Economics Education Abroad Guide
CU Boulder Education Abroad offers over 400 programs in over 60 countries! You can go abroad for a semester, year, and/or 2-12 weeks in the summer. Going abroad is strongly encouraged by the Economics department. Use the following information as a general guideline to plan your time abroad, and connect with your academic advisor as well. Work with Education Abroad advisors to get more details on how to get started, discuss your program options, and next steps.
Quick Facts
- Junior year is the most common semester to study abroad for ECON majors
- The ECON Dept. requests students complete both the principles-level and intermediate-level theory courses on the CU campus.
- The ECON Dept. provides funding for approved seniors to travel abroad through the Eaton Travel Sabbatical program. Contact your academic advisor to learn more.
- ECON major pursuing an International, Public Policy, or Environmental Emphasis have extensive options to complete the ancillary requirements associated with the emphases.
- Use the Course Approvals List to find programs that offer courses approved for the credit you need
Planning and When to Go
- First-year: Start taking your required/sequence ECON courses as soon as possible. It is ideal to have Micro Principles, Macro Principles and calculus completed by the end of your first-year to stay on track!
- Sophomore: Don't skip a semester in any of your ECON courses! Completing Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 3070) and Economics Statistics (ECON 3818) as soon as possible will allow for ultimate flexibility when positioning to complete 4000-level ECON courses abroad. Sophomores who go abroad and have not completed the intermediate-level economics classes on the CU campus are not eligible to take any 4000-level ECON courses abroad, but will instead have to fulfill A&S Gen Ed or non-major general electives.
- Junior: Go abroad! Be sure that you understand what courses you will have left upon return to CU Boulder.
- Senior: If waiting until senior year to travel abroad, the ECON Dept. recommends traveling in the fall semester since it is high unlikely to graduate a senior in the spring semester when traveling abroad in the spring term. Be sure to doublecheck when your study abroad transcript will be received by CU and credits processed to your degree audit, as this can delay your official graduation date.
What Kind of Credit Can You Earn Abroad?
Usually Doable | Tricky | Probably Not | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Electives | A&S Gen Ed | ECON | A&S Gen Ed | ECON | A&S Gen Ed | ECON | ||
Overall credit hours | Arts and Humanities, Natural Science (Non-Lab), Social Sciences | ECON 4000-level electives; ancillary requirements linked to emphasis |
Global Diversity | Principles-level micro/macroeconomics courses | Natural Science (Lab), Written Communication | Intermediate-level micro/macroeconomics courses; UD economics statistics |
Suggested Programs
Use these links to find programs that may be a good match for you and your course needs.- Show me the short list, I need ECON credit: Suggested programs for ECON
- I want a lot of program options, but really want ECON credit: Programs where ECON courses are offered
- I am not concerned with getting ECON credit and want to see all of my options: Program search for all programs
Additional Resources
- Get Started
- Course Approvals List
- Program Search
- Major/Minor/Certificate Evaluation Form
- A&S Gen Ed Evaluation Form
- Finances
Last Updated June 2024