While You're Away

Student sitting on wall, overlooking city

Great work! You made it through all the paperwork, preparation and travel and now you’re abroad. You conquered jetlag, figured out how to get online, and may have already realized that you packed WAY too much. Don't remember all the things we talked about to help you prepare for your time abroad? No worries: the Canvas course with its modules on academics, cultural adjustment & immersion, logistics and health & wellness is always available to you!

Here are some of the highlights, to keep you in touch with UNH and help with any academic issues:

Address Abroad

Let us know how to reach you while you’re abroad by listing your foreign contact information in the International Travel Registry.

Courses, Credits, Transcripts and Grades

Do you need to get additional course approved? Did you forget exactly how the course transfer process works? Not to worry: all the information you need about courses, credits, transcripts and grades can be found below.

Adding or Replacing a Course

So you have arrived and are solidifying your class schedule for your program but there’s a complication. Perhaps a class you had pre-approved at UNH is no longer offered. Or perhaps a new course is offered that you are excited about taking. You can request that this new class be approved for transfer credit by submitting an electronic Study Abroad Course Approval Form. This form is ONLY for use by students who are currently abroad.  Your Global Education Advisor will then contact the appropriate department and keep you posted on the outcome. 

Number of Credits

Semester-abroad students: you must take the equivalent of at least 12 US credits (or more if the program so requires). If you’re not sure how many credits you need during your term abroad, make sure to consult your Academic Advisor.

Course Planning Form

A copy of the course planning form with all the required signatures is on file in your UNH-Via account. This form determined how course credits will be accepted by UNH.  The exact course credit will be based on the official study abroad transcript once it is received.

Transcripts and Grades

Your transcript should be sent to the Global Education for processing. Once we receive your transcript, we will convert the grades to the US academic system and work with the Registrar’s Office for further processing. Keep in mind that it can take up to three months before we receive your transcript! Also, make sure you have no outstanding debt to your host university or to your program provider--your transcript will not be released until you have paid your balance.

Need more information? Check out the UNH credit transfer policy.

Register for Next Semester

In the study abroad registration phase, you and your Academic Advisor may have discussed how to register for next semester; either they will email you your RAC number & login day/time, or they will register you for the courses you agreed upon prior to departure.  Contact your academic advisor in your major if you have any questions.  Remember to take these steps maintain access to important USNH online resources such as Outlook, Canvas), myWildcat Success, WebCat, etc.  

Stay Safe and Be Well

We want you to thoroughly enjoy your time abroad, and we want you to return to UNH healthy and safely. Review the UNH health and safety information and work with your program sponsor/host university to ensure your personal health and safety. Remember you are a member of the UNH International Travel Assistance Service and Travel Insurance Program and have access to all its resources and support while on a UNH study abroad program.

Health & Safety

Making Memories: Think Before You Click

Please be sensitive and respectful when taking pictures in other countries and cultures, especially when you want to take photographs or videos of people who are not your friends and classmates.

  • Reflect on Why You're Taking a Photo or Video:  Is it because you want to remember something, create a record of a place or people, or because it just seems natural? Take time to simply enjoy the experience and realize different types of photos/videos require time and care to take.

  • Be Interactive:  Try to take more interactive pictures compared to objective ones. Try to ask permission when taking pictures of people. Getting a person’s name and story as well as his/her photo can be a meaningful experience. It also will give more meaning to your photo when you bring it back and helps avoid the objectification of people that can commonly happen in photos of unfamiliar places, especially ones we think of as more "exotic".

  •  What's in and What's Out?  Think about what you want to include in your pictures, and then look at what you might be leaving out. Are you ignoring part of a person's life or the story of a town because you don't think it is "picturesque enough"? Realize that no photo or video is going to capture the reality of any place you visit, so think about how you can strive to show many different aspects of a place or culture, not just the tourist spots or well-known parts of a culture that everyone photographs.

  • Consider and Respect Historical and Cultural Aspects and Laws:  Most people know to ask permission to take photos or video in sacred or religious sites, but many countries also have laws against taking pictures of government buildings, etc. Even if there is no law, be respectful of the culture - a city, village, or landscape is not there for you to consume through your camera, it is part of the lives of those in your host country. Think about it: if you don’t take a picture of a homeless person here in the U.S., why would you do it while abroad?

  • Show People Your Photos/Videos:  Sharing your camera and digital pictures with people encourages interaction. Kids especially like to see themselves on the camera screens. Letting people you meet play with your camera can be a hit, too.

  • Photo/Video Exchange:  When possible, try to find a way to give copies to the people you photograph. Getting their address and sending them photos might be an option. If you are meeting people through an organization or traveling with a company, think about sending them the photos to distribute. 

  • Consider Your Captions:  Be purposeful about captions and how you choose the labels and titles. When possible, give names, details, and a greater context to the photo. Be careful about what you are/aren’t comparing the people or place to. Photos should be part of a story you can share with people once you return home. Unite for Sight, an organization that supports eye clinics worldwide has a page on Ethics and Photography in Developing Countries.

(Adapted from Pacific Lutheran University, Taking Photos)