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 spring 2022 programs, Pre-Departure Orientation sessions will occur synchronously. 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. Maryland Semester orientations will occur in October & November. 
 

Spring 2022 Program	Date	Time	Location
Arts & Humanities in London	Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021	4-6pm	Key 0116
Clark-in-Madrid & Spain ENGR Programs	Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021	5-8pm	Clark Hall - Forum
Maryland-in-Barcelona	Thursday, October 28th, 2021	4-6pm	Virtual*
Maryland-in-Copenhagen & Stockholm	Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021	4-6pm	HBK 112
Maryland-in-Florence (including ARCH & PHYS)	Wednesday, October 27th, 2021	5-7pm	Virtual*
Maryland-in-Nice	Tuesday, October 26th, 2021	4-6pm	Key 0116
Maryland-in-Perugia	TBD	TBD	TBD
Maryland-in-Rome	Thursday, October 28th, 2021	5-7pm	Virtual*
Maryland-in-Sevilla	Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021	4-6pm	Virtual*
SPHL-in-Kenya: Global Community Health Internship (HLTH)	TBD	TBD	TBD

  *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 be delivered in a virtual format. EA advisors will share the link to the session in early November.
 

Additional Pre-Departure Events

Communicating Across Cultures  
Date: Thursday, November 4th, 2021
Time: 5:00 - 7:30 pm
Location: ESJ 1202
 
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.