Why study abroad as a Geography major?
Geography is an extraordinarily rich discipline. While Rutgers Geography offers courses in several of Geography’s many subfields, we cannot cover everything. By studying geography at one of Rutgers’ study abroad universities, you get the opportunity to explore the rich diversity of Geography subfields. Additionally, many of the benefits of studying abroad fit perfect into the Geography learning goals, such as:
- Use a spatial perspective to critically examine how human and physical components of the world interact
- Acquire frameworks, methods, and spatial models to identify and explain key geographical issues with attention to multi-scalar processes and connections between people, places, and environments
- Synthesize and examine critically a range of cultural, economic and societal issues, particularly those connected with globalization, geopolitics, and processes driving environmental change
- Assess structural inequalities throughout the globe (e.g. systemic racism, wage gap, austerity)
How to study abroad as a Geography major
- Plan: It will take a couple of months from the idea to going abroad.
- Attend an information session by the Rutgers Study Abroad program
- Make a plan for how to manage financially. Several options exist. Spend some time exploring the Rutgers Study abroad program’s website.
- Make an academic plan. Explore the pre-approved courses and programs on the Study Abroad website. Explore other universities that you are interested in as well.
- Work with the Geography advising team () to get help with your academic plan, suggestions for courses to take, and get pre-approvals
When to study abroad as a Geography major
We recommend that students study abroad in their junior or senior year. At that time, most students have taken one or more introductory courses and can benefit from taking upper-level courses at Study Abroad universities. Geography is an extraordinarily rich field with many sub-disciplines. Several of Rutgers study abroad universities offer upper-level courses that we don’t offer at Rutgers. This way, you can expand your knowledge of Geography while studying abroad.
When you study abroad, please work with the Geography advising team to ensure you fulfill all program requirements. You want to partially pay attention to the 01:450:330 Geography Research Methods and 01:450:470 History and Theory of Geography. These courses are mandatory and are only offered once a year (330 typically in the fall and 470 typically in the spring).
Where to study abroad (recommended programs)
We have pre-approved several courses taught in English at Stockholm University in Sweden, the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. Not knowing Swedish is not an issue when studying at Stockholm University. Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden and welcomes many international visitors, and the English language skills among Swedes are very high. For those who speak Spanish, we also recommend doing Study Abroad at the University of Valencia in Spain.
All the pre-approved courses can be found on the Study Abroad website.
Also see a sample of pre-approved courses at the bottom of this page. Please note that schedules change frequently, and the exact courses listed in the sample course plan may not be offered the semester you plan to study abroad.
What if you want to study at another Study Abroad university?
- Make a list of the Geography course offered at the university you are interested in attending. Include URL's to course descriptions and syllabi as provided by the host university’s website.
- Reach out to the Geography advising team () to get your courses evaluated.
- Follow the instructions by the Rutgers Study Abroad program to get course preapprovals recorded
How to pay for your study abroad
The Rutgers Study abroad program has different solutions for managing the financial aspect of studying abroad. Their goal is to make Study Abroad possible for all Rutgers students. Check out their website and learn more.
https://global.rutgers.edu/study-abroad/scholarships
https://global.rutgers.edu/study-abroad/finances
Affordable programs:https://global.rutgers.edu/access
The Geography department may also have small stipends for Geography majors who study abroad. Please contact the Geography advising team for details ()
Detailed sample plans for selected universities
Please note that schedules change frequently, and the exact courses listed in the sample course plan may not be offered the semester you plan to study abroad.
Summer courses
Fall semester courses
