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Economics Education Abroad Guide

The View from the Tower Japan Sapporo by Amber Arline
CU Boulder Education Abroad offers over 400 programs in over 70 countries! You can go abroad for a semester, year, 2-12 weeks in the summer, or even winter break. Going abroad is strongly encouraged by the Economics department. Use the following information as a general guideline to plan your time abroad, and connect with your academic advisor as well. Work with Education Abroad advisors to get more details on how to get started, discuss your program options, and next steps. 

Quick Facts

  • Junior year is the most common semester to study abroad for ECON majors
  • The ECON Dept. requests students complete both the principles-level and intermediate-level theory courses on the CU campus.
  • The ECON Dept. provides funding for approved seniors to travel abroad through the Eaton Travel Sabbatical program. Contact your academic advisor to learn more.
  • ECON major pursuing an International, Public Policy, or Environmental Emphasis have extensive options to complete the ancillary requirements associated with the emphases.
  • Use the Course Approvals List to find programs that offer courses approved for the credit you need

Planning and When to Go

  • First-year: Start taking your required/sequence ECON courses as soon as possible. It is ideal to have Micro Principles, Macro Principles and calculus completed by the end of your first-year to stay on track! 
  • Sophomore: Don't skip a semester in any of your ECON courses! Completing Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 3070) and Economics Statistics (ECON 3818) as soon as possible will allow for ultimate flexibility when positioning to complete 4000-level ECON courses abroad. Sophomores who go abroad and have not completed the intermediate-level economics classes on the CU campus are not eligible to take any 4000-level ECON courses abroad, but will instead have to fulfill A&S Core/Gen. Ed. or non-major general electives.
  • Junior: Go abroad! Be sure that you understand what courses you will have left upon return to CU Boulder.
  • Senior: If waiting until senior year to travel abroad, the ECON Dept. recommends traveling in the fall semester since it is high unlikely to graduate a senior in the spring semester when traveling abroad in the spring term. Be sure to doublecheck when your study abroad transcript will be received by CU and credits processed to your degree audit, as this can delay your official graduation date.

What Kind of Credit Can You Earn Abroad?

Usually Doable Tricky Probably Not
General Electives  A&S Gen Ed ECON A&S Gen Ed ECON A&S Gen Ed ECON
Overall credit hours  Arts and Humanities, Natural Science (Non-Lab), Social Sciences ECON 4000-level electives; ancillary requirements linked to emphasis
 		 Global Diversity Principles-level micro/macroeconomics courses Natural Science (Lab), Written Communication Intermediate-level micro/macroeconomics courses; UD economics statistics

Suggested Programs

Use these links to find programs that may be a good match for you and your course needs.  

Additional Resources

 
Last Updated March 2023