Steps Prior to Departure

Step 1. Carefully read the Transfer Credit Guidelines for Non-UC Study Abroad brochure

Step 2. Meet with an Academic Advisor

Before committing to a non-UC study abroad agency, students should talk to their major department advisor about the program and proposed courses.

Although there are no college-level requirements, students should also meet with their college advisor to discuss their plans and return to campus. All students in the Colleges of Creative Studies and Engineering will need to make an appointment with their college advisor prior to submitting the leave request forms. For College of Letters and Science students, only students in senior standing (135 units or more) will need to contact their college advisor but it is strongly recommended that students discuss their plans with their department advisor.

Step 3. Check Leave Status Eligibility

Students must be in good academic standing to be considered eligible for the leave status when studying abroad with a non-UC sponsored program.

Step 4. Check Travel Warnings

Prior to studying abroad, students need to check the following sites for relevant U.S. Department of State travel warnings and security updates and alerts:

U.S. Department of State

Center for Disease Control

U.S. Embassy

Step 5.  Apply Early

Non-UC Sponsored Study Abroad Leave & Return Request Form

Non-UC Study Abroad Waiver of Liability

Students must print the Non-UC Sponsored Study Abroad Leave & Return Request form and the Non-UC Study Aboard Waiver of Liability agreement, gather the appropriate signatures (as required), pay the non-refundable leave request fee, and submit the request forms before the designated deadline date. Once these forms are received and processed, students will receive notification via their UCSB U-Mail account.

Leave requests must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar at least four weeks prior to the departure term. Additionally, students who plan to travel to a country which is listed on the U.S. State Department's Travel Warning website must complete and submit the waiver agreement with the leave request form.

The non-refundable leave status fee is currently $70.00 and is payable to the UC Regents through the BARC Office.

Step 6.  Determine Financial Aid Availability

Students currently eligible to receive federal and state aid, may be eligible to receive aid while they are studying abroad.  This does require the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship to enter into a Consortium Agreement with the non-UC study abroad program.  Contact the Financial Aid Office for additional information and to complete the required forms. Please be aware of the deadline dates associated with this process.

Step 7.  Other Considerations

Individualized advising for non-UC sponsored study abroad programs is not provided at UCSB. A student's major advisor may be able to recommend classes that may offer transfer credit upon the receipt of the student's Study Abroad transcript. Please be aware that UCSB does not recognize course credit from every Study Abroad program.

Passports currently have long lead times, so start this step as early as possible.

Students will need to obtain appropriate insurance while abroad.  This includes health insurance as students are not covered/eligible for UC Health Insurance (USHIP) while on non-UC sponsored study abroad programs

For additional information read Frequently Asked Questions.