Though knowledge of the respective foreign language is not a requirement for participation in seminars in non-English speaking countries, students will learn linguistic and cultural strategies for coping in non-English-speaking environments and learn about the importance of language to the national culture and identity.

Program Goals

In Freshman Seminar Abroad programs students earn credit in UGS 102: Freshman Seminar Abroad . This course is designed to provide students with an introductory first-year experience that combines the academic engagement characteristic of freshman seminars with the cultural and experiential learning characteristic of study abroad. These seminars are specifically designed to advance students' understanding of the world in support of MSU's Liberal Learning goals and the following UGS 10-specific goals:

• Introduce students to scholarly and academic life at MSU.
• Exposure students to study abroad, global/cultural learning, and a content area.
• Help students develop a meaningful relationship with peers, faculty, and staff to support their personal and academic success.
• Help students gain confidence and skills related to their college transition.

General Track Format

To enhance faculty- student interaction, students participate in small groups called tracks. Each track has a content/thematic focus and consists of about 15 students and an MSU instructor. While on the program, students will meet for class discussions and activities with their tracks, complete assignments for their tracks, and be evaluated by their track instructor.

Although some activities might be unique to a specific track, many activities will be done as a full group. Hence, all students--regardless of program location or track--will attend the same major activities and field experiences together and engage with the history, culture, and/or politics of the site and make comparisons back to the United States .

Enrollment in these tracks—as on the program itself—is on a first-come, first-served basis with effort made to give students their first preference. Typically, the faculty work together to ensure that both tracks fit with the overall program content, so all students will receive a similar experience, just with a different thematic emphasis.

UGS 102 Credit
Students earn two credits for UGS 102 and receive a numeric (4.0-scale) grade for their work.

For some students, UGS 102 will count as general university elective credit; however, some units may use the course to substitute for certain requirements. A listing of these units is provided on the “Programs by Topic” page of this web site. Students should also consider contacting their academic advisor directly to see if the UGS 102 course will satisfy any departmental requirements.

Even if the course does not satisfy a specific graduation requirement, the UGS 102 seminars still provide the following academic benefits:

• they help students improve college-level skills such as note-taking, time management, reading, and writing, which prepares them better for their first semester at MSU;
• they provide experience and insight into interesting topics and have helped students clarify major and career decisions;
• they provide a means for students to engage with the university and distinguish themselves academically and professionally; and
• they allow students to meet new friends and MSU faculty and staff, providing them with support and mentoring during their first year.

Post-program activities

After the program concludes in the summer, students will have at least two required meetings in September and October prior to grades being due. Students will receive the dates, times, and specific expectations from their instructors. Generally though, students will participate in at least two activities:

• Unpacking Your Freshman Seminar workshop: ­ this program is jointly run between the Career Services Network and the Office of Study Abroad and focuses on helping students connect their international experience with their personal and professional life.
• Final class meeting: ­ this session is a mandatory meeting to follow up on the program and includes the program students and faculty members. Activities can range from having dinner, giving presentations, doing reunion-type activities, or taking final exams.

In addition to these mandatory sessions, students will have the opportunity to engage in many other international and cultural events on campus. In the past, students have organized meals, movie nights, social activities, and seminars around their interests.

Students can continue their academic international learning by enrolling in special sections of required MSU courses. MSU has arranged, in cooperation with the Colleges of Arts and Letters and Social Science, special sections of WRA (first-year writing), and IAH (integrative studies in arts and humanities), and ISS (integrative studies in social science). Sections of these university requirements will be reserved especially for FSA participants and international students, and the courses' content will focus on extending students' international and cultural learning over their first year.

Please note that this program is not mandatory, and there are a limited number of open seats in these classes. Also, students may want to check their major requirements prior to signing up for this opportunity. Although all students must fulfill writing, humanities, and social science requirements to graduate from MSU, some students may satisfy these requirements through alternative means, such as transfer credit, AP credit, honor's courses, or discipline-specific coursework. Additional information about this opportunity, including the sign-up process, will be included with students' Freshman Seminar Abroad acceptance materials.

Program details may be subject to change due to unexpected circumstances.