Welcome to UNH Global Education's resource page for parents and loved ones of students who plan to study abroad. We are committed to providing all students with a wide array of global opportunities, and the resources to make them happen.
One of the best things you can do as a supportive person is to let your student manage their study abroad preparation independently. It is through taking ownership of the process from the beginning that your student will learn the components and characteristics of their chosen program and host country--information that will be essential to your student once abroad. As tempting as it may be to relieve your student of some of the responsibilities, especially while busy with the current semester’s demands, they will be better positioned to cope abroad if your student handles the preparations personally.
Feel free to navigate through our Student site, for the 9 Steps for Students interested in Studying Abroad. You are also invited to use this link to our extensive database of all the programs that UNH offers to students.
Below you will find information and resources to help you guide your student in making the most of this opportunity and supporting them once they are abroad.
We encourage study abroad participants and their emergency contacts to view the video below from our November 2024 presentation: Supportive Networks for Students.
UNH currently allows federal, state, and institutional aid (except work-study) to transfer for all UNH Faculty-Led (Managed), Exchange, or Partner (Approved Provider) programs abroad. Because each student’s financial aid package is unique, the student needs to work directly with the UNH Financial Aid Office to learn how his or her financial aid will apply.
- UNH Faculty-Led programs charge UNH tuition, technology fee and an administrative fee plus a program fee, which will be billed to your student’s WebCat account. The program fees vary by location depending on the nature of the program and cost of living in the host country. Typically these fees include some combination of housing, meals, extra-curricular activities, and program requirements. These fees will be fully explained in the program materials. If you have any questions, contact the Program Assistant or Faculty Director.
- UNH Exchange programs will cost UNH tuition, technology fee and an administrative fee, which will be billed to your student’s WebCat account. Students will pay the cost of room and board directly to the exchange partner university abroad.
- UNH Partner programs costs vary significantly and are paid directly to the study abroad provider. Some programs are comparable to UNH tuition and some are appreciably more. The study abroad program provider will send an invoice directly to the student who will be responsible for organizing full payment directly to the provider. The study abroad program provider fee may or may not include a wide array of items such as tuition, course fees, room, board, sponsored field trips/excursions, insurance and/or international airfare. Be sure to read the fine print to know exactly what is included and what is not included in the program fee so that you and your student can budget for and are prepared to cover all necessary expenses. The financial aid office will give your student a credit on their account, which the student can have direct deposited to their back account, and used to pay the provider. UNH does not pay the provider directly. Financial Aid releases the funds based on UNH’s academic calendar and not the study abroad calendar.
Your student will be required to complete our Study Abroad Expense Form to help the student see all expenses in one place and to demonstrate to the Financial Aid Office that the student has reviewed all costs and understands their responsibility.
UNH will also bill the UNH technology fee, our insurance & travel assistance fee, and a study abroad administrative fee to your student’s account. Please refer to our Resources page to learn more about managing the costs of studying abroad.
Your student may spend months—even years—dreaming about studying and traveling abroad. Much of this time may have been spent fantasizing about exotic destinations or managing the minutia of the pre-departure process. What is frequently overlooked is how challenging, difficult, and often lonely studying abroad can be, especially during the first few weeks. The process of moving half way around the world and establishing oneself in an alien environment can produce feelings of anxiousness, homesickness, frustration, anger and rejection of the new host culture.
It would be surprising if your student did not experience feelings of homesickness and anxiety at some point. It is important to realize that the process of cultural adjustment is not always linear. After arrival abroad, even the most confident and mature student will need help with mundane tasks such as finding food, handling money, adjusting to new classes, and finding support. Your student may experience several cycles of excitement, discouragement, difficulties, then adjustment throughout their time abroad. We encourage you to provide a supportive shoulder to lean on, but to allow your student the space to find and enact their own solutions to the challenges they face.
If you notice a pattern in which your student is exhibiting one or more of the following behaviors, however, you should recommend that your student seek advising and counseling from the on-site program staff:
- a very negative attitude toward the host community over a sustained period of time with little or no sign of enjoyment or appreciation
- blaming or criticizing the host family, school, or country for his or her own feelings of discomfort, in an exaggerated or prolonged manner
- physical manifestations that can no longer be attributed to jetlag, such as frequency and intensity of headaches, stomach aches, loss of appetite, irregular sleep patterns, heightened anxiety, crying or angering more easily.
Please encourage your student to seek local help through their program’s on-site staff or university’s international student office.
Prior to studying abroad, every student is required to have all prospective courses reviewed by their academic advisor, their Global Education advisor, and the Registrar's Office. These parties assess the courses and determine how many credits will be received for the course, and if the course will fulfill a major, minor, or Discovery requirement. Students must receive the equivalent of a grade of C or better for courses to transfer back to UNH. Courses taken at foreign institutions will not be factored into a student's UNH grade point average (GPA).
For Partner (UNH-Approved) and Exchange Programs, it is the student’s responsibility to request an official transcript to be sent from their study abroad provider or host institution to UNH Global Education. Please note that many international institutions take longer to issue transcripts than those in the US. Once we receive the transcript, we evaluate the transcript and send it to the UNH Registrar's Office, to be posted onto your student’s transcript. Students studying abroad during their last semester of senior year may experience a delay in graduation certification.
For our Faculty-Led (UNH-Managed) programs, students are typically enrolled in UNH courses, so sending a transcript is not necessary.
