Before you dive in to finding a program, you should make sure that you meet the minimum requirements to study abroad. Because all programs offered by Pitt Study Abroad are academically rigorous and take place in varied cultural, safety, and legal climates, program managers and advisors thoroughly evaluate applications to each program. Please bear in mind that study abroad is a privilege, and the application process can be a competitive one. You are required to complete a global experiences application regardless of the type of program that you choose.
The Global Experiences Office staff has the ultimate decision in whether or not you are eligible to participate on a program, regardless of the type of program to which you are applying and/or acceptanced by a program or partner institution.
Please note: all students must be 18 years old by the start date of their program.
Applying to Your Program: The Initial Application Review
All students who submit a completed application are considered for admission to their program(s) of choice. Many programs can accept as many qualified applicants as apply; however, some have limited spaces based on logistical concerns or agreements with partners abroad. Plus 3 applicants please view Plus 3 specific application information here.
Academic Record
- Complete 24 credits earned at Pitt before the program starts (regardless of AP, HS, transfer credits)
- An inconsistent academic record (i.e. a higher-than-normal number of withdrawals or failing grades, less than the number of credits required at Pitt, and your previous semester GPA)
- GPA of 2.75 or higher (some programs have a higher minimum requirement that is listed on the program's webpage)
Disciplinary Record
An update on disciplinary record review for spring 2022 and summer 2022 applicants:
The Global Experiences Office takes policies and guidance pertaining to COVID-19 mitigation very seriously, for the health and safety of Pitt students and the global communities where we operate. Students found responsible for the below violation of the Student Code of Conduct may be ineligible to study abroad for the 2021 – 2022 academic year.
- Fails to comply with guidance set forth by the University, federal, state and/or local authorities, or host governments while abroad regarding public health and/or safety may
Review Process
One or more disciplinary violations will trigger an additional review (see below). This review may require additional information from you via a written statement or meeting with Global Experiences Office staff. You will be notified of what is required upon review of your disciplinary record.
Disciplinary Record and Eligibility to Study Abroad
- Students with 3 or more violations are not eligible to study abroad. Students with 2 or more violations related to failure to comply with guidance regarding public health and/or safety may be ineligible to study abroad.
- Students under active disciplinary sanction at the time of application and/or during the program are not eligible to study abroad.
Application Essays
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All applications are evaluated by a standard review rubric, which you can view by clicking here. The application review rubric reflects the following elements:
- Application essays and supporting materials that demonstrate a seriousness of purpose (academic, pre-professional, or both)
- Other program-specific features, such as language level, semester standing, relation to major/minor/certificates, primary campus of attendance, and faculty discretion.
- GPA
- Application essays that do not reflect seriousness of purpose or that do not connect with the program’s goals will trigger an additional review (see below)
Applying to Your Program: Additional Application Review (if required)
Pitt Study Abroad believes in a holistic application review and we will consider the entirety of your application - academic, disciplinary, and essays - all together.
- Academic Record: Pitt Study Abroad receives information about your academic background from PeopleSoft. Based on this information, you may be asked to provide additional information about your academic background through an additional questionnaire in your application. If this is the case, you will be able to see the factors that triggered this additional review by viewing your profile from your applicant homepage.
- Application essays that do not reflect seriousness of purpose or that do not connect with the program’s goals will trigger an additional review (see below)
- Disciplinary Record: As a part of your application, you will be given the opportunity to disclose if you have a disciplinary record at the start of your application and describe the circumstances of the violation. If you do not disclose and our checks reveal that you do have a record, we will require you to resubmit the Disciplinary Record disclosure. When reviewing your record, we'll look for the following:
| Sanction | Notes |
|---|---|
| One publlic health/safety-related violation | May be asked for additional information |
| One alcohol-related violation | May be asked for additional information |
| One marijuana-related violation, violence, theft, “violates local, state, federal law” | May be asked for additional information |
| Two violations of any kind | May be asked for additional information |
| Two public health/safety-related violations | Will be asked for additional information |
| Three or more violations of any kind | Ineligible to study abroad |
Remember that Pitt Study Abroad reviews your application holistically and will not review until your academic and discplinary records are submitted.
Your Pitt Global Experiences Profile
Your entire application lives in your profile at abroad.pitt.edu, which you can access by clicking “Login.”
Your Pitt Global Experiences profile will be your one-stop-shop for everything that you need to do for your application, so be sure to check it often.
When you are applying to programs, you’ll have the ability to apply for a maximum of two programs. When applying, you should also use the ranking feature to let our team know which you are more interested in – this helps with application decisions.
Application Deadlines
The application deadlines below are the dates by which you must turn in all of the required materials in your Pitt Study Abroad Profile. Some programs, especially Exchanges and Partner Programs, may have earlier application deadlines.
Keep in mind that your program may have additional applications or materials, such as those required by our Exchange Programs or Pitt-Recognized Providers, and that they may have their own deadlines which are sometimes earlier or later than our internal deadlines. All students however, must follow Pitt’s internal application deadlines.
2021-2022 Academic Year
Things will work a bit differently this year and applications will open throughout the year and deadlines will be later than nornal. To be notified when applications become available, click here.