Pre-Departure Orientation

 At your pre-departure orientations, you will:

• Address expectations for your upcoming experience
• Hear from study abroad alumni and international students about their experiences with the culture of your host region
• Meet other students who are studying abroad in your host region or on your program
• Learn how to prepare for your upcoming experience

Mandatory pre-departure events
Additional pre-departure events

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Mandatory Pre-Departure Orientation Meeting

All students must attend a mandatory pre-departure orientation meeting. There are no exceptions. For some programs, the session will be held in-person and others will be held virtually on Zoom. Please review your orientation schedule and location closely and follow up with your EA advisor if you have any questions. Click on your program type below to see orientation information:

• Maryland Short-term Programs
• Maryland Semester Programs (i.e. Maryland-in)
• Exchange, Affiliate, and Other Approved Programs

Maryland Short-term Programs

Students participating in Maryland Short-term programs are required to attend a program-specific meeting with their program director. Your program director will give you the details about the time and date of your meeting.

Maryland Semester Programs (i.e. Maryland-in)

Students participating in a Maryland Semester program will attend a program-specific orientation. 
 

Summer, Fall 2023, Full Year 2023-24 program	Date	Time	Location
Arts & Humanities in London	TBD	TBD	TBD
Clark-in-Madrid & ENGR Exchanges in Madrid	TBD	TBD	TBD
Maryland-in-Barcelona	TBD	TBD	TBD
Maryland-in-Copenhagen & Stockholm	TBD	TBD	TBD
Maryland-in-Florence (including ARCH and PHYS)	TBD	TBD	TBD
Maryland-in-Nice	TBD	TBD	TBD
Maryland-in-Perugia	TBD	TBD	TBD
Maryland-in-Rome	TBD	TBD	TBD
Maryland-in-Sevilla	TBD	TBD	TBD
SPHL-in-Kenya: Global Community Health Internship (HLTH)	N/A	N/A	N/A

  *EA Advisors will send the link for virtual sessions to students about 2 weeks prior to the scheduled session. 

Exchange, Affiliate, and Other Approved Programs
Students participating in UMD exchanges, affiliate, or approved programs are required to attend a regional orientation.There are different sessions and time blocks for each region. You should attend the session for the location of your study abroad program.

Exchange, Affiliate, and Other Approved orientation sessions will occur April 19th and 25th, by country/regions below:
 

Additional Pre-Departure Events

 
Communicating Across Cultures
Date: TBD
Time: TBD
Location: Global Crossroads (1st floor of HJ Patterson, across from the Education Abroad & ISSP offices) 
 
Education Abroad will host an interactive event for students studying abroad next term. You should sign up if you:

• Want to make friends abroad and successfully build your global network
• Gain skills that will help you adapt to new environments;
• Enhance skills that are highly desired by employers such as communication and intercultural competence;
• Connect with other study abroad students!

Pizza will be served! 
 
*Online sign up required. 
 
This event is optional, but encouraged.

Wellness & Study Abroad
Date: TBD
Time: TBD
Location: Virtual - Zoom link here!

Could you recognize the signs of stress when you're in a new environment far from home and you want to take advantage of your experience? Have you thought about how to maintain your wellness while abroad? Join Dr. Petersen from the University Counseling Center, study abroad alumni, and Education Abroad in a virtual setting to hear about your fellow Terps' experiences abroad, learn how to recognize signs of stress and effective coping strategies, and get your questions answered for how to maintain your wellness abroad!