Undergraduate Programs Guide
Study Abroad
Opportunities to Study Abroad
The global nature of the engineering profession makes a study abroad program particularly attractive. For the interested student, a year or semester abroad can provide valuable experiences in both the study of engineering and in their own cultural awareness.
The Process
Students typically study abroad in their junior year. Brown's Office of International Programs, (located on the first floor of Rhode Island Hall), provides many valuable resources for getting started. Students who do not find a Brown program that suits their needs may choose from a list of Non-Brown Approved Alternative Programs or fill out a petition to create a program of their own. For more information, please visit the official website of Brown's Office of International Programs or speak with your Engineering Concentration advisor.
In order to obtain transfer and/or concentration credit for any course taken at a foreign university, it must be transferable to the Brown curriculum. Students are advised to speak with their Concentration Advisors and Prof. B. Sheldon (the Liason to the Office of International Programs) for recommendations on international programs that may be particularly well-suited to serve undergraduates in Engineering. To meet this requirement, it is necessary for the student to obtain as much information as possible about the course; that is, the course syllabus, the course textbook(s), information about the course laboratory component, the number of hours the course meets, the duration of the course, and the grading system. This information should be conveyed to the appropriate faculty member(s) at Brown currently teaching the corresponding course(s) in the curriculum in order to obtain pre-approval for the proposed course(s). It is essential that pre-approval of each of the courses proposed for transfer and/or concentration credit be obtained, so that there is reasonable assurance that appropriate credit will be awarded at Brown upon satisfactory completion. Engineering Concentration Advisors should be consulted as early as possible regarding any plans for study abroad for a preliminary assessment of the transferability of proposed course(s), and to identify the appropriate faculty member(s) to be consulted for pre-approval. Because of language problems, differences in university calendars, etc., it is not always possible to certify a foreign course that satisfies the requirements of an individual Brown course completely. In such cases, the foreign course(s), together with a component of a course at Brown (a laboratory, for example) may be used to fulfill the requirements.
Recent Student Experiences
Some students study abroad in the spring of their third year. Their experiences are described in brief below.
Brian Miller (University of Sydney, through Butler University)
Courses Taken:
- Structural Analysis
- Environmental Fluids
- Australian Land and Nation
- Greek Mythology
Brian says "My time is Australia was amazing! It was so great to be able to go to a place completely different from here and become imersed in the culture. I really had the time of my life. Between all of the traveling and exploring that I got to do, to meeting some incredible people it is an experience that more people should take advantage of."
Evan Waters (National University of Ireland at Galway, through Butler Universtiy) Courses Taken:
- Solids and Structures II
- Elementary Soil Mechanics
- Design of Steel Structures
- Party and Power in 19th Century Britain
- Archaeology of the Irish Castle
- Specialist Studies in 20th Century Drama and Literature
Evan says "Ireland was an incredible place to discover, and I look back at my semester abroad as one of my greatest experiences ever. From hiking Crough Patrick, to exploring the Aran Islands, biking around the Dingle Peninsula, and kissing the Blarney stone, there were all sorts of adventures to be had. In spite of all the traveling that I did though, I also got to know Galway and NUIG very well too. The classes I took at NUIG were well taught, and fit nicely with my program of study at Brown. I would highly recommend Ireland, and especially Galway, as a great place to study abroad."
Katherine Leitch and Hannah Fry (University of Melbourne)
Katherine says "Attending a significantly larger engineering program allowed me to take advantage of a breadth of civil engineering courses not offered at Brown. While abroad I took four engineering courses that complemented my education here. It was wonderful to compare and contrast the environmental and structural challenges each nation faces. Traveling is wonderful whenever you can do it, but attending a university abroad truly allowed me to submerse myself in a vastly different culture that I would otherwise have had a superficial knowledge of.
My experience in Melbourne, Australia wasn't limited to academics. I explored my home city and traveled the country. I took wine tasting courses during the food and wine festival, met jazz legends, filled my kitchen with the most extraordinary food from the open air market, sailed the Whitsunday Islands on a three time title-winning sailing maxi, backpacked through the World Heritage Daintree Rainforest, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, toured the Sydney Opera House...and that's not even scratching the surface.
I highly recommend studying abroad. The faculty at Brown was wonderful helping me prepare for my trip and select my courses. Professors at Brown were even available to help while I was overseas. Whether you stay in Rhode Island or decide to go abroad, involve yourself as much as possible because Brown has so much to offer."
