Study Abroad

Are you going to study abroad for the next semester or two? This page is designed to help you understand what happens to your financial aid for the semester(s) you are going abroad.  We strongly encourage you to read the information (or our Study Abroad FAQ) and save this page for future reference.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office or the Center for Global Education for additional information.

Eligible Resources

Institutional funding (excluding work-study and athletic grants), federal, state, and most private financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants and loans are portable.  This means that you can use your financial aid to offset the cost of studying abroad.

Students with outside scholarships must check with the sponsoring agency providing those funds to ensure that funding can be used while studying abroad.  For the Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) and Suggested Lender List, all paperwork needs to be completed with Providence College and/or lender prior to departure.  This includes the self-certification form and/or master promissory note, if applicable.

Billing Policy

Providence College has a Home School Tuition Policy.  The means students are charged tuition here at the College but are charged housing/food through their abroad program.  Please note, if the program’s tuition is more than our tuition (i.e. a tuition differential) the difference will also be added to your bill here at the College.

All eligible financial aid is applied to your charges here at the College first which could include, but not limited to: tuition, tuition differential, study abroad fee, health insurance, unfulfilled housing contracts, parking fines, dorm damage fines, and/or late fees.  If your eligible financial aid is greater than your charges you can then use the remaining towards the housing/food charges at your abroad program.

Students may contract with our payment plan to cover charges that are billed directly from Providence College.  Payment plans, however, cannot be used to manage the other expenses that are billed by your abroad program.  You should contact your abroad program to make payment arrangements.

Some study abroad programs require that certain fees be paid up front and out of pocket regardless of the types and amounts of financial assistance you have applied for and are receiving.  Some examples of such fees would be an enrollment deposit, damage deposit, insurance fee, round trip airfare, taxes and fuel charges.  Please contact your host program for information regarding their payment policies.

Costs Calculator

Need help estimating costs associated with going abroad? Check out the Estimated Study Abroad Budget Worksheet provided by the Center for Global Education.

Transferring Money

If your bill at the College is paid and you have credit (i.e. extra money), you can use it towards any abroad related expense. For additional information or to request a check, email the Bursar’s Office (bursar@providence.edu).

If you have a credit (i.e. extra money) on your account and would like your abroad program to know about it, send us their deferral form (most programs have one).  Complete the student section and we are happy to do the rest!