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Academic Advisor

Advising students who wish to study internationally or with one of Messiah's domestic off-campus programs can be rewarding, but challenging. Included in this web site are resources to assist you as you work with students. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO CONNECTING OUR STUDENTS WITH THESE VALUABLE LEARNING EXPERIENCES.

Please note links to the right that will provide department-specific information.

General Advising Tips

  1. Encourage students to explore the options early; their first semester is not too soon!
  2. A number of departments have identified an optimal semester for students to study off campus. This is helpful information to pass along to your advisees.
  3. Encourage students to visit the Agape Center for Local & Global Engagement for an advising meeting to learn more about off-campus program options.
  4. Students should come to your advising sessions already having done their homework. After visiting the Agape Center for Local & Global Engagement and searching the resources available on the web page (such as the course equivalency database), students should have an idea of the programs that they are exploring as well as possible courses that they are hoping to take while studying off campus.
  5. Many study abroad programs offer courses that can meet general education requirements; typically, students can fulfill general education history, literature, social science off campus.
  6. ALL MESSIAH-APPROVED SEMESTER-LONG INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS WILL MEET STUDENTS' THIRD LANGUAGE/CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS. Students do not receive three credits, rather, the requirement is waived.
  7. All students who study off campus must complete an "Off-Campus Study Course Approval Form" as part of their Messiah approval process.
    • Please review this form so you can discuss how courses taken off campus will fit into the student's academic progress
    • Please work with your academic department / chair to approve major-related courses