Engineering Junior Year Study Abroad
Junior Year Programs
Juniors can study abroad in direct enroll programs at University of Auckland, the National University of Singapore, Dublin City University, or the University of Sydney. Some of these locations will work better for certain majors than others, and all require significant effort by the student to organize. In these programs, students enroll in courses already offered at these universities; information on how to find suitable courses is outlined below.
Thinking of going abroad junior year? review this page then schedule a meeting with Kat Mor to discuss the process in more detail.
Auckland, New Zealand (fall and spring)
University of Auckland
A public research university, the University of Auckland is the highest-ranked university in New Zealand. It consists of eight Faculties (Schools) encompassing the fine arts, social and natural sciences, engineering, humanities and business among other disciplines.
A 3.00 GPA is required, though applications from students with a 2.8 or 2.9 will be considered on a case by case basis.
Brief course descriptions as well as information on course prerequisites and restrictions are available in the course catalog. More detailed course descriptions (syllabi) are accessible at the University Digital Course Outline. The outline in the Digital Course Outline includes the course description, learning outcomes, assessment methods, method of delivery and more.
The course levels of University of Auckland courses are easily identifiable by their three-digit designators. The Stage I courses usually equate to 200-level courses in the US, the Stage II courses equate to 300-level course in the US, and so on. Course codes that begin with 6 or 7 are graduate level courses and are generally not available to undergraduate students.
Students are required to take a General Education course relating to the history and/or culture of New Zealand. There are no Hub units associated with this program.
Dublin, Ireland (fall and spring)
Dublin City University
Dublin City University (DCU) is a young and vibrant university, situated on an 85 acre campus close to the city center and just a 15-minute drive from Dublin airport. Students of DCU have the best of both worlds; the social and cultural benefits of city life, but with the security and vibrancy of a modern university campus.
A 3.00 GPA is required.
Students are required to take a course on Irish history and culture (4cr) and may choose from several options, some of which carry Hub units.
Course Catalog
– Choose ‘Science and Health (SHSAO)’ for BME/health sciences courses
– Choose ‘Engineering & Computing (ECSAO)’ for other engineering tracks
DCU has recently renumbered all of their courses, therefore, two numbers are often present.
Note: In Dublin, credits for courses (called units) will vary. Units translate to BU credits as follows: 5 units = 3 credits, 7.5 units = 4 credits, 10 units = 5 credits. Students studying abroad in Dublin must take the equivalent of 16-20 BU credits while abroad; students may need to take 4 or 5 DCU courses to accumulate the required number of BU credits.
Singapore (fall and spring)
National University of Singapore
NUS offers a distinctively Asian and global experience that is grounded in maximizing the potential of students and their future-readiness. Incoming exchange students can take a variety of cross-disciplinary modules from Engineering & Technology to Southeast Asian languages and cultures.
A minimum GPA of 3.00 is strongly recommended due to the rigorous nature of the Engineering program at NUS.
Students are required to take a General Education course relating to the culture of Singapore, or a Southeast Asian language course. There are no Hub units associated with this program.
Available Courses
Sydney, Australia (fall and spring)
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is one of Australia’s best universities, with a stunning campus located in the heart of vibrant Sydney. The university’s teachers, researchers and leading thinkers are paving the way for solutions to complex global issues impacting upon our health, environment, technology and culture.
Requires a minimum GPA of 3.00
Required course: CAS AN 368: Australian Culture and Society (4cr). This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy.
Students have the option of completing an internship while in Sydney (this would take the place of one of their three technical classes). CAS EK 490: ENG Internship fulfills a single unit in the following Hub area: Individual and Community. The internship is credit bearing and will impact your GPA, but the credits do not automatically fulfill any degree requirements. May fulfill an elective by petition, depending on what the internship entails, though this is rare as the internship does not typically meet the standards of an academic class.
BU Study Abroad requires you to get a CORI form notarized for this location. Please bring your passport, copy of passport photo, and completed CORI form to a notary appointment.
Available Courses
Semester 1 = BU Spring
Semester 2 = BU Fall
To view class syllabus/details: Within the unit of study tools you’ll find a series of links to google spreadsheets with various lists of units of study and within each google spreadsheet you’ll find a column with a link to view a recent unit outline (syllabus). After you click the link to view a unit of study page scroll part of the way down the page to the ‘Unit outlines’ section where you will see tabs including unit outlines for the current year and previous year.
Which Courses Should I Take?
Students must identify courses at the host institution and get approval to use these courses towards their degree requirements. There are two ways to do this:
1: Review the course catalog for each location (linked in the drop-down menus above) to see which courses are offered and ensure the desired courses are offered during the abroad semester.
2: Review *this spreadsheet* of previously approved courses to see how courses offered at each location may equate to courses at Boston University. Some courses are pre-approved for a five-year period, and require no additional approval steps.
For new course equivalencies – or courses that are not pre-approved for a five-year period – students must complete a Study Abroad Course Substitution Request form. Send the course substitution approval form to the faculty member responsible for approving study abroad course substitutions within your department, copying Kat Mor on these emails:
Note that the spreadsheet linked above is a starting point in researching course equivalencies, but students should also conduct their own research on the timing and availability of these and the many other course options that are available and can be reviewed for equivalency to BU courses.
Ultimately students will need 7-10 approved courses for the sake of flexibility. Once the appropriate number of course equivalencies are identified/have been approved complete a Study Abroad Course Substitution Summary form listing your possible courses for your abroad program.
Junior Programs Application Process
Application deadlines vary by location, and can be found on the individual program pages, linked above.
Got your list of possible classes? Present your completed Study Abroad Course Substitution Summary form along with a four-year plan of completion in your CST to Kat Mor, outlining how the courses completed abroad will fit into your degree requirements.
Prior to submitting the necessary materials students should schedule a meeting with Kat Mor and, separately, should ensure that any outstanding paperwork for transfer credit, petitions, minors, and/or concentrations (if applicable) has been submitted to the ENG Records Office. General questions regarding the Junior Year Study Abroad Programs should be directed to Kat Mor.
For spring programs: materials should be submitted to the College of Engineering in early August.
For fall programs: materials must be submitted to the College of Engineering at least two weeks prior to the Study Abroad program deadline.
Apply with BU Study Abroad/host institution
Once you have received confirmation from the Undergraduate Programs Office that your study abroad plan and course equivalencies have been approved you should complete the Advisor Support of Participation Form, nominating
Kat Mor (kmor@bu.edu), as your advisor for this purpose. Please note that your application may not be valid if the Advisor Support of Participation form is not completed by the Director of Undergraduate Programs.
All study abroad applications must be completed on-line. A $55 non-refundable fee is applied once the application is submitted, therefore, it is advised to wait to submit the BU Study Abroad application until all of the ENG components have been reviewed and approved. You may apply with BU Study Abroad here.
You must also apply directly with the Host Institution. This process will be facilitated by BU Study Abroad, after the College of Engineering and Study Abroad approve your application.
A pre-departure meeting will be held on campus the semester prior to your participation. This meeting, hosted by BU Study Abroad, will provide crucial information about your visa application and the preparation of going abroad to your site.
Students should plan to stay for the duration of the program; late arrivals and early departures are not permitted.
Please note: Students enrolled in the Boston University College of Engineering must meet the minimum GPA requirements for each institution at the time of applying, and maintain good academic standing (cumulative GPA and semester GPI of 2.0 or greater) in order to be eligible to participate in an abroad program. If good academic standing is not maintained, Boston University Study Abroad and the College of Engineering reserve the right to rescind admission to this program.
Wondering how to manage your on-campus housing options in relation to studying abroad? See BU’s guidelines on this.