Dear Loved Ones,
Study Abroad is a life-changing experience for most students; it’s an experience
that offers opportunities for academic and personal growth that cannot be achieved
in a traditional academic setting. We are thrilled that your student is considering
making Quarter Abroad part of their UC Davis experience!
At the same time we realize that the decision to support your student to participate
can be a difficult one. You may wonder how he/she will choose the best program,
how to fund the opportunity, or what kind of safety issues should be considered.
You probably want to know more about the organization that is coordinating your
student’s time abroad.
All of the UC Davis Quarter Abroad programs are UC Davis Faculty-led programs with
courses from the UC Davis General Catalog. Students know exactly what the courses
will give them credit for. They can fulfill major, minor, or GE requirements while
abroad. This means that the courses they take on Quarter Abroad will count towards
their degree. Since safety is one of our primary concerns, our faculty program leaders
live either with or near the student participants and spend a considerable amount
of time with them, inside and outside the classroom. The student’s existing financial
aid package applies to all of the QA programs as well, and scholarships or loans
are available to help students cover any additional costs related to studying abroad.
We typically have 7-8 programs during each academic year (Fall, Winter, or Spring).
We encourage you to send your student in to the EAC to meet with us. Even if we
don’t have the right Quarter Abroad program for them, we will utilize all the resources
of the Education Abroad Center (Education Abroad Program (EAP), Summer Abroad (SA),
and independent study abroad programs) to help them achieve their study abroad goals.
This is an important step in a student’s life, and like all important events it
requires a lot of your student. To study abroad includes responsibilities. Students
will take a number of steps early, not only to become an informed traveler, but
also to lay the foundation of their time abroad becoming meaningful. Quarter Abroad
provides many resources to allow students to be prepared but it is ultimately the
student who has to take the steps for preparing for the journey. The better informed
your student is, the more they will enjoy their experience. You are taking a wonderful
step in this process by helping him/her to gather this information.
We have created this page on our website for loved ones like you, who are interested
in providing your student with the opportunity to have a rich cultural and academic
experience that will contribute to their development as global citizens. To that
end we hope the resources and links we have provided will be useful to you. If you
have any questions or concerns, please contact us at quarterabroad@ucdavis.edu or (530) 297-4633.
We'd be happy to talk with you further.
Warm regards,
The UC Davis Quarter Abroad Staff
