that are not organized by UCA; however course registration and the process of transferring credit must be completed through the Office of Education Abroad.

Click here to read through our policies on cancellation and withdrawal. Please note that some programs may have additional, program specific policies related to cancellation.

Students may choose to transfer their application to an alternate program, or to receive a refund of their $500 deposit.

Typically, no. You should familiarize yourself with our cancellation policy to understand the implications of withdrawing from study abroad at different points in time. If you are concerned about having to cancel due to extenuating circumstances such as family or personal health conditions, you might consider opting in to the Trip Interruption/Trip Cancellation insurance offered through iNext.

Students on short term study abroad programs are covered through iNext Comprehensive Ultimate Group Coverage, or a comparable plan. iNext international insurance includes extensive protection for travel related issues and medical incidents abroad. In addition, students are covered in the event of Political or Natural Disaster. Coverage information can be found here, or you may contact iNext directly for additional information.

Yes, students may purchase add on coverage through iNext. Please email the Office of Education Abroad for more information, or to enroll.

To ensure legal transport and possession of your personal medications, make sure you follow these steps:

1. Bring a full supply of prescription medication for your time abroad. Meet with your doctor months ahead to discuss.

2. Bring a signed and dated note from your doctor (on letterhead), that states, in English, the following:

• name of the medication (include generic name)
• patient’s full name
• a description of the amount of medication you are traveling with i.e. X boxes/grams/milligrams of medication for X number of days/weeks/months
• an explanation of why the medicine is necessary for the patient’s health (include diagnosis or condition)

3. Keep each medicine in its original packaging.

4. Make sure the packaging is clearly labeled.

5.Pack the medicine in your carry-on bag, never in your checked luggage.

Typically, no. At this time we do not offer any programs that require additional vaccinations or proof of vaccination prior to departure. For some destinations, additional vaccines may be suggested to prevent illnesses not endemic to the U.S.

While abroad, students will need to check UCA email and monitor timelines for payments, registrations, and other activity in preparation for the current or next semester. UCA’s Office of Education Abroad will work with students to ensure ongoing communication between the student and our office staff.

While it’s the student’s responsibility to handle UCA business and meet all partner school requirements, the Office of Education Abroad will provide ongoing support as needed. For example, if a student arrives to the partner university and their class schedule changes, our office can assist in gathering pre-approval signatures from the appropriate department(s). We are also able to help with questions related to housing abroad, visas, and other issues.

Students may request a letter from the Office of Education Abroad stating they are approved to study abroad. Students can submit the letter to UCA Housing for exemption.

No, students should not plan to work while abroad. Students traveling on a tourist or student visa are typically prohibited from working while abroad.

Every partner university has different procedures when it comes to welcoming new international students. Many partners do provide a pick-up service at the airport on a designated arrival day, but not all offer this service. During the application process, your host university will share information about the arrival process including the date you should plan to arrive and information about what to expect. If your host university does not offer airport pick up, we will support you in planning your arrival.

This is highly dependent on how quickly your host university sends a physical copy of your official transcript to UCA. Once we receive a physical copy of your transcript, it typically takes 1-2 weeks to process the credit and update your transcript. For Spring programs, all transcripts are typically updated by the end of September following your program. For Fall programs, all transcripts are typically updated by the end of February following your program.

Typically, no. Every university is unique and some may offer additional academic support services to international students, but this is rare and students should not count on access to these services.

Our semester length programs are open to degree-seeking undergraduate students at UCA only. If your friend or family member is a current degree-seeking undergraduate student at UCA, we would love to find a placement for both of you abroad. Otherwise, we are not able to accommodate friends, partners or family members for the duration of the program. Of course, your friends and family are more than welcome to visit you during your time abroad, but likely will not be able to stay in the accommodations provided through your program.