Maymester & Short Term International Study

The opportunity to embark on an exciting short term study abroad program may be of particular interest to students that cannot afford either the time or money for a semester abroad. Opportunities exist for either stand-alone courses, or experiences embedded within a course, lasting one to three weeks. They usually fit into a natural break from classes in the PSU calendar, like spring break, winter break or Maymester.

Important Details

• There are sometimes eligibility requirements or pre-requisite courses.
• Plan on extra expenses for these courses.
• For embedded courses, often the student must call the department offering the course to have it added to their schedule.
• Make sure your passport will be valid for 6 months after the return from abroad, and if you do not have a passport, apply right away.
• These programs do NOT satisfy 6 units taken abroad for the International Business Minor.

Maymester Global Orientation

For other short stand-alone summer programs, please see the full list of Penn State study abroad programs. It is possible to run an advanced search to narrow down summer programs offered during the month of May, designated as Maymester. Other summer programs are considered short, three to four weeks, but do not fall under the category Maymester if they span into June or later in the summer.

Embedded International Study

Some courses taught at Penn State have international travel with the instructor as a small part of the course. Check pre-requisite classes, eligibility, language requirement and the campus where the course is being taught to see if you are eligible BEFORE adding the course in LionPath or calling the department offering the course to have it added. There is often a contact person for each program to provide more information. Here is a link to a full list of Penn State Embedded courses. Below is a selection of programs that will accept all majors.