FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The OEA is located on the top floor of Garey Hall. Please encourage your students to start our process by signing up for a First Step Information Session.  

Given the number of programs with which the OEA works, we often tell students that we can send them to any country in the world. However, there are some locations that are not currently approved for study abroad, and students should check with their OEA Advisor if a location they are interested in is not found in the Passport Villanova Portal Program Discovery.

Villanova works with many program partners abroad to offer unique Villanova custom programs, as well as general partner study abroad programs.

Students may choose to study alongside local students, learn in a cohort, participate in an internship or research abroad, or any combination of these experiences. 

All available programs are found in the Program Discovery section of the Passport Villanova Portal which can be filtered by term, location and program type.

All students can study abroad during the summer after their first-year, during their sophomore or junior years, or, with special permission, during the first semester of their senior year.

VSB also offers a program to incoming students in the spring of their first year.

Students must have a 2.75 GPA and be in good standing at the University. This means students cannot be on disciplinary probation or have any academic or financial holds on their accounts. Some programs have higher GPA requirements, and students with a lower GPA must have the approval of their Dean to apply.

Students studying abroad during the semester pay Villanova tuition regardless of their program or location. Students are then responsible for all other costs (room, board, flights, etc.) to be paid to the overseas program directly. Those costs will vary by location. All financial aid applies to their Villanova tuition for a semester abroad and can be used to pay for non-tuition-related experiences.

Students participating in a short-term or summer program pay the full cost of the program to Villanova or the overseas partner program. These program costs can vary by program length, location and academic credit.  Students participating in a summer partner program abroad are also charged a $500 Villanova fee.

No. In fact, students regularly study in countries where Villanova University does not teach the host country’s language on-campus.

However, if a student chooses to spend a semester in a non-English speaking country, they are required to take the language while in-country.

And if they have previously studied that language in High School or at Villanova, they will be required to enroll in a language level appropriate to their previous learning, i.e., students cannot revert to a lower level of language study while abroad.

Study abroad students can broaden their academic horizons by taking classes not offered at Villanova or enrolling in classes that directly fit their academic degree requirements.

All classes taken abroad must be approved with a Villanova course equivalent to be applied to a student’s academic progress. Overseas classes are reviewed by each Villanova department chair or designee within the department via the Course Approval Request System.

Students will work with their OEA advisor to put together their Course Approval Form which represents their proposed overseas academic plan, along with the Villanova equivalents assigned to each overseas course. All students must have their Course Approval Form officially reviewed by their College prior to studying abroad.  

Certain Colleges and Majors do limit what classes students can transfer back towards their degree requirements. Those details are found on the Major Advising pages.

For the majority of academic programs abroad, students receive transfer credit “T” upon completion of an approved class if they earn the equivalent of a “C” grade or better. The transfer credit will not impact a student’s Villanova GPA. Villanova uses the WES Country Resources to determine grade equivalencies when necessary. 

Some Villanova Semester Programs and some Villanova Summer programs offer classes that are letter-graded, especially when the class is taught by a Villanova faculty member or just designed for Villanova students. Those letter-graded classes abroad will impact a student’s Villanova GPA.

The credit transfer process from overseas classes can take some time and does not always follow typical Villanova calendar timelines.  The OEA transfers students’ credits immediately upon receipt of their overseas transcripts to this office. If the credits are not appearing on the student’s transcript, then one of three things has happened:

1) the host university has not issued the transcript yet;
2) the student did not request a transcript be sent to the OEA;
3) the student owes the program provider money and the transcript will not be issued until the bill has been settled.

In each of these situations, there is nothing that neither you nor we can do, it is the responsibility of the student to contact the university,  the partner program or their OEA Advisor for guidance.

Students who are planning on studying overseas can take any number of courses while abroad, though some Colleges and majors do limit enrollment options. 

Specific recommendations and restrictions and be found on the Major Advising pages.

In terms of approvals, it may be easiest for students to save a few classes from their Colleges’ core requirements for their semester overseas along with electives from their major. 

Villanova Summer and Intensive Course Abroad programs are all led by a Villanova faculty member which is noted on each program's main brochure page.  Students should contact the faculty member with any questions prior to applying. After they have completed the application, all students will interview with the Faculty Program Coordinator.  Applications open September 15th and deadlines vary by program. 

If a Villanova summer program does not meet their academic interests, students are also allowed to apply for and participate in approved Partner Programs over the summer.  The deadline to complete OEA approval process is April 15th. 

Your first contact should be the director in the Office of Education Abroad to discuss the feasibility of the proposal. Program proposals that target an underserved population of students and that do not compete with existing programming will be prioritized. You should also discuss the academic content with your department chair and appropriate College Dean designee. Proposals for programs are due to the OEA at least one year before the intended start of the program, though we are happy to work with faculty as soon as possible. Course-embedded travel programs are coordinated by the Colleges and the OEA can direct you to the best point of contact in your College.  

Villanova is an institutional member of the Forum on Education Abroad and faculty are invited to join as a member. The Forum offers a wealth of resources for faculty including standards of good practice, health and safety guidance, and academic program development tools. Members of the OEA staff are always excited to talk to interested faculty members about educational experiences abroad. Please contact us for additional information on your specific interests.