Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University 

IFSA-Butler Application

IFSA-Butler Website

*Alliance for Global Education Website

About IFSA-Butler
The Institute for Study Abroad is a non-profit institute located at Butler University. Of particular interest are their programs in English-speaking countries—England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition to the IFSA-Butler central office staff located on campus in Indianapolis, Indiana, IFSA-Butler has full-time staff located at offices in England, Scotland, Ireland, Sydney, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand. It also employs regional student service coordinators in each country.

*IFSA-Butler programs in China are operated by the Alliance for Global Education.  This is a separate entity from IFSA-Butler so program policies, price inclusions, etc. may differ from IFSA-Butler programs.  Applications for China will also be submitted directly to Alliance for Global Education.

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IFSA-Butler Semester/Year Programs
For program details, please go to the IFSA-Butler website.

On-Site Support
IFSA-Butler provides pre-departure orientation materials and a comprehensive 4-10 day on-site orientation.  They rely on the staff at their partner universities to handle everyday student issues, however, they do have a staff member in each country where they have a program to offer more support as needed.  The in-country IFSA-Butler staff also organize cultural activities, some excursions, and group dinners each semester.

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Educational Systems
Education in Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, and Scotland tends to be more specialized, and students usually concentrate on one or two subject areas. Generally speaking, there is less inter-disciplinary coursework than you find in the U.S. system. The typical Australian or Scottish student, for example may take straight business and management courses while you might want to take business, psychology, political science, and physical education. As an exchange student, some of the restrictions limiting course selection across disciplines may be eased so you can choose courses from a variety of subject areas.

University education is usually comprised of lectures and smaller group tutorials that highlight certain aspects of a subject while students are expected to use independent reading and research to explore the broader elements. Fieldwork may also be an integral component to some courses.

There is greater emphasis placed on final exams, presentations, and papers than in the U.S. Reading assignments are often extensive and professors may assume that, in addition to your assigned reading, you are reading widely on your own to better learn the subject matter. You will be asked to present well-argued papers and presentations. Weekly quizzes, monthly tests, and regularly scheduled graded assignments may be non-existent. Thus your final grade may come down to how well you did on your papers, class presentations, and final exam.

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Courses & Credit
The courses available will depend on the university the student plans to attend. Please go to the IFSA-Butler website for more information about courses available.  

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Program Dates
For up to date program dates, please go to the IFSA-Butler Dates & Fees webpage.

Australian and New Zealand universities normally follow the southern hemisphere calendar. Semester 1 typically runs February to June and Semester 2 runs July to November. Students participating in a February to June term will be registered at UI for spring semester; students participating in a July to November term will be registered at UI for fall semester. Students registering for a July to November term may find fewer courses available to them than during a February to June term since some courses are year-long courses and they would be entering these courses mid-term.

English, Scottish, and Irish universities typically have a shorter fall semester (October to December) and a longer spring semester (January to the end of June). In some cases, the spring semester may be further broken down into two terms: January to March, and April to the end of June, allowing students to enroll in one or both terms.

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Program Fees
Students will pay IFSA-Butler directly for IFSA-Butler Program fees.  For up to date program fees, please go to the IFSA-Butler Dates & Fees webpage.  To see what is included in the IFSA-Butler program fee, be sure to look at their "What's included" webpage.

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Scholarships
The University of Idaho awards five $1000 scholarships to students participating on IFSA-Butler programs each year. In order to be eligible for these scholarships, students must qualify to receive financial aid. Scholarships will be awarded to the first five eligible students who are accepted into IFSA-Butler programs. Scholarship recipients may also apply for additional scholarships offered through the central IFSA-Butler office.  See the IFSA-Butler Scholarship webpage for information about their scholarships.

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Eligibility
Most of IFSA-Butler affiliated universities require that students be juniors by the time they begin their study abroad experience. Some programs will accept second-semester sophomores.  See the IFSA-Butler website for eligibility details for the universities you're interested in attending.
 

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Application Deadlines
Please see the IFSA-Butler website for detailed application deadlines.  In order to meet IFSA-Butler deadlines, we ask that your application be submitted no later than prior to the deadlines listed on their website.  However, IFSA-Butler accepts students on a first-come, first-served basis.  Once you decide that you want to participate in the program, it is a good idea to submit your application as sites may fill prior to the deadlines.  Earlier is better than later!

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