"You don’t understand your own culture until you’ve experienced that of another. I think studying abroad is something everyone needs to do. It makes you think differently about your own upbringing, the place where you grew up and the places you’ve already been."
Olivia, London program, BA 2019
Academic Planning Recommendations
Most universities in other countries do not offer the professional courses taught in HSJMC. However, many offer fascinating media courses that fulfill context course requirements or other courses that can supplement your studies in the major.
The following programs have worked well for HSJMC students because these programs offer pre-approved coursework that will apply to all three majors:
- Study & Intern in Florence
- Study Abroad in Denmark
- Study Abroad in Dublin
- Study & Intern in London
- Study & Intern in Madrid
- Study & Intern in Sydney
- Study & Intern in Barcelona
Liberal Education Requirements
Search the U Credit Abroad Search. You may also submit any liberal education course not yet evaluated for approval online.
Major and Minor Requirements
Look for junior-senior level courses that may apply to either the context course area or the non-journalism supporting course area of your program plan. If you find a professional course of interest, you must get preliminary approval for this course from HSJMC. Final approval for professional courses may not be given until the coursework you did in the learning abroad course is reviewed by HSJMC.
To determine whether programs or classes you have chosen will fulfill major requirements, talk to an adviser or faculty mentor in HSJMC.
- For context courses: bring course descriptions and syllabus (if available).
- For professional courses: bring a syllabus to obtain preliminary approval. Final approval for professional courses may not be given until after HSJMC faculty review the syllabus and the work you did—including all written or visual assignments—for the course.
- If the course has not been pre-approved, you must complete a Transfer Course Work Petition and submit it with the course description or syllabus to 110 Murphy Hall. The DUS will use these materials to determine if the study abroad course will apply to the major.
Who will advise me and help me with course approvals?
Learning Abroad Center advisers can help you find program and course information to help you prepare for your study abroad academic planning discussion with your academic advisers. Once you have narrowed your options, use the Academic Planning for Study Abroad (APSA) form to structure your academic planning.
- Meet with your college adviser to get approval for your learning abroad program and courses
- Meet with the HSJMC adviser to get preliminary approval for major courses
- Meet with your minor adviser to get preliminary approval for minor courses
College/Department Scholarships for UofM Students
- CLA students can apply for CLA Study Abroad Scholarships in addition to other Learning Abroad Center scholarships
Programs
Americas
Chile
IES Chile—Santiago
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Choose either from a wide variety of courses at the IES Center or enroll in regular university courses at the Universidad de Chile and the Pontifícia Universidad Católica.
- Take advantage of community engagement in connection with any of the program courses.
- Internships available in business, the arts, and governmental agencies.
- Taught in Spanish by Chilean faculty.
Asia and Oceania
Australia
James Cook University (available through IFSA Australia)
University of Melbourne (available through IFSA Australia)
Macquarie University (available through IFSA Australia)
University of Adelaide (available through IFSA Australia)
University of Wollongong (available through IFSA Australia)
- Program Type: Host-Country University
- Study in a university alongside degree-seeking students from Australia; host country universities work especially well for students interested in experiencing a different academic system and for students who want to select journalism and mass communication from a wide variety of offerings—with a distinctive Australian approach.
- These universities have been selected for courses, internships, and other factors that may be of interest to journalism students.
- In the past, credit and coursework from these universities have transferred by well for Journalism students.
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Choose from a variety of courses that focus on Australian culture; areas include politics, art, cinema, business and the environment.
- Enhance your experience by participating in a 6-credit internship at places such as Nickelodeon, ABC, or the Australian Film, Television, and Radio School.
Japan
IES Japan—Tokyo
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Combine Japanese language and culture coursework with field study and internships at Kanda University for International Studies (KUIS).
- Students with an appropriate level of Japanese language skills can enroll in regular KUIS courses.
- In the past, KUIS has offered courses in communication, including Intercultural Communication, Non-Verbal Communication, and Interpersonal Communication.
Europe
Austria
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Offers the option of taking English-taught courses in a non-English speaking country, while studying German language and Austrian/Central European area studies courses.
- Students with advanced level German language proficiency may take courses at the University of Vienna, where the Institute for Communication Science offers a wide range of courses in journalism (print, radio, television, multi-media) that focus on the practical, historical, theoretical, cultural, and business aspects of the field
Denmark
Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS)
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Enroll in a wide variety of courses taught in English and enjoy exciting study tours; first, a short tour of Denmark followed by a longer tour to and of London. Study tours are covered in the program’s cost.
- DIS has a track specifically for Communications and Media Studies, covering political and cultural communications issues such as communication across cultures in Europe, European news media in transition, European film and International marketing and branding.
- Students may choose from many other courses across the DIS curriculum to form a semester program tailored specifically to their interests.
France
IES France—Paris
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Choose from courses in French language and area studies, including business, economics and the humanities.
- Enrollment in regular French university courses available for students with adequate French experience.
- Internships are available in business, non-governmental organizations, journalism, and education.
- Instruction is in French by French faculty.
Language & Culture in Southern France
- Program type: Host-Country University
- Based out of Paul Valéry University, the liberal arts division of the University of Montpellier, the program provides an extremely flexible course structure.
- Choose from a mix of customized courses with American and foreign students, and regular University of Montpellier courses with French students.
- Paul Valéry curriculum includes a rich array of courses, in various disciplines, not only on France but also on southern European politics or the Mediterranean more broadly.
- University courses in communication and journalism are available for students with advanced French.
- Internships are available.
Germany
Exchange in Germany: Freie University of Berlin
- Program Type: Host-University Study
- This bilateral exchange is with Freie University of Berlin
- Courses are available in Journalism
IES Germany—Berlin
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Courses include areas such as business, cinema, economics, German language, literature and theatre, political science, natural sciences and a communications course focusing on the media in Berlin.
- Students have access to Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin, where they can study media theory, television and radio, and extensive offerings in practical, historical, theoretical and analytical communications.
- Internships are available in art, business, education, mass media, social service, politics, and theatre.
- Instruction is in German by German faculty.
Ireland
- Program Type: University Study and Study Center
- Several classes at Dublin City University have been approved as context courses within SJMC including Ethics of Journalism, Analyzing Advertising, Digital Media Skills, Beginning Photojournalism, and more
- Internships are available in a variety of fields
- Study tours to Western Ireland and Northern Ireland are included
Italy
- Program type: Study Center
- Includes a week-long study tour to Sicily.
- Internship placements are available in a variety of fields, with no Italian language required.
- Two courses, History & Sociology of Modern Consumerism and Made in Italy: Retail Merchandising in Florence are pre-approved in students' major plan
Netherlands
- Program Type: Host-Country University
- Students directly enroll in the International School for Social Sciences and the Humanities (ISHSS) at the Universiteit van Amsterdam.
- Sample courses include Communication and Society; Digital Epistemology; Intercultural Communication in a Changing World; Journalists at War; Memory, History, and the Cinema; Making Sense of the News; and Television in a Changing Europe
- Classes are taught in English.
Spain
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Strong humanities/social science curriculum includes courses on Latin American politics, Spanish politics, Spain and the EU, modern Spanish history.
- Toledo also offers internships for journalism students, where they can write articles for the local newspaper or work at the local TV and radio stations.
- Courses are taught in Spanish
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- A wide variety of courses are available in English, but the program recommends at least two semesters of Spanish in order to better navigate Madrid
- The course 100% Made in Spain is approved for JOUR 4259
- Internships are available in a variety of fields including journalism, marketing, and social media
United Kingdom
- Program Type: Study Abroad Center
- Offers courses in a wide variety of topics, such as language, business, marketing, political science, and advertising.
- Fully immerse yourself in London society through internships in a number of fields.
- Complemented by tours in and around the city.
- Courses of note that may count as context courses include Visualizing Britain—British Film and Television Documentaries; British Broadcasting Today; Ethics in the Media; Post-War British Popular Culture.
University of Westminster (available through IFSA United Kingdom)
- Program Type: Host-Country University
- Westminster’s School of Communication and Creative Industries is considered one of the largest, best-equipped and most prestigious centers of learning in the UK for studies in art and design, film, music, journalism, and mass communication.
- The University offers high-quality courses in these areas, as well as in business and technology, humanities, social sciences, languages, biosciences, and architecture.
- Sample courses include Social Theory and the Media; Media Law and Ethics; News and Public Opinion; and Political Economy of the Mass Media.
Additional Options to Consider
- 3-week, 3-credit programs at the 3000-level led by University of Minnesota faculty and staff over winter break or May session.
- Explore an exciting location and topic, Fulfill Liberal Education requirements, or earn major/minor credit.
- Combine on-campus instruction during the spring semester with a study abroad component during spring break, on a 3 credits, 1xxx level Seminar.
- Freshman Seminars Abroad are designed specifically for first-year students as an introduction to study abroad, an opportunity to explore an exciting location and topic, and likely fulfill a liberal education requirement.
- Check out additional LAC Instructor-led Seminars that might run over winter break, spring break, May, and summer sessions. They vary in length, dates, and content so students can find one that best fits their academic and professional goals.
- Begin your language study or work toward completing requirements for a language minor.
- Complete a semester of language on a short-term program or explore options to complete two or more semesters of language on semester-long program.