Study Abroad Information for SJU Faculty

Study Abroad Application

All students who study abroad under the auspices of Saint Joseph 's University will need to submit two (2) Academic References from current SJU faculty. The Center for International Programs has created the SJU Academic Reference Form for faculty to use. Faculty may complete the form as is or attach a reference letter to the form. All Faculty References should be either returned to the student or sent to the Center for International Programs directly. All application materials must be sent to CIP for review purposes; please do not send an Academic Reference to a study abroad program directly.

Some of the study abroad programs on our Approved and Affiliated List prefer that Faculty complete their Academic Reference Form. When this is the case we ask that students use the Study Abroad Program's Form in place of the SJU form. This information is for your reference as you will likely see several versions of an "Academic Reference" form. Regardless of whose form it is, all Academic References from faculty should be sent to the Center for International Programs.

Study Abroad Deadlines: All application materials for study abroad applications must be received by CIP by the stated deadline; this includes Academic References. CIP cannot review an application until it is complete.

Study abroad deadlines vary slightly each semester. Generally, applications for Fall semester abroad are due in mid-March; while Spring semester are due in early October. For current deadlines please visit our events and deadlines page.

Courses Abroad and Academic Value Sheets for Programs

All SJU students who study abroad for a semester or more are required to have all of the courses they plan to take abroad pre-approved. The SJU Study Abroad Policy states that "Students must receive proper approval for their proposed program of study. Upon successful completion of an approved foreign program of study, credit will be granted towards graduation for all appropriate courses taken on SJU affiliated or approved programs."

To aid students with this process, the Center for International Programs maintains a list of courses taken abroad that have been approved for students in the past. CIP has these lists, called Academic Value Sheets for many of the programs on our approved/affiliated list. For those programs that have been popular with SJU students for many years (ex. The American University of Rome), the Academic Value Sheets are quite extensive. However, these lists were started many years back and course numbers and course titles may have changed. Beginning this year, whenever possible, we note the date the course was added or updated on the Academic Value Sheet.

Please contact the CIP if you are interested in obtaining a copy of an Academic Values Sheet for a particular program.

Course Approval Procedure

Students are not limited to the courses listed on the Academic Value Sheet for each program. When students find a course abroad that is not on the Academic Value Sheet then the student must seek approval for that course from the appropriate Department Chair. We advise students to print out a detailed course description or syllabus from the University's website and bring the description to the Department Chair for his/her review.

Department Chairs will need to evaluate the course and assign it an SJU equivalent. Whenever possible, we ask that Department Chairs indicate whether courses are equivalent to a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level GER; a specific major or minor requirement (please list SJU course code); elective; or are not approved. In order to grant the student the appropriate credit upon completion of his or her semester abroad the Center for International Programs must have written proof of all course approvals.

The Center for International Programs has developed a form that students should use to obtain course approvals. This form is called the Study Abroad Course Equivalency Approval Form. We require all study abroad participants to complete this form prior to departure. Students must first make sure all courses have been approved by Department Chairs or have CIP verify pre-approved courses. Then, students should bring the form to their Academic Advisor for their signature. We ask students to do this so that they can be assured courses taken abroad will fulfill appropriate graduation and/or major requirements.

There are several items of particular interest on the Approval Form to Department Chairs. In the first section where we ask Department Chairs to assign the abroad course an SJU equivalent there is a small area that asks "For all?" Here we ask Department Chairs to indicate whether this course is approved for all SJU students who may take the course at this time or in the future - or - if the Department Chair's approval is an exception for this particular student. If Department Chairs indicate that the course is approved "For All" then we are able to add that course to our master list of approved courses and update the Academic Value Sheets for that program.