Study Abroad

Overview

Studying abroad is not a requirement for Psychology majors, but it is one of many high-impact practices that students may opt to pursue. Overall, the Psychology major is fairly flexible and can accommodate students' interest in studying abroad. However, the number of course options students may have will greatly depend on the program/institution, as well as what remaining PSY requirements a student has left to complete.

 

What is the Process to Go on Study Abroad?

Studying abroad involves planning and interactions with the Global Education Office, Psychology Advising Office (if planning on completing PSY requirements) and potentially other advisors, depending on what requirements you will aiming to complete abroad (e.g., major/minor, foreign language, required study abroad experience). 

As a starting point, you will want to start the process by creating an account through Aztecs Abroad Links to an external site. and following the advising steps. We also encourage you to visit Kelsey Toyoda's study abroad advising hours Links to an external site.. Kelsey is the Global Education advisor for the College of Sciences and can answer many of your non-academic questions regarding studying abroad (e.g., searching for abroad programs, application questions, financial differences by program type, which programs are "good" based on student feedback, etc.). 

The following information on this page covers general guidance with regard to which requirements may be completed abroad, timing of when to study abroad, etc. For specific guidance, please visit the Psychology Advising Office and an advisor can review your remaining degree requirements and provide suggestions (e.g., summer vs. semester program, timing depending on current class level, progress in the PSY major/minor, and anticipated graduation date). 

 

What Type of Requirements Should I Take Abroad?

We have provided some general guidance below, but we highly encourage all Psychology majors and minors to meet with one of our advisors to ensure that you will be able to graduate in the timeframe that you are anticipating, even if you are not planning to complete Psychology requirements abroad.  

 

General Education Requirements

All students are eligible to complete lower-division GE Foundations requirements while abroad. However, the type of program you attend dictates whether or not you can complete upper-division GE Explorations while abroad.

Specifically, students are only eligible to complete GE Explorations requirements abroad if they (1) will be attending an Exchange program, and (2) will have earned 60+ units in the semester that they are taking courses abroad. For more information, review the "Credit & Courses Abroad" row of the table near the top of the Program Types page Links to an external site. for Aztecs Abroad. 

Students can find a list of approved international GE courses on the GE Study Abroad Course Approvals website Links to an external site.. If a course is not listed on this website, students can submit a request for a course to be reviewed using the International GE Course Proposal Google Form linked on the Global Education website Links to an external site. (under "Resources for Academic Approval" section). It takes approximately 3 weeks for students to receive a decision from the Office of the Registrar.

 

Psychology Requirements

Finding study abroad courses that are deemed equivalent to SDSU can sometimes be challenging. Therefore we suggest that you plan ahead to take certain types of requirements during study abroad: requirements that tend to be easier to fill with study abroad courses.

  • Do save most of your Psychology upper-division "Additional Units" for your time abroad. Any upper-division study abroad course offered by a psychology department should transfer in to meet additional units. Such a course does not need to be equivalent to an SDSU course to transfer. Students on the I/O or Neuroscience Emphasis may want to save some of their breadth requirements as well, since they have fewer additional units.
  • Do NOT try to take statistics or methods abroad. We have yet to find an abroad course that would be deemed equivalent to either the lower-division statistics requirement or the upper-division methods requirement for the major.
  • Do NOT try to take I/O courses abroad. We have only found one abroad course deemed equivalent to PSY 319 and two abroad courses deemed equivalent to PSY 421, but have yet to find an abroad course that would be deemed equivalent to PSY 420. These courses are very specific and it is unlikely that we will find comparable courses. Even in the cases where we have found an equivalent course, it is important to note that there is no guarantee that the course(s) will be offered in the term that you study abroad. 
  • Try not to take Group 4 or neuro emphasis classes abroad. There is slightly more optimism that you may find a Group IV or neuro emphasis course abroad that could meet an SDSU requirement than there is for statistics, methods, or I/O classes, but whether there are any comparable offerings is dependent on the program.

 

When is the Best Time to Study Abroad?

For all students

We highly recommend avoiding studying abroad in your last year (ideally) but especially in your last semester. The reason for this is because it can take between 1-4 months after completion of the abroad program for the transcript from the international institution to be sent and processed by SDSU Links to an external site.. Studying abroad in your last semester typically results in delaying graduation by at least one term (e.g., studying abroad in Spring usually results in not being able to officially graduate until Summer even if remaining graduation requirements will have been completed through abroad coursework taken in the Spring). 

 

'Regular' PSY majors or Personality and Social minors

Most flexible for study abroad; recommend between 2nd semester Sophomore year to end of Junior year; generally do not recommend studying abroad in final semester at SDSU; for PSY majors, at the latest, we recommend studying abroad in the summer before Senior year to allow time for transcripts to arrive to SDSU prior to Spring registration.

  • Recommended abroad institutions/programs (alphabetical order):
    • Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
    • Chung-Ang University
    • Deakin University
    • DIS
    • John Cabot University
    • Korea University
    • London Metropolitan University (recommended for PSY majors)
    • Nottingham Trent University (recommended for PSY majors)
    • Universidad de Murcia
    • University of Birmingham
    • University of Kent
    • University of Leicester (recommended for PSY majors)
    • University of New York in Prague
    • University of Roehampton
    • Any winter/summer programs

 

I/O emphases or I/O minors

Sophomore to 1st semester of Junior year, recommend to take PSY 340 abroad, difficult to find equivalents to PSY 319, 420 or 421; for I/O emphases, very limited number of options unless Breadth and/or Additional Units requirements are not yet satisfied. 

  • Recommended abroad institutions/programs (alphabetical order): 
    • Al Akhawayn University – if can guarantee that PSY 319 equivalent is offered in the semester going abroad
    • Bahcesehir University – if can guarantee that PSY 421 and 370 equivalents are offered in the semester going abroad
    • John Cabot University – if can guarantee that PSY 421 equivalent is offered in the semester going abroad
    • Any winter/summer programs
      • Note: Any program listed under "'Regular' PSY majors or Personality and Social minors" section would work if studying abroad when you still have multiple Group and Additional Units reqs. to complete.

 

Neuroscience emphases or Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience minors

Sophomore to 1st semester of Junior year, can be a bit difficult to find equivalents to neuro/cog courses; for Neuro emphases, may have limited options unless Breadth and/or Additional Units requirements are not yet satisfied. 

  • Recommended abroad institutions/programs (alphabetical order): 
    • Bahcesehir University – if can guarantee that PSY 360 equivalent is offered in the semester going abroad
    • University of Birmingham – if can guarantee that PSY 388 equivalent is offered in the semester going abroad
    • John Cabot University – if can guarantee that PSY 360, 362, and/or 380 equivalents are offered in the semester going abroad
    • Korea University – if can guarantee that PSY 362 and/or 388 equivalents are offered in the semester going abroad
    • University of New York in Prague – if can guarantee that PSY 360 and/or 380 equivalents are offered in the semester going abroad
    • Any winter/summer programs
      • Note: Any program listed under "'Regular' PSY majors or Personality and Social minors" section would work if studying abroad when you still have multiple Group and Additional Units reqs. to complete.

 

Are There any Pre-Approved Psychology Courses for Study Abroad?

Students can look through the list of abroad courses that have been previously reviewed by the Psychology advisor, which may serve as helpful. Note that the list is not exhaustive, as there are many programs that have yet to be reviewed. However, it contains courses that were approved when previous psychology majors and minors went abroad and details how each course would be able to apply toward psychology requirements.

 

I've Been Accepted to an Abroad Program. How do I get my Academic Approval Form signed?

Please review the Academic Approval Form Process for Psychology page for guidance on how to get your form signed by one of our directors.