The Department of Psychology encourages students to consider participating in the Education Abroad Program. This program gives you the opportunity to understand psychology from an international perspective while broadening your academic horizons. Every year 50 to 60 students in our department take advantage of the opportunity to study in one of 150 universities worldwide. Be sure to visit the EAP web site for a complete list of countries and schools available.

The best time to study abroad is in your junior year. By this time you should be a full major and be in the process of completing your upper division classes. It is very important that you complete the pre-major before you study abroad. If you go abroad as a pre-major, you will most likely exceed the department’s 144 unit cap for actually declaring the major. It then becomes impossible for you to continue in the Psychology or Biopsychology major.

Most schools available through EAP have psychology programs at which you can take classes for your major. The College of Letters and Science requires that at least 20 units for the upper division major be completed in residence at UCSB. This means Psychology majors can take up to 16 upper division psychology units abroad. Click here to see a list of classes already reviewed and approved by the Psychology department. This list represents only those classes previously approved. For a complete list of courses available, please see EAP’s coursefinder. It is imperative that the classes you take are upper division psychology courses that deal with and/or consider an empirical approach to the subject matter. Applied psychology courses can not be used to fulfill major requirements. The undergraduate advisor can help you determine whether or not a class will count for your requirements.

For Biopsychology majors, careful planning is required if you wish to study abroad. Since this major has many required units that must be taken in a particular order, you need to be sure that your time away from UCSB will not put you behind in your progress. It can also be more difficult for biopsychology students to find courses that fulfill the biopsychology lectures in Area C of the upper division major. However, it is possible to find your psychology electives while abroad. This list will help you determine which countries are good choices for biopsychology students who are interested in studying abroad.

Students not wishing to miss time during the regular academic year might consider studying abroad during the summer at one of the summer term programs. The programs at Cambridge and Sussex in England allow you to take Psychology courses, an opportunity not available in most summer programs.

It is important that you make an appointment to meet with the undergraduate advisor to discuss your plans to study abroad before your application is due. The advisor will not sign EAP applications without sitting down and discussing your progress. Make your appointment early since many students need EAP applications signed at the same time. While abroad, be sure to keep all syllabi and paper work from your classes. This is what the faculty needs to review all classes to determine the credit you will receive.

Here are some quotes from Psychology and Biopsychology majors who have studied abroad:

Martine Beerman
Barbados--University of Cave Hill, West Indies—semester program
”I loved the program. Academically, the school is a lot less stressful than Santa Barbara because I was on the semester program which goes a whole bunch slower and gives you more time to study, etc. Class rooms were smaller than at UCSB, but the psych department there is pretty big so those classes were generally bigger than my other classes.”

Julianna Van Wieren
Italy--University of Trento—semester program
“I made tons of friends from all over Europe, had some interesting classes, and had a good amount of time to travel outside of school. The advisors at EAP and abroad are very helpful in getting the classes you take to count for GE requirements, although it is much harder to have them count for specific degree requirements. Getting lots of information and speaking with a department official ahead of time definitely helps! Even if none of my classes had counted, I would have recommended this experience to anyone, it was one of the best things I've ever done, and I would love to do it again if I had the chance!”

Jacob Dodge
Spain—University of Barcelona—summer program
“It was the first time the program was offered and the last. Were I to do it over again, I would have done a program that has been well established, so I could get feedback from students who'd already gone. It's expensive going through EAP, so it's good to know exactly what you're getting yourself into. Knowing what you want out of the program is very important, but you also want to go with an open mind.”

Danen Adelson
Italy--Accent Center, UC Rome—semester program
“I had an unforgettable time in Rome. It was able to experience new areas of study that I never would have had learned due to the regimen of classes here in the states. Where else better to learn about art history than in Rome where some of the most beautiful masterpieces were created! The professors in Italy were very passionate during their lectures. Plus, the friends I made while living in Rome are friends I will have for the rest of my life.”

Heather Barenchi
England --Pembroke College, University of Cambridge—summer program
“This was definitely the best experience so far of my life. Not only did I have the opportunity to study in another country, but I also had the chance to travel and meet great friends, while still receiving credit towards my major and GE requirements. A small tip for the ladies: don't bring expensive hair appliances thinking that an electrical converter and/or an adaptor will be okay. They usually do not work that well, and I have seen many appliances that are worth over $100 broken while abroad!”

Cathy Tran
Hong Kong--Hong Kong University—semester program
“It was an awesome experience for me in terms of both learning more about psychology and just learning more about the world. The local students are wonderful and many of them love getting to know international students. In Hong Kong, there are many psychology courses that are similar to those at UCSB, such as Developmental, Perception and Cognitive. However, there are also some twists to the norms; for example, there is also Advertising Psychology and Engineering Psychology. The classes are quite interactive, many of which requires presentations and various projects... and some have field trips. The university offers many opportunities that are very suitable for psychology majors and on top of that, it is in a city that just never sleeps - it's impossible to be bored there.” (Cathy Tran's EAP Website)

Natalie Fabert
England --Pembroke College, University of Cambridge—summer program
“Just like everyone will tell you, going abroad will probably turn out to be the best time you will ever have. Even in a Western country like England there were subtle but very significant differences in the culture. It is important to remember that you are studying abroad to gain an experience different from your own. So don't say things like, "We don't do it like this in America." That kind of attitude makes us look bad. If you are a Psych major and you do EAP in Cambridge I strongly recommend taking Behavioral Ecology. This was the most exciting class I took abroad, and it can count towards 110 + Psych requirements as long as you remember to sign up for it as a Psychology class.”

Leah Weston
Scotland--University of Edinburgh—year program
“It was an amazing experience. This school has a wonderful psychology department, however the program is much less organized than ours at UCSB.”

Alison Olsen
Spain--Complutense University, Madrid—year program
"While studying abroad in a foreign country with a language that isn´t your
mother tongue, you´ll discover that there really are critical periods for
language comprehension& acquisition. And you realize, no matter what you do,
you most likely will always have an accent. The Spanish Lifestyle is sometimes viewed as more affectionate. Instead of hugs
or a warm embrace, the whole world gives you besitos& kisses you on the cheeks.
I don´t think you go a day without being kissed. Now this is a custom you could
get used to, I know I sure did. I HIGHLY recommend taking psych courses from Profesor Rafael Gonzalez Fernandez
at Complutense University in Madrid, Spain. Besides being quite the comedian,
he understands your pain, because being an extranjero (foreigner) isn´t always
easy."

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