Study Abroad

Major Advising Page – Honors in the Liberal Arts (HLA)

The College of Letters & Science Honors Program encourages students working toward Honors in the Liberal Arts to consider studying abroad during their time at UW-Madison. Both Honors in the Liberal Arts and study abroad can meaningfully enrich your undergraduate education, allow you to explore and build new perspectives, and create connections that last a lifetime. There are many ways that study abroad can be incorporated into your academic plan, and participating in a UW-approved study abroad program can contribute toward completion of Honors in the Liberal Arts.

Prospective L&S Honors Students

If you are not yet part of the L&S Honors Program, view the “Admission” pages on the L&S Honors Program website for information about joining Honors as an incoming freshman, transfer student, or current student. To use the Honors in the Liberal Arts Study Abroad Petition process, you must be formally admitted to the L&S Honors Program as an Honors in the Liberal Arts student at the time the petition is reviewed.

The L&S Honors Program recommends that you study abroad when it works best for your individual academic and personal plans. From an Honors in the Liberal Arts perspective, there is no preferred term for study abroad and no specific requirements that must first be taken on-campus.

L&S Honors Course Considerations Abroad

Honors in the Liberal Arts students choose study abroad programs that help them earn credits toward major electives, L&S breadth, LAS intermediate/advanced coursework, certificate requirements, and/or electives of interest. You may or may not need coursework from abroad to count toward Honors in the Liberal Arts requirements.

If you have unmet Honors in the Liberal Arts (HLA) requirements, coursework from abroad may contribute to those requirements in the following ways.

  • You participate in an Honors-affiliated study abroad program. Some or all of the courses in these programs are automatically designated as Honors on a student’s UW-Madison transcript. The current Honors-affiliated study abroad programs are:
    1. Netherlands: University College Utrecht Honors Exchange (all courses designated as Automatic Honors)
    2. Ecuador: Ceiba Tropical Conservation Semester: Galapagos, Andes and Amazon (11 of 16 credits designated as Automatic Honors; Spanish and internship credits will not count toward Honors)
    3. Singapore: NUS Honors Exchange (anticipated to begin Fall 2025)
  • You participate in a non-Honors study abroad program through UW and, upon your return, submit an Honors in the Liberal Arts Study Abroad Petition. The HLA study abroad petition process allows one eligible course per term abroad to count toward unmet HLA requirements. The selected course can count toward total Honors credits and Honors breadth in the breadth area of the UW course equivalent. The selected course can count toward Automatic Honors if the study abroad program was at least a semester long. For a year-long program, students may submit two separate petitions (one per semester). For a summer or winter intersession program, the selected course must be at least 3 weeks long.For full details about eligibility and the petition process, view the Study Abroad Petition Information on the L&S Honors Program website.

Honors in the Major considerations:

  • The Study Abroad Petition does not apply to Honors in the Major requirements. To discuss if a course from study abroad could potentially count toward Honors in the Major requirements, check in advance with your major advisor. In most cases, required major-specific Honors coursework cannot be completed abroad.
  • If you intend to be abroad the semester before your thesis enrollment would begin, discuss thesis plans with your academic advisors and faculty thesis mentor prior to going abroad.
  • Plan to be on the UW-Madison campus for the semesters when you will be enrolled in thesis credits. If you are considering a plan that involves thesis enrollment while away from Madison, you must discuss this with the Honors Program’s Associate Director of Advising and Curriculum and obtain permission.

Mapping Your Study Abroad Experience as a L&S Honors in the Liberal Arts Student

  • Freshman Year
    • It is never too early to start thinking about how to incorporate study abroad into your degree and Honors plans. Begin by attending Study Abroad 101, meeting with a study abroad exploration advisor, or exploring programs via the Get Started tab on this Study Abroad website. You can also explore L&S Honors study abroad information on the L&S Honors Program website.
    • In the winter and spring, talk to an Honors advisor about your progress toward Honors in the Liberal Arts and overall degree requirements. This can help you start to determine which Honors requirements to prioritize at UW and what may be possible to complete abroad.
    • Complete at least one Honors course by the end of your first year.
  • Sophomore Year
    • Explore the Study Abroad Major Advising Page (MAP) for your major, if available, and create a list of study abroad programs that interest you.
    • Talk to your Honors and major advisor(s) about how different study abroad programs could fit into your plans. If you wish to study abroad sophomore year, complete this step during freshman year.
  • Sophomore and Junior Year
    • Continue taking Honors courses at UW-Madison along with required courses that are unlikely to be offered abroad.
    • If you haven’t yet, take at least one Honors course in a breadth area outside your primary academic interests. For a student majoring in a humanities or social science field, this may mean taking an Honors science course. For a student majoring in a STEM field, this may mean taking an Honors humanities or literature course.
    • Apply for an Honors Program study abroad grant the semester before you will be abroad.
  • Junior Year
    • If you are planning to write a senior thesis, establish connections with faculty and confirm who will serve as your thesis mentor before going abroad.
  • Senior Year
    • If you are planning to write a senior Honors thesis, you will need to be on campus for those thesis semesters.
    • If you are working toward Honors in the Liberal Arts and not planning to write a thesis, senior year can also be a viable time to study abroad.

Questions to Ask

Your Honors Advisor:

  • Which general degree or HLA requirements I should prioritize when selecting a study abroad program or when choosing courses abroad?
  • Would any of the Honors-affiliated study abroad programs be relevant for me?
  • Which Honors requirements should I prioritize on the UW-Madison campus?
  • Should I plan to use the HLA study abroad petition process, or will that not be necessary?
  • What do I need to keep in mind to make sure I can use the HLA study abroad petition process?
  • When selecting course equivalents: Does one course equivalent option work better for HLA than another?
  • How can I apply for an Honors study abroad grant?

Your Major Advisor

  • What classes must I complete for my major requirements?
  • Do I need to be on UW-Madison’s campus for any courses in my major?
  • Which requirements might I be able to complete abroad?
  • Are certain major courses only offered in a specific term?
  • How many electives do I have outside my major?

Your Study Abroad Advisor

  • What classes can I take abroad?
  • How and when do I select courses for my program?
  • When will I know course equivalents for my program?
  • What is the class structure like abroad?

Identifying Programs That are Right for You

There are three Honors-affiliated programs, which L&S Honors students are encouraged to look into and consider:

Additional programs that offer a wide range of liberal arts coursework and can work well for L&S Honors students include:

HLA students also benefit from exploring study abroad and internship abroad options that support major progress or other personal goals, such as intensive language study or summer/winter intersession health-oriented programs.

Search all IAP programs
Research all programs using the IAP Program Search page.   The above is not an exhaustive list of all programs that offer liberal arts and sciences courses. There may be other programs that are a better fit for your individual needs or interests.