Study Abroad - Admissions Requirements

The Admissions Committee appreciates maturity, independence, openness to difference, curiosity, and resilience. Applications from undergraduates in good standing at U.S. colleges and universities are welcome. Non-traditional students, post-graduates, and non-matriculated adults are eligible to apply for admission. All applicants must be emotionally, intellectually, and physically prepared for study abroad and must be 18 years of age or older.

The Institute for American Universities (IAU) admits students of any race, color, national origin and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. IAU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information in its administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.

Admission is granted on a rolling basis before the application deadlines outlined below. For questions about an application, please contact our Office of Admissions.

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Aix-en-Provence, France

Applicants must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher to apply. All students studying in Aix are required to take a French course, however, background in French language is not required for program participation.

All students will be expected to take IAU's French Placement Exam (FPE) as part of their program application with the exception of those who have never taken a French language course. The instructions for taking the FPE will be emailed to you after your submission of the initial application form.

Students who are interested in participating in the French Honors Program (FHP) will be notified by IAU whether they can participate in this program based on their performance on the FPE. If our French faculty does not recommend FHP participation for an applicant for this program, the applicant's program will be automatically switched to General Studies.

Barcelona, Spain

Applicants must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher to apply. Background in Spanish language is not required for program participation.

Students who are interested in participating in the Spanish Honors Program must submit a Spanish professor email contact in their application that would recommend their participation in the program. Spanish Honors Program applicants also complete a language placement evaluation with their online application. When completing the online application, Spanish Honors Program applicants must submit their personal essay in Spanish. 

Florence, Italy

Applicants must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher to apply. Background in Italian language is not required for program participation.

Madrid, Spain

Applicants must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher to apply. Background in Spanish language is not required for program participation.

Students who are interested in participating in the Spanish Honors Program must submit a Spanish professor email contact in their application that would recommend their participation in the program. Spanish Honors Program applicants also complete a language placement evaluation with their online application. When completing the online application, Spanish Honors Program applicants must submit their personal essay in Spanish. 

Tangier, Morocco

Applicants must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher to apply. Prior foreign language experience is not required.

January Term Traveling Seminars

Applicants must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher to apply. 

Application Deadlines

	Summer	Fall	Spring
Aix-en-Provence, France	Internship: March 1 March 15	May 1	October 1
Barcelona, Spain	Internship: March 1 March 15	May 1	October 1
Florence, Italy	March 15	May 1	October 1
Madrid, Spain	Internship & Service Learning Deadline: March 1 March 15	May 1	October 1
Tangier, Morocco	March 15	May 1	October 1
January Term Programs	October 1

*If an indicated deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the deadline will be the closest weekday/business day to the intended deadline.

Late applications may be considered after the deadlines on a space-available basis and require payment of the $1,000 non-refundable enrollment deposit (for J-Term programs, the non-refundable enrollment deposit is $1,500). 

In addition, late applicants should understand that they run a greater risk of not receiving their student visa in time (if applicable), may be enrolled in fewer of their preferred courses, and may have fewer of their housing preferences met.

Applying to IAU

Students are responsible for submitting the following application materials for all programs:

• Application Form - Select the Apply Now button at the top of this page to complete the form.
  • In this form, students will need to submit the following items: an unofficial transcript, valid passport information and a copy of their passport, language background information, and agree to IAU's Policies and Waivers. More information about these requirements can be found on the form. 

• Housing Questionnaire - The questionnaire will be sent to the email used in your Application Form submission. Complete and submit this online questionnaire in a timely fashion.
  • Note: If you would like to make changes to your Housing Questionnaire response, please submit the form again. We will view whichever response is most recent. 

• Study Abroad Approval Form - Your study abroad advisor will receive the form via email after you have initiated your application. Your advisor will complete and submit the form for review.
  
  
• $85 Application Fee - You may be prompted to pay IAU's $85 application fee through email after completing the Application Form. If you receive communication from IAU about this, you are responsible for making this payment before the application deadline.
  
  
• Language Questionnaire & Placement Exam - All students are asked to complete the Language Questionnaire in the application form and may be asked to take a French or Spanish Placement Exam so that our Language Coordinators can ensure students are enrolling in the best language course for their level of fluency and knowledge of the language. These are merely assessment tools, so there is no pressure to receive a certain score.

After you are accepted to the program you will be asked to submit a series of post-acceptance items to prepare you for your time abroad. Some of these are listed below:

• Program Commitment - In order to let us know you are coming abroad with IAU, complete the Program Commitment form sent in your acceptance email. 

• Enrollment Deposit - After students are accepted to an IAU study abroad program, the full enrollment deposit of $1,000 will be due by the established deposit deadline (more information about this can be found on the Financial Policies page). The deposit will be credited towards the student invoice or in accordance with the billing procedures with the home institution. Students will receive instruction in their acceptance email on where to pay the deposit. 
  
  • If you are applying to one of IAU's January Term Traveling Seminars, please see below for instructions.

• Wellness Questionnaire - In order to better assist students while abroad, we request that students complete the Wellness and Accommodations Questionnaire. This information will allow IAU to provide support should physical or mental health concerns arise during the study abroad experience, and particularly in the event of a health emergency.  
  
  • IAU may request additional documentation from students’ health care provider as part of their application. This documentation will provide guidance to IAU on how to best support students during their participation in the program.

• Travel Itinerary - You will upload your travel information through your acceptance email so our team can advise you through your arrival. Please do not book any flights until you are accepted into the program and receive more information.

• Course Selection - After you are accepted, you will receive course registration instructions through email.

• Visa Submission - Semester and academic year students with a U.S. passport will need a student visa to participate in our programs. Students are encouraged to begin working through the appropriate visa process for their study location immediately upon acceptance.
  
  Visa application guides for each location are included in students' acceptance emails. IAU will provide the necessary documentation required to demonstrate your planned participation in a study abroad program, proof of housing, and proof of insurance, but the remaining application items including fees and any additional documentation or materials to receive a visa are the responsibility of the student.

January Term students are responsible for submitting the following in addition to the requirements outlined above:

• Enrollment Deposit - J-Term students are required to submit a $1,500 deposit which is due by October 15th (unless the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday and in that case the deposit deadline will be the closest weekday/business day to the 15th). Failure to pay the non-refundable $1,500 deposit by the deadline may result in a $100 late fee being added to the final invoice. The full $1,500 enrollment deposit will be credited toward the student invoice or in accordance with the billing procedures with the home institution. Students will receive instruction in their acceptance email on where to pay the deposit.
  
  If the student is waitlisted for their chosen program and they do not wish to enroll in a different available J-Term program, the enrollment deposit will be refunded.