Students planning to participate in any education abroad program – study abroad, international internships, service-learning, or any other program where credit will be granted – need to apply formally to TCNJ to have their credit counted toward their TCNJ degrees. (Students who do not apply formally to TCNJ for study abroad will not have access to their financial aid and will not have their overseas credit counted toward their degrees.) This page provides a step-by-step guide to completing the TCNJ application process; please read carefully and follow the instructions as noted.

[NB: Our office is moving towards having students complete their applications through an online system.   This process will be installed during Summer 2012 and will be implemented gradually over the course of the academic year.  Students should ontinue to use the paper application provided on our website until you are instructed to do otherwise.]

***THE APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR STUDY ABROAD DURING THE SPRING 2013 SEMESTER IS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012***

 

1. Download the TCNJ Study Abroad 2012-2013 Application (for any semester in 2012-2013)

This application should be approximately nineteen pages long. The booklet contains detailed instructions as to how to complete the application process. Page 6 provides students with a checklist – it’s really useful, and students should print it out and check boxes off as they complete them.  WHEN PRINTING THE APPLICATION YOU PLAN TO SUBMIT TO OUR OFFICE, DO NOT MAKE DOUBLE-SIDED COPIES OF ANY OF THE PAGES AND DO NOT STAPLE ANY OF THE PAGES.

2. Find a program

After students have selected a program, determine what is needed to apply to that program. Most of the time, we simply forward the TCNJ application to the program provider, and it accepts our forms and our essay. There are exceptions to these rules, and we have a guide that students may use to find out if the program has special instructions.  If the program requires students to use their own specific forms for faculty references or medical examinations, we will accept those forms as a substitute for the forms we have in our application packet.  If your program requires you to submit an entire application specific to their program, this must be done in addition to our application.  Essentially, it’s a two-step process: applying to TCNJ, and applying to the program/program provider/school of your choice.   The application for the program/program provider/school of your choice must be submitted to our office in hard-copy form with all of our other application materials even if you have applied to the program/program provider/school of your choice via an online application.  (When in doubt, please ask us for help at goglobal@tcnj.edu)

3. Make arrangements to complete the Medical Exam (physical exam)

Take the TCNJ Medical Form (and the ISA Medical Form, for students applying to any ISA programs) and make an appointment to see a medical practitioner to have this form filled out and returned to us with your application.  Make sure that your medical exam (physical) is completed by the application deadline; this may require that you schedule your appointment at least 2 MONTHS in advance of the deadline date. 

4. Get in touch with two faculty references

Contact two TCNJ faculty members and ask them to complete the Reference Form in the Study Abroad Application booklet. References must be filled out by faculty members (adjunct faculty are okay), and one of the references must come from a member of the World Languages and Cultures faculty if language classes at the 200-level or above are to be taken abroad.  References do not need to write a letter of recommendation–the reference form included in our application packet is sufficient.  It is prudent to request your references at least 1 MONTH in advance of the application deadline and let the faculty member know that the form is due back to our office a week earlier than the actual deadline date to account for any potential delays.  It is also prudent to request a third reference, just in case one of the original two requests is delayed or unable to complete your request.

5. Get courses approved using the Academic Evaluation Form

Take the Academic Evaluation Form and begin to list desired courses to take during the study abroad term.  To find courses  that you are interested in, and that may count towards certain TCNJ requirements, click on “courses”, “academics” or similar links from the program provider/host institution websites.  Our office cannot determine which courses will count for which TCNJ requirements; to determine course approval/transfer, follow these instructions: For courses in the major or minor, please see the department chair for approval. For courses in Liberal Learning, please see Bob Anderson, Assistant Provost, in Green 109. For elective courses, please see Amanda Winfield-Summiel in the Records and Registration office in Green 112. After students have all of the required signatures, they should bring the form to the Center for Global Engagement in Green 111. Sometimes students will not be able to complete this form until after they arrive at their program location.  If you find that the course listings for your semester abroad are not published at the time of our application deadline, submit a blank Academic Evaluation Form with your application, noting on the form that you are waiting for the course listings to be publihsed.  Students in this situation will be required to electronically submit the Academic Evaluation Form to our office from their host country.

6. Request an official TCNJ transcript

Go into your PAWS account and request that an official transcript be sent directly to the Center for Global Engagement in Green 111.  Transcripts that have been issued directly to the student, or that are not sealed with a TCNJ stamp are not valid for submission. Again, request that your transcript be sent directly to our office.  Transcripts should be requested at least 2 WEEKS before the application deadline.

7. Write your essay

Complete the essay (and be sure to check program requirements to see if there are specific issues that will need to be addressed in the essay). Most essays do not exceed 500 words.

8. Complete the rest of the TCNJ application

Fill out the TCNJ Emergency Treatment Permission and Contact Form, the Assumption of Risk and Release Form, and the top of the Disciplinary Verification Form (we will fill out the rest) in the TCNJ Study Abroad Application. We need these forms for all programs.  Fill out all forms in their entirety; leaving sections blank will cause your application processing to be delayed. 

9. Pay the TCNJ Application Fee

Go to the Student Accounts office in Green 119 and pay the $400 Study Abroad Application Fee.  Student Accounts can accept cash or check.  Once the fee is paid, include the receipt in your application–do not submit any cash or checks to our office.  Students who do not show proof of their payment will have the fee applied to their PAWS account prior to their departure.

10. Make sure you have program cost sheets and go to Financial Aid

The Student Financial Services office will need cost sheets in order to calculate the cost of attendance in study abroad.  These cost sheets are available in our program listings.  Not all cost sheets are available at the same time; we cannot provide this information on our website until the program provider or host institution has released this information on their end.  For more information about financial aid and study abroad, consult our Financial Aid guide.

11. Submit your completed application to our office in Green Hall 111

Once you’ve completed the above steps, submit your completed application to our office.  Please remember that in order for your application to be considered complete and ready for review, every form must be filled out in its entirety.   When submitting your application to our office, you must submit the original application pages, along with a copy of all of the completed application pages and attachments (e.g. essay/personal statement).  In other words, you will be submitting TWO sets of applications: 1 original and 1 copy. Each page of the application should be single-sided (i.e. no double-sided copies); DO NOT staple any of the application pages together.  Submit all of these materials to our office by the stated deadline.  Incomplete applications will not be processed, and due to the sheer volume of applications we receive, we are not able to contact students individually to track missing application materials.  As a result, this is another reason why you should work closely with the checklist included in the application packet–to be able to independently keep track of what you’ve submitted.   It is not advised that students wait until the last minute to submit their applications.