Education Abroad and Psych

Want to Study Abroad?

WWU Education Abroad offers many ways for students--including psychology interests, minors, and majors--to study internationally. Please follow the steps outlined below to begin planning your Psych + Study Abroad experience.

3 Steps to Study Abroad with Psych

The Education Abroad website outlines five primary steps to study abroad. Students who hope to earn credit toward a psychology minor or major should also follow these three additional steps:

1. Review the Psychology Major Advising Page (MAP) to explore potential programs.

2. Request detailed syllabi from your top institutions and submit a Transfer Equivalency Request Form.

3. Once your courses have been reviewed/approved, submit a Departmental Academic Advising Esign Form to robins63@wwu.edu.

To ensure you request and submit the correct documents, please review our Frequently Asked Questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

When you review the Psychology MAP you will quickly see that there are so many programs out there for you to explore. Since 2020, the following programs have had courses evaluated as equivalent/provide major credit:

  • Erasmus University of Rotterdam; Netherlands
  • University of Reading; England, UK
  • University of Otago; New Zealand
  • University of Westminster; London, UK
  • Trinity College; Dublin, Ireland

Remember: If you are willing to commit the time and energy to research, many programs the world over will offer opportunities in psychological study.

It is best to select courses that match WWU psychology course titles almost exactly; this offers the best chance that the course will be equivalent. See Major/Minor Checklist buttons above for WWU PSY course titles.

Courses equivalent to our PSY 305, 306, 307 sequence and 400-level seminars are rarely found abroad.

Yes. Students may choose to have an upper-division (300/400-level) psychology course evaluated for elective credit, which would contribute to WWU graduation requirements.

Determining upper-division credits abroad can be tricky. More than anything it’s about how the course transfers to WWU. It helps to look for courses that are numbered in the three-hundreds. Or you can look for PSY courses with almost identical titles to those offered at the 300-level at WWU.

Comprehensive course detail is essential for determining the rigor of a given course. When submitting syllabi, please avoid web descriptions and/or course overviews. Instead, be sure that each syllabus includes, at minimum:

  • the course textbook title and author
  • a detailed list of reading and course topics

Even after submitting, more detailed syllabi may still be required.

Direct outreach to the institution and/or specific course instructor may be necessary.

Finding, requesting, and submitting syllabi for review can take many weeks. Please submit all materials intended for review as far in advance as possible.