Study Abroad

In order to have your study abroad experience fulfill the International Educational Experience requirement for International Studies, you must register for the 0-credit course INS3950 during the semester in which you will be studying abroad. For details, see the section "Registering for and Completing INS3950" on Policies. 

SAILS

SAILS is the primary sources of funding available to International Studies students for study abroad.

The Student Affairs International Learning Scholarship (SAILS) offers $1,500 for short-term (10 weeks or fewer) and $2,500 for long-term (more than 10 weeks) experiences abroad. There are three deadlines per year (for the fall, spring and summer semesters). The International Center offers workshops to help students prepare high-quality applications, which is key to securing this funding. SAILS is generously funded by the University, and assists a significant number of students each year to study abroad.

Other Funding Sources

• The James Van Vleck Study Abroad Scholarship is made possible through the generosity of local philanthropist and honorary UNF alumnus Mr. James Van Vleck. This scholarship is awarded annually to one student majoring or minoring in International Studies. For more information, contact the director of the International Studies Program.
• The Gray Study Abroad Scholarship offers awards of up to $2,000 to a small number of students majoring or minoring in Art History, English, Fine Arts, French Studies, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, or Spanish. Applications are due in the fall semester (generally early November).
• The Falloon Study Abroad Scholarship offers an award of $1,000 annually to one student in a major within the College of Arts and Sciences, to study in a country where English is not the primary language. 
• The World Affairs Council of Jacksonville sponsors the annual Ambassador Marilyn McAfee Scholarship Program, which makes merit-based awards to help undergraduate and graduate students in the local area study abroad or undertake internships outside the U.S.
• The International Center maintains a list of other study abroad scholarships. 
• Separate funding for study abroad is available to students enrolled in the Hicks Honors College. Contact the Honors College for information.
• A student's regular financial aid should generally be applicable when paying for coursework taught by UNF professors as part of faculty-led programs. The same applies to students participating in UNF exchange programs, who pay their tuition at UNF, not at the host institution. For clarification on a case-by-case basis, please consult with a One-Stop Student Services coordinator. The International Center can also provide assistance.

If you are planning a study abroad experience, you are strongly encouraged to call or email One-Stop Student Services to make an appointment to meet with the Office of Student Financial Aid to discuss how your plans may impact your financial aid situation, particularly with regard to Cost of Attendance limitations and minimum credit-hour enrollment requirements. This is especially important if you plan on applying for, or have been awarded, any study abroad scholarships which are paid out through the accounts of participating students as financial aid, and are thus subject to Cost of Attendance limitations, as well as possibly other restrictions.

Be prepared to explain at this meeting the specifics of your trip, including start and end dates, the number of credit hours in which you'll be enrolling, the type of experience (UNF faculty-led, UNF exchange, third-party provider or direct enrollment at a foreign institution) and the dollar amounts of any sizable expenses involved, including, most importantly, the cost of your airfare. If you are participating in a faculty-led trip for which airfare or other large expenses are included in the program fee, you may need to consult with your faculty leader to determine those amounts before meeting with the Office of Financial Aid.

Please realize that financial aid calculations are based on a variety of factors that will differ between any two given students, and it is critical that you personally review your own circumstances in consultation with the Office of Financial Aid.

The director of the International Studies Program cannot provide assistance on specific matters related to the financial aid situation of individual students, but he is available to provide general guidance as needed.

This section does not apply to students participating in summer programs led by UNF faculty who teach French and Spanish.

Students who intend to do foreign language coursework abroad, or to take literature or culture courses that they would like to apply to UNF programs of study in foreign languages (the minor in Chinese, French or Spanish, or the majors in French and Francophone Studies and Spanish) or International Studies must contact Dr. McCarl, director of International Studies, prior to registering for such coursework.

If that coursework involves languages others than Chinese, French or Spanish, and the student plans to apply that language coursework to the Foreign Language Requirement for International Studies, the student must also complete the following document on the Forms page of the International Studies Program Canvas Site: "Request for Permission to Fulfill International Studies Language Requirement with a Language Other than Chinese, French or Spanish." Students who begin language study abroad in a language other than Chinese, French and Spanish (which are consistently taught thought the intermediate level at UNF) will need to make their own arrangements to finish coursework through Intermediate II in that language at an institution or institutions other than UNF, and have the respective credits transferred back. 

Students should be aware that when pursuing language study at many non-UNF programs abroad, they will be asked to take a placement test upon arrival. If a student places at a lower level than they anticipated, they may be placed into courses that do not match those mapped out prior to departure on the concurrent enrollment/use of credits form. This may, in turn, impact how courses are brought back as transfer credits and counted (or not counted) toward requirements for major or minor programs of study at UNF.

Students seeking to receive academic credit at UNF for language coursework completed abroad should be aware that such credit can only be earned through coursework undertaken at (or through) universities or other institutions of higher learning, in the US or abroad, that can provide an academic transcript. Credit cannot be awarded for courses taken at language schools or academies, including those run by governmental entities.