Auburn Students

Auburn University students have many opportunities for international experience and education in the College of Agriculture. Nearly every department has some type of international travel experience for their undergraduates. You can go on a study tour, take courses, pursue travel as independent study or volunteer abroad. Here is a list of 10 top reasons to study abroad.

Academic Credit

Each department in the College of Agriculture variously offers an internship, field study, directed study or independent study course that may be used to obtain academic credit. In addition to the experience, the student may be asked to keep a journal, prepare a paper examining the experience or present a seminar about their service learning activity. Your adviser can help you decide what course is best for you and how to organize the learning contract.

Study Abroad

Students may elect to spend a semester or more at another university in an international setting. Summer coursework for academic credit in horticulture and equine science is available through summer programs organized by the respective AU departments. Professors Jeff Sibley in horticulture and Dale Coleman in animal sciences lead these programs. These courses will next be offered in summer 2012.

Auburn Abroad catalogs a diverse array of courses taught around the world. AU offers courses abroad taught by AU faculty, but many other universities have programs and courses that can provide academic credit. The Auburn Abroad office is organized to help you find a course in the location where you want to study and have an international experience. In the College of Agriculture, Maymester Abroad provides an Auburn course, taught by an Auburn professor, in an international setting!

Service Learning

Service learning programs provide organized experiences for students seeking to combine volunteering with cultural encounter, language development and fun with other students. Students can work with their advisers to identify opportunities through service learning providers that have an international focus, or through faculty contacts and relationships with nongovernmental organizations or academic institutions in other countries.

Students who have undertaken humanitarian service through church mission trips or other volunteer activities may pursue additional reading, writing and presentation under faculty guidance to obtain academic credit for directed study that builds on the experience.

Internships

Internships are ways for students to gain occupational and service experience in an actual setting in the field. For example, Atlanta-based CARE has an internship program that students may apply to.

The AU process for organizing International Internships is described here. Two approval forms are required from the student: one from the student's department to ensure proper guidance; and the other for the OIP Study Abroad process. The internship advisor in each department has an approval form to start the process in the College. For example, the DAERS approval form is available here.

The AU OIP organizes internship credit as a standard on-line Auburn Abroad program. The advisor helps the student start the process by filling out the OIP program approval form. As soon as OIP receives this, then OIP will send you a template for the internship program's on-line brochure.

AU Sources of Funding and Information

Several sources of AU funding for student travel are available. Click to learn more about:

Torbert and Stallworth AU International programs for undergraduates
The Orr Foundation
Study tours
The York International Scholars Program

Science GrantsNet: International Funding Index and Grants
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
A comprehensive list of study abroad resources is given here.

Financial Awards to Students

Financial awards are processed through the Office of Student Financial Services E-bill and refund process. In order to receive the award directly to your checking account, you will need to have an E-bill account. If there are charges on your account at the time of the award, they may be deducted, therefore it is best to "free up your account of any charges" so that the refund will go directly to your checking account in full.

If you do not have E-bill currently, please contact Student Financial Services for instructions and establish one if you anticipate receiving an award. Information regarding E-bill can be found on the tigeri tab of AU ACCESS. Once you confirm that an E-bill account is ready to receive the funds, OIA will be able to process the award. Once it is processed, it will only take several days to be deposited in your checking account.

Questions? Ask the Office of International Agriculture (click on a name to send an email)

Last Updated: February 01, 2013