After Submitting My Application

Congratulations, you've submitted your application! Now what?

The Education Abroad team will review your application. If it is successful, we will nominate you to your program of choice!

Once your nomination has started, you'll receive an email from an Education Abroad advisor instructing you on what to do next. This may include some of the steps outlined below. Read that email carefully and make sure to complete everything required of you before the set deadlines. This will ensure your study or work abroad experience gets off to a smooth start! And don't forget: we're here to help so don't hesitate to contact your advisor at any point in the process.

Once you have completed these steps, finish Preparing to Go!

1. Apply to Your Host Institution

Exchange and Summer Programs

After you have been nominated to participate in a study abroad program, you'll need to apply directly to your host institution. The email mentioned above will instruct you how to do that.

When applying to the host institution, you will most likely have to submit additional supporting documentation and/or a list of courses you are interested in taking abroad. This course list is not a formal registration - it's normally used to determine which faculty or department you should be admitted into. Course registration at the host institution is often completed once you arrive.

Acceptance by Host Institution

It can take several weeks or months to receive admission from the host institution, depending on the program start date and the admission process.

Admissions by host institutions normally occur during the following timelines:

  • Mid - late April for a Spring start
  • May - June for a Summer start
  • July - August for a Fall start
  • November - January for a Winter start

If successful, the host institution will send a formal acceptance letter by post or email, either to the Education Abroad Program office, which we will forward to you, or directly to you. After receiving your acceptance letter, you must upload a copy of it to your application in Horizons.

The host institution has the final say on admission. You must receive formal acceptance from the host institution before you are permitted to go abroad.

TIP: Do not make financial commitments and travel arrangements until you have been admitted to the host institution and until you know important dates and deadlines (e.g. orientation).

2. Register at Your Host Institution

Exchange Programs

Course registration processes at host universities vary from institution to institution. Your host institution will provide you with instructions.

In some cases you may be able to register online before leaving Canada. In others, you may have to register in-person upon arrival. Be patient and flexible!

TIP: Always have a list of back-up courses in case you do not get into the ones you want. You may learn that you do not have the course pre-requisite or that courses may be full, closed to exchange students, cancelled, or concurrent with another course you want to take.

Changing Your Course Selections

If for any reason you must make changes to your course registration, please notify your faculty advisor at UAlberta, especially if you had your courses pre-approved for credit.

Ordering Transcripts from Your Host Institution

Make arrangements with your host institution to send us or give us access to an electronic copy of your transcript (preferred) or to mail us a hard copy of your transcript before you come home. We cannot request transcripts on your behalf so be sure to do this before you leave your host institution. If you are making arrangements to have us sent a hard copy of your transcript, please have it sent to the Education Abroad office, not to your home address. UAlberta cannot accept hard copy transcripts, even official ones, if they have been opened by a student and are no longer sealed.

3. Registration at UAlberta

When you participate in an education abroad program, you need to be registered in specific exchange, abroad, and work experience courses at UAlberta to maintain your student status.

You won't be able to register yourself in these courses in Bear Tracks. UAlberta staff will complete this registration for you before you go.

What do students need to do?

  • Stay in touch with your education abroad advisor; there are forms and steps to complete to change your registration to EXCH, ABROD, or WKEXP. Do not drop any courses without consulting your advisor.
  • Make sure you have no outstanding fines on your Bear Tracks account (e.g. library fines, campus parking tickets)
  • Pay your fees on time. Assessments for EXCH, ABROD, and WKEXP terms are just like any regular tuition assessment. Payment is due by the regular UAlberta fee payment deadlines

Types of Courses

EXCH
  • Used for most exchanges and some summer programs
  • Maintains full-time status at UAlberta and carries no credit value
  • Students continue to pay tuition and fees to UAlberta (not the host institution)
    • Undergraduate students on exchange are assessed UAlberta tuition and fees based on a full course load of *15 credits per term in their current faculty (as well as department differentials) regardless of the number of courses they plan to take abroad
    • Undergraduate students on a summer program are assessed UAlberta tuition and fees based on a course load of either *3, *6, or *9 credits depending on the program
    • Graduate student assessments depend on the type of graduate program being taken and the nature of the study abroad program (study vs. research). Sometimes a THESIS course registration may be maintained instead of registering you in an EXCH course. Consult the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (FGPS) for more information.
  • Transfer credit is sought for course taken abroad

ABROD
  • Used for some internships and study abroad/summer programs where tuition is paid to the host institution
  • Maintains full-time student status at UAlberta and carries no credit value
  • Minimal UAlberta fees are assessed (e.g. Student Academic Support fee and Health & Wellness fee.)

WKEXP
  • Used for internships and work experiences that are part of a UAlberta degree program
  • Maintains student status
  • Tuition fees are paid to UAlberta
Important Transcript Information

Make arrangements with your host institution to send the Education Abroad Office an official transcript of your studies abroad before you leave your host institution. We cannot request transcripts on your behalf.

Have your transcript sent to the Education Abroad office, not to you at home. We will contact you once they arrive.

UAlberta cannot accept hard copy transcripts, even official ones, if they have been opened by a student and are no longer sealed.

TIP: Order additional sealed copies of your host transcript while abroad, in case you should ever need them in future (e.g. grad school, employer, etc.).