Engineering Education Abroad Guide

Engineering Education Abroad Guide

View of Buildings in Spain
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 College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS). Check out the Engineering Abroad page for information related directly to your major and suggested programs. Use the following information and the Engineering Abroad information as a general guideline to plan your time abroad. It is also important to connect with your academic advisor. Work with Education Abroad advisors to get more details on how to get started, discuss your program options, and next steps. 

Quick Facts

  • Going abroad as an Engineering (CEAS) major is absolutely possible! 
  • It is best to plan early with your academic advisor to determine what time will work best for your major. 
  • Check out the Engineering Abroad page for information related directly to your major and suggested programs. 
  • The most common degree requirements taken abroad are H/SS courses, free electives, and some technical electives.
  • 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 planning to study abroad! Talk to your academic advisor to plan the best time to go abroad. Save some of your H/SS, free electives, and technical elective classes to take abroad. Some majors can study abroad as early as fall of sophomore year; applications are due in the prior spring term. 
  • Sophomore: For some majors you can go abroad your sophomore year. Continue saving H/SS, free electives, and technical elective classes if possible. Closely follow your degree audit to ensure that you'll have the pre-reqs needed for the upper-division engineering classes you need upon return to CU Boulder. 
  • Junior: This is the most common year to go abroad and works well for many engineering majors. If you are planning for fall semester study abroad, remember that the deadline will be in the prior spring term.
  • Senior: Studying abroad for a semester during senior year rarely works, due to the senior projects progression. Work closely with your advisor to ensure that you can get all of your requirements completed. Be sure that you know when credits may be transcripted, as this can delay your official graduation date.

Summer Abroad

Students can study abroad the summer after any year of study. It's recommended to study abroad the summer after your first or second year. This allows you to pursue an internship the summer after your junior year, which is a popular option among engineering majors. 

You can also study abroad the summer term after you've graduated. This would often mean fulfilling one remaining class such as a H/SS, free elective, or technical elective class. See the Ed Abroad FAQs for more information related to studying abroad after graduation.

Engineering Abroad

The College of Engineering has ample information developed in combination with the Education Abroad office. Check out the Engineering Abroad page for further information related directly to your major. This will include when to go abroad and where to go. There are semester programs, summer programs, Global Seminar (faculty-led) programs, and more! 

Engineering Abroad  

Additional Resources

Last Updated March 2023