Study Abroad
The Department of Engineering supports Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) majors who are interested in studying abroad during the summer or during the academic term. Students interested in studying abroad should talk with their faculty advisors about the possibility and build it into their four-year plan to ensure that they can fulfill all academic requirements.
Study Abroad as an HCE Major
HCE majors have multiple options for studying abroad. Read below for for more information.
A very important point to consider when it comes to academic planning: engineering majors who want to study abroad during the semester must have completed at least one year of the MCAS Language Requirement (Beginning 1 and 2) before setting foot abroad. This requirement cannot be waived. Plan ahead!
Summer Projects Abroad with BC Engineering
Each summer the Department of Engineering offers summer projects abroad. These courses fulfill the ENGR3100: Collaborative Service Project requirement for the major during BC's Summer Session. Applications are due via the OGE website on in early February.
Projects abroad for Summer 2025:
- Prof. Henriques will lead a trip to Manila, June 14-July 12.
- Prof. Govindasamy and Prof. Hira will lead a trip to India, Aug 2-16.
Past projects abroad (summer 2024):
- Prof. Gaudette led a trip to Manila, Philippines.
- Prof. Govindasamy and Prof. Hira led a trip to India.
Students interesting in studying abroad in the fall or spring semester of the junior year, should start the application process through the Office of Global Education (OGE) during the fall of their sophomore year.
Note: Students must have at least 1 year of their language requirement fulfilled before going abroad and a substantial amount of their Core completed.
OGE applications are due in early January and require attending a Study Abroad 101 session and clearing your plans with Jenna Tonn in Engineering. We also encourage you to meet with an OGE Regional Advisor to help identify programs of interest.
FAQ
Students can take the ENGR3100: Collaborative Service Engineering Project course either on campus during the spring of their junior year or abroad during the summer after their sophomore or junior year. Most students will take it abroad the summer after their sophomore year. Note that some ENGR3100 courses abroad will require signing up for a 2-credit course before departure in the spring.
The OGE offers summer programs abroad that fulfill Core requirements. Some fall/spring abroad programs might have pre-approved Core courses. In general, don’t count on fulfilling your Core courses abroad during the academic term.
2023-2024: Newcastle, University College Cork, National University of Singapore, and UNSW Sydney (Australia).
2024-2025: National University of Singapore, Galway, Carlos III (Spain), UNSW (Australia), University of Queensland (Australia), Cork
Good question! The department will waive this requirement. Apply for this via a degree audit and substitution form upon your return.
That’s great! Then you will have to do some leg work to research engineering courses offered at BC Programs at institutions not on the approved list. You are looking for engineering courses related to your area of interest (health/energy/environment/other), offered in English, that you are prepared to take and do well in. Look carefully at the prerequisites and reach out to Prof. Tonn or your faculty advisor with questions.
First, choose your courses abroad carefully. The Department of Engineering can offer credit for two 3-credit tech electives max for a semester abroad. As you’re picking your courses, make sure that: (a) you have the required prerequisite courses; (b) that the courses you choose are in engineering departments, taught by engineers, and ideally related to your area of interest; (c) they don’t overlap in terms of content with courses that you’ve taken here at BC. Prof. Tonn and your other engineering faculty can confirm that your course selection makes sense. Just FYI - depending on your institution abroad, they might have their own rules about how to report pre-requisites, etc. Once you’ve enrolled in your courses abroad, you’ll need to fill out two different forms for us:
- First fill out a Study Abroad Course Evaluation Form, which allows us to approve your course for credit at BC. This form requires a syllabus. Fill out this form before you leave for your abroad experience.
- Second, if you want your course to count for your tech elective requirement, fill out a Degree Audit Course Substitution and Waiver Form to request that each study abroad course will fulfill major credit. In order for us to approve this, we will also need a copy of all of your graded work from the engineering course(s) that you take abroad. You can drop it all into a google folder and share it with Prof. Tonn or email jenna.tonn@bc.edu directly. If your courses use Canvas, then you can upload your Canvas content. Fill out this form at the end of the semester you are abroad.