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Policies/Requirements

Student Policies/Requirements to participate on an MTSU Education Abroad program.  Please click on policy below for details.

GPA Requirement Policy

The minimum grade point average for participation on an MTSU education abroad approved programming is:

  • 2.0 overall combined for summer or other short term;
  • 2.5 overall combined for semester/academic year;
  • Exceptions can be requested using the official petition form submitted through Office of Education Abroad and the Vice Provost for International Affairs.  Consideration is only for participants whose GPA is within range of achieving the minimum GPA prior to the actual departure of the program.
Please note:
  • GPA must be from a college or university
  • This must be an established GPA - at least one full semester completed prior to receiving preapproval to a study abroad program (full semester is 12 credits minimum)
  • Transfer students, please see the Transfer Student policy

 Dual-Enrollment Student Policy 

The MTSU Office of Education Abroad does not permit dual-enrollment students to apply for study abroad programs.  Students may study abroad as beginning the summer after their freshman year at MTSU.  Dual-enrollment students are not classified as freshman and do not meet the GPA policy that states "at least one full semester [must be] completed prior to receiving preapproval to a study abroad program" as listed in the GPA Policy section of this page. 

Transfer Student Eligibility Policy

Transfer students who have not yet completed a term at MTSU who wish to apply for an education abroad program must also meet the following criteria in order to participate:

  • Transferred at least 12 credit hours to MTSU
  • Must complete one full-time semester at MTSU prior to studying abroad 
  • A transfer GPA of at least a 2.500 for ALL programs
  • Applied to MTSU and has been accepted as a degree-seeking MTSU student
  • Does not have a judicial affairs record from transfer institution
 

First Year Student Policy

First year students who have not yet completed a term at MTSU who wish to apply for an education abroad program should set up a meeting with the Director or Advisor in the Office of Education Abroad to discuss the limited options. It is highly recommended that students establish an MTSU GPA before applying to participate on an education abroad program and many program types actually require it.

 Incorporation of Education Abroad Into Degree Plan

The Office of Education Abroad does not recommend that students prolong their academic experience to study abroad, but rather encourages them to plan early and accordingly to incorporation education abroad into their degree plan. Students pursuing a secondary degree may be given lower priority in the selection process. Students must demonstrate an academic rationale for participating in more than one official MTSU Education Abroad program (in particular semester and year-long programs).  However, students are not permitted to remain a second year on the same academic-year program.

Prior Residency in a Foreign Country

MTSU will not approve participation in education abroad at locations where students have completed secondary education or where they have lived and/or worked within eight years of matriculation at MTSU. Students who wish to take courses at universities in their home countries will be asked to petition the International Educational and Exchange Committee (IEEC).  Students must present a strong academic rationale for the program and address the issue of cultural competency.  Please contact the Office of Education Abroad for more information on the petition process.

Minors Under the Age of 18

The Office of Education Abroad does not permit students under the age of 18 or high school students to participate in semester or year-long education abroad programs.  Students under the age of 18 and high school students are also not eligible to participate on winter or summer programs run by an MTSU Affiliate (ISA, CIEE, USAC, LAC, AMIDEAST, ISEP, any summer partner program, or CCSA).

For MTSU Signature Programs, students must be 18 years of age at the time of participation.  However, students may complete the application process when they are under the age of 18 with the understanding that a parent/guardian signature on application and enrollment forms may be required.  In special cases, students under the age of 18 may participate with the permission of the faculty leader/program director.  International Affairs and the Office of Education Abroad do not support the participation of minors on MTSU Signature Programs.

Education Abroad Fee Policy

All Education Abroad participants pay a $50 Education Abroad Administrative fee to the Office of Education Abroad per program. This fee contributes to the broad range of services available to the participant before, during, and after the program including but not limited to advising, application processing, orientations, emergency support, maintaining MTSU student status while abroad, and transcript processing. 

Travel Advisory/Warning Policy

MTSU does not permit travel to countries or portions of countries where the U.S. Department of State currently advises against travel or tourism by Americans.  The U.S. Department of State maintains current Travel Warnings on their website.

Transfer Credit Policy

Students participating on semester and academic year education abroad programs typically transfer back a maximum equivalence of 18 U.S. credit hours per semester to MTSU.  Students participating on summer education abroad programs typically transfer a maximum equivalence of 12 U.S. credit hours for the entire summer term.  The amount of credit transferred to MTSU depends on the international credit transfer conversion for each program.  Students who earn credit that calculates in excess of 18 U.S. credit hours per semester and in excess of 12 U.S. credit hours for the summer term will transfer back all credit earned abroad.  

  Non-MTSU Student Policy

The majority of education abroad programs are meant for degree-seeking MTSU students.  Any Non-MTSU student (including MTSU students who will graduate before the program departure) who wants to participate on an education abroad program (academic or non-academic) should speak to the Office of Education Abroad regarding possible options.  We are located in Jones Hall, rooms 151-155, educationabroad@mtsu.edu or 1-615-898-5179. 

If approved, non-degree seeking and/or non-MTSU students must follow the same procedures and policies as degree-seeking MTSU students with regards to their education abroad program (i.e. completion of required forms, participation in the pre-departure orientation, etc).

Non-degree seeking and/or non-MTSU students do not qualify for any MTSU funding, including the tuition discount for MTSU faculty-led Signature Study Abroad Programs and Office of Education Abroad scholarships/grants.

Disciplinary Issues Policy

All education abroad participants must follow the same guidelines/policies provided by the MTSU Judicial Affairs Office while on-campus.  Any education abroad student who is involved in a disciplinary issue abroad will also face possible sanctions after returning home, including revocation of the Education Abroad scholarship or referral of the case to the University’s judicial board depending upon the severity of the charge.

Excerpt from Judicial Affairs documentation to education abroad participants:

“It means that even when you are not physically on campus we still hold you accountable for your actions.  You are an MTSU student no matter where you go or what you do.  You are part of our Blue Raider community and we expect you to act as such and represent MTSU to the very best of your ability. In layman’s terms it means you can get in trouble with MTSU if you do anything illegal or violate one of MTSU’s policies while you are studying abroad.  Being out of the country does not mean you are no longer accountable for your actions.  Messing up abroad CAN mess up things here and possibly affect your status as a student.”

In addition to GPA criteria, an MTSU Judicial Affairs check will be required for each education abroad participant.  The Office of Education Abroad and/or Vice Provost for International Affairs can also deny a student’s participation based on behavior reports/removal from a previous education abroad program.

A Judicial Affairs check will be required for each education abroad participant.  The Office of Education Abroad and/or Vice Provost for International Affairs can also deny a student’s participation based on behavior reports/removal from a previous education abroad program.

 In-State/Out-of-State Tuition Policy, Study Abroad  

In accordance with MTSU Policy 501. III. C., students who participate in a study abroad program, when the course(s) in the study abroad program is/are the only course(s) for which the student is registered during that entire term are not required to pay out-of-state tuition.

 MTSU University Policy 271, Education Abroad 

Use this link to review MTSU policy that governs Education Abroad.