NOTE

These answers may be different for a term or full year Exchange opportunity. If you are interested in exchange, please visit the International Student and Study Abroad Centre (ISSAC) in lower Place Reil or study.abroad@usask.ca.

  • At the time of application, you do not need to have a passport. You would just indicate “no” and let us know if you are currently applying or renewing.
  • With wait times at the Government Offices, we recommend doing this as soon as you can to avoid any delays.  Students will know by at least mid-February if they have been accepted to a program but that may be cutting it to close if your course departs in May.
  • Some locations or programs may require a copy of the passport information page weeks prior to departure (for program/tuition/ requirements or flights - if applicable) but that is on a program-by-program basis.
  • We DO ask for your passport number during the International Travel Registry that you complete prior to departure.

  1. Absolutely! Studying abroad can be both scary and exciting, but the great thing about the Taught Abroad courses is that you will be going with a group of students and the instructor, so there is always someone you can lean on for support or advice along the way. In fact, many students will be in the same situation. 
  2. Each one of our courses have very robust safety and risk management plans, as well as a thorough pre-departure procedures.  We will go over things like, what to expect, cultural awareness, culture shock and reverse culture shock, safety discussions, and in some cases we may provide conversational language classes (depending on the class and location).
  3. We ensure the students are well prepared prior to departing on their adventures!

  1. For European courses we do not arrange for the flights, that it is the responsibility of the students.  You will need to be on location on the first scheduled day of class. We do and can, offer advice to the entire class on when and how to do this.
  2. For trips traveling to countries in Africa, or programs being funded entirely by the Arts and Science Study Abroad office, we may arrange these flights for the entre class as a group.

  1. All taught Abroad courses include the accommodations with the program fee (which is separate than the tuition fee).

  1. For all Taught abroad programs students pay a program fee which includes the accommodations.  Depending on the course student might stay in hostels, hotels, or on campus at a partner university.  Some programs may have a home-stay opportunity (such as, GEOG to Costa Rica, or the SPAN language program in Guadalajara Mexico).

  1. Students must stay at the locations/accommodations that the college has arranged for the entire class. 
  2. For safety and liability reasons students cannot stay at other location for the duration of the course.
  3. In most situations, the group rates will always be less expensive.

  1. Only Service Pets as defined in the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission are allowed to accompany students on these programs. 

  1. Some of the program fees include on-site travel, such as bus rentals and train/bus passes. For some programs, students will be required to purchase train/bus passes on site.

  1. Students make their own travel arrangements, such as flights and accommodations, should they arrive on site prior to the class beginning.

  1. You must have medical travel insurance (SaskHealth is not sufficient)  
    https://students.usask.ca/academics/study-abroad/safety.php#Insurance

  1. Canadian students do not require visas for UK or Europe short term visits. Students will be advised if the country requires a visa. Countries like China and Uganda do require a visa.

  1. The Program fee (sometimes called the excursion fee) is paid directly to the Study Abroad program through a link provided in the letter of acceptance. It cannot be paid on your student account like your tuition is. 
  2. You will have to register in the class itself and pay the tuition as you do for all your other courses.

  1. When students are accepted to these programs, we hold a meeting to review the next steps as a group.  Each course is different.

  1. We will never exclude students based on having a disability. Not only would this be a violation of the Human Rights Code of Canada, but we want to include as many students in these opportunities as possible.  So please reach out to AES as soon as possible about your intentions to apply to a study abroad course.  They will work with you and the faculty members on your specific accommodations to see if the specific course can accommodate.  
    • We do our best to accommodate students’ needs in these courses, but there may be some that we cannot.  For example, if a student cannot get overheated we may not recommend the certain locations if there is no air conditioning in the accommodations. 

  1. At the moment, the only Taught Abroad course where knowledge of a language is an asset is the LING 300 class to Ecuador, as there is a lot of research about the language and speaking to local residents.
  2. Unless it’s a class to learn the language specifically, then no a language is not required. (ie: POLS 398 course to Japan did not require students to know Japanese).

  1. For some courses there is a minimum number of students needed to make it viable.  The last class we canceled due to lack of interest however was in 2016. 

  1. Generally meals are not included and would be the students' responsibility.
  2. Breakfasts may be covered with some hotel accommodations (depending on the location).
  3. There may be group dinners provided in some cases as a welcome.

  1. For most programs, the application deadline is February 1.  Acceptance letters will be sent out to students who are accepted shortly after that.  The deadline for the $500 deposit will be approximately the middle of March.  The remaining funds would be due in April.

  1. These Taught Abroad courses are exactly the same as all of your other classes, with the only difference being the location.
  2. They are either 3 or 6-credit unit classes. You register in the class here (ie: ANTH 365.6), but the class takes place in Italy.  
  3. They are considered to be similar to all other spring or summer classes, with no on-campus student fees.