Undergraduates.

Study Abroad

Engineering majors can, with significant personal benefit, incorporate international programs into their educational experience, but it takes planning. The most common formal international academic experience for Engineers is a semester or two of study abroad. Engineering undergraduates who choose to study abroad usually do so for one semester of their Junior year. Sample programs for a Junior-year semester abroad for EE majors and for a Junior-year semester abroad for ECE majors are illustrated elsewhere in this Guide.

Because of the relatively large number of required courses for an Engineering degree, students who wish to study abroad should plan their course program well in advance. Students may find it difficult to take required engineering courses abroad, either because comparable courses are not offered, because the academic semesters do not match, or because acceptable courses are not offered during the semester of residence. If the courses you plan to take abroad will not substitute for courses in your major department, consider taking courses that qualify under the SS-H requirements, or double up on major-department courses for a semester or two, including possibly summer courses. Notice that the Engineering Design Course required for both the EE and the ECE majors must be taken at Duke in Durham.

Students who wish to consider study abroad should contact as early as feasible, preferably no later than the Fall semester of their Sophomore year, the Duke University Study Abroad Office; Dean Simmons, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the Engineering Dean's Office; and Dr. Ybarra, ECE DUS.

Some study-abroad programs have no language requirement, but others do, and if you'd like to attend a program that requires more proficiency than you have, determine the requirements from the Duke Study Abroad Office and enroll in the needed language courses so that you will be prepared.

EE and ECE majors may wish to enroll in the International Honors Program. The International Honors Program is a certificate program which consists of six to eight semester courses, depending on the initial foreign language proficiency level of the student. All of the IHP course requirements may, with sufficiently advanced planning, fulfill humanities and social sciences or approved elective requirements which are encompassed in the school's engineering majors. Early planning and advising are essential to fulfilling all IHP requirements as part of the baccalaureate degree program. Thus, students are encouraged to apply no later than the first semester of the sophomore year. A selection committee chaired by the Director of the IHP will evaluate applications for admission to the program. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 is required and applicants must submit a detailed course plan.

There are also study abroad components to programs sponsored by others, such as the National Security Education Program (NSEP). Created in 1991, the NSEP awards scholarships to American undergraduates for study of world regions critical to U.S. interests (outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). It encourages U.S. undergraduates to add an international component to their education, a feature that is becoming increasingly important in today's interdependent world.
The NSEP aims to build a strong base of future leaders with expertise in critical areas, as well as professionals in both the public and private sectors who have the international experience and language skills necessary for competitive performance and visionary leadership in the global arena. The program is open to U.S. citizens who are matriculated as undergraduates at U.S. post-secondary institutions. Scholarships are available for study during the Summer of 2000, the Fall of 2000, and the Spring of 2001. Students may study for a six-week summer session, a semester, or a full academic year. Summer study is available to: 1) first-year students and sophomores, and 2)students at all levels who are pursuing courses of study in the applied sciences or engineering.