Study Abroad

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering encourages CSE majors to take advantage of study and research opportunities through the Education Abroad Program (EAP) and Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP). EAP programs are offered at over 140 institutions in 34 countries.  Please visit the Study Abroad UC San Diego office for more information.

Why Study Abroad?

Computer Science and Engineering is an interdisciplinary, innovative, and increasingly globalized field. The software and hardware that shape our daily lives are built by individuals and organizations across the world. Studying abroad as an undergraduate can prepare students to succeed in their careers with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore new cultures, experience new methods of teaching, engage with global research, and gain exposure to new ideas.

  • Take advantage of unique academic, experiential, and coursework opportunities.
  • Prepare for global industry by collaborating with computer scientists across the world.
  • Become a better informed global citizen and learn from new viewpoints.
  • Expand your resume and build cross-cultural communication skills that employers value.
  • Gain a new perspective on the discipline of engineering while exploring a new place.


Want to learn more about the study abroad student experience? Read the stories of Study Abroad Returnees (STARs) Ambassadors here: The Student Perspective

When Should I Study Abroad?

All students should consult with their Undergraduate Major Advisor to discuss the timely completion of major requirements. If you are interested in studying abroad, we recommend that you schedule an appointment with your CSE major advisor, or stop by our drop-in advising hours to begin discussing your first steps to studying abroad. Visit our CSE Student Affairs Office Hours website for more information about how to connect with CSE Advising.

Most students study abroad during the spring or summer quarters; however, some students may choose to study abroad for an entire year! Many students aim to study abroad during their second or third year as an undergraduate, but some students may prefer to study abroad as a senior.

Per the UCEAP’s FAQ website, please keep in mind that “if you plan to graduate upon completion of your study abroad program, it can take up to 90 days for UCEAP courses (and grades) to be posted to your UCSD academic record. This means there will be a delay in receiving your final transcript and diploma.  If you plan to attend professional school, graduate school or participate in any activity that requires proof of graduation, this is something to be aware of.”

We encourage students to start planning as early as possible, since most program applications require 6 - 12 months of planning in advance. If you’re excited about the prospect of studying abroad, contact a Study Abroad Advisor and check in with CSE Advising as soon as possible!

Can I Receive Transfer Credit Towards My Major?

Students may earn academic credit to satisfy CSE major or CS minor requirements, if approved by the CSE Department.  Please see the CSE Petition Process for more information about petitioning study abroad courses for CSE equivalency. There are no guarantees of approval on any petition. We recommend submitting “Pre-Approval” CSE Petitions for study abroad courses that you are interested in taking, so please be prepared to submit your CSE Petition before your study abroad departure to seek Pre-Approval.

* If approved, each course must meet all of the following minimum criteria (once posted to your UCSD academic history) to receive the specified UCSD Equivalency credit:

  • UC transferable
  • Upper Division
  • Course must be taken for a letter grade (may not be taken for P/NP)
  • Must earn a C- or better

If all the criteria above are met, send CSE a VAC message after the course is posted to your UCSD academic history so we can apply the stated UCSD Equivalency credit to your computer science and engineering major accordingly.

Students can also consider reviewing the list of pre-approved CSE equivalent courses at study abroad institutions found here on our CSE Study Abroad website. Courses on this page have been pre-approved for CSE credit through their start & expiration terms. Please be mindful of the “Expiration Terms” for each course on the CSE Study Abroad page when planning your study abroad experience. If a course that you’re interested in taking has “expired” then you should plan to submit a new CSE Petition to request an evaluation of this course for CSE credit. There are no guarantees of approval on any CSE Petition, so please plan accordingly.

What Are My First Steps To Study Abroad?
  • Visit the Study Abroad Department’s "Study Abroad in Engineering" website.
  • Watch the  "Study Abroad in Engineering" webinar and Study Abroad Video Resources.
  • Follow the steps on the Study Abroad “Get Started” website to prepare to study abroad.
  • Learn more about study abroad by reviewing UCEAP Application Deadlines, the UCEAP "How to Apply" website, and the Study Abroad website on Financial Aid & Scholarships.
  • Carefully read the UCEAP’s Frequently Asked Questions to review common questions about the study abroad application process and experience.
  • Think about whether you’d like to study abroad for the purpose of fulfilling college, GE, university, major or minor requirements and connect with your advisors accordingly.
  • Connect with the Study Abroad office & advisors directly to explore available programs.
    • The Study Abroad Advising Services page outlines how to connect with a Study Abroad Advisor and provides an array of helpful resources for planning your study abroad experience. 
  • If you are a CSE major, connect with a CSE Advisor to discuss your CSE study abroad plans and the Pre-Approval Petition process with your major advisor.
  • Review the CSE Petition Process for more information about submitting a CSE Petition. 
    • If you plan to study abroad, we recommend submitting PRE-APPROVAL petitions prior to studying abroad, so that you will know if the courses you are petitioning will count towards CSE course equivalencies or your CS major requirements.

 

    UCEAP Public Course Catalog

    Country  University  EAP Subject Area & Course # Transcript Title Partner University Course Number UCSD CSE Equivalency 

    Start of Fall 20XX

    Expires End of Spring 20XX
    Australia 

    University of South Wales 

    CP S 111 COMPUTER NETWK APPL  COMP3331 CSE 123 2017 2020
    Australia 

    University of South Wales 

    CP S 114 COMPUTER GRAPHICS  COMP3421 CSE 167 2017 2020
    Australia 

    University of South Wales 

    CP S 119 OPERATING SYSTEMS  COMP3231 CSE 120 2017 2020
    Australia

    University of Sydney

    CP S 127 ALGORITHM DESIGN COMP 3027 CSE 101 2022 2025

    China 

    Tsinghua Univ. CP S 120 FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS 80240593 CSE 167 2019 2022
    Denmark

    University of Copenhagen

    CP S 141 LARGE-SCALE DATA ANALYSIS (LSDA) NDAK15018U CSE 158 2017 2020
    Denmark

    University of Copenhagen

    CP S 157 COMPUTABILITY AND COMPLEXITY (COCO) NDAA09007U CSE 105 2017 2020
    Denmark

    University of Copenhagen

    CP S 164 MACHINE LEARNING (ML) NDAK15007U CSE 151 2017 2020
    Denmark

    University of Copenhagen

    CP S 166 ALGORITHMS & DATA NDAA09023U CSE 101 2017 2020
    Denmark

    University of Copenhagen

    CP S 167 NUMERICAL OPTIMIZATION NDAA09009U CSE 190 2017 2020
    Denmark University of Copenhagen CP S 168 DISCRETE OPTIMIZTN NDAK14003U CS26/CS28 Major Technical Elective 2017 2020
    Denmark

    University of Copenhagen

    CP S 174 VISION AND IMAGE PROCESSING NDAK12002U CSE 152 2017 2020
    Denmark

    University of Copenhagen

    CP S 179 INTERACTIVE DATA NDAK15017U CSE 190 2017 2020
    Hong Kong Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) CP S 124S DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS  COMP3311  CSE 132A 2020 2023
    Hong Kong  University of Hong Kong CP S 111 GAME DESIGN&PROGRAM  COMP3329  CSE 125 2017 2020
    Hong Kong  University of Hong Kong CP S 133 MOBILE AP DESIGN  COMP3330 CSE 170 2017 2020
    Korea Yonsei University CP S 114 COMPUTER GRAPHICS CSI4105 CSE 167 2018 2021
    Singapore National University of Singapore CP S 103 OPERATING SYSTEMS  CS2106  CSE 120 2017 2020
    Singapore National University of Singapore CP S 104 INFORMATION SECURITY  CS2107 CSE 127 2017 2020
    Singapore National University of Singapore CP S 106 DATABASE SYSTEMS  CS2102 CSE 132A   2017 2020
    Singapore National University of Singapore CP S 111 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS CS3230 CSE 101 2024 2027
    Spain UC Center Madrid CP S 15 PYTHON PROGRAMMING CS 15 CSE 6R 2023 2026
    Sweden Lund University CP S 101 ALGRTHM&DATA STRCTR  EDAF05  CSE 101 2017 2020

    Sweden

    Lund University CP S 124 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE EITF20 CSE 141 2023 2026
    Sweden Lund University CP S 126 HUMAN-COMP INTERACT  INFC25 CSE 170  2017 2027
    Sweden Lund University CP S 128 COMPUTER GRAPHICS EDA221  CSE 167 2017 2020
    Sweden Lund University CP S 135 COMPUTER GRAPHICS EDAF80 CSE 167 2020 2023

    Sweden

    Lund University SP S 141 CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS INFC50 CSE 190 2017 2020
    Sweden Lund University CP S 142 INFO SYSTM SECURITY  INFC40 CSE 127 2023 2026
    Sweden Lund University CP S 157 CRYPTOGRAPHY EDIN01  CSE 190 2017 2020
    Sweden Lund University CP S 176 APPL ARTIF INTEL  EDAF70 

    CSE 190

    (LVG Credit approved)

    2020 2023
    United Kingdom - England Imperial College London

    CP S 102

    +

    CP S 120

    SFTWRE ENG:DESIGN I 

    SOFT ENG GRP PRO

    CO220

    CO362

    CSE 110 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - England Imperial College London CP S 101 NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATIONS CO212 CSE 123 2019 2022
    United Kingdom - England Imperial College London CP S 107 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING- ALGORITHMS CO202 CSE 101 2019 2022
    United Kingdom - England Imperial College London CP S 108 INTRO TO AI  CO231  CSE 150 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - England Imperial College London CP S 122  OPERATING SYSTEMS  CO211 CSE 120 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - England King's College London CP S 122 COMPUTER VISION 6CCS3COV CSE 152 2019 2022
    United Kingdom - England University of London, Queen Mary CP S 118 WEBSITE DESIGN ECS507U CSE 170 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - England University of London, Queen Mary CP S 160 INTERNET PROTCL & APP ECS524U CSE 124 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - England University of London, Queen Mary CP S 180 COMPUTER GRAPHICS ECS610U CSE 167 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburgh  CP S 108 DATABASE SYSTEMS INFR10080 CSE 132A 2023 2026
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburgh  CP S 115 COMPILING TECHNIQUE INFR10065 CSE 131 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburgh  CP S 122  COMPUTER SECURITY INFR10067 CSE 127 2023 2026
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburg CP S 129 SOFTWARE TESTING INFR10057 CSE 190 2023 2026
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburgh  CP S 130 COMPUTER ARCH  INFR09009  CSE 141 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburgh  CP S 146 ELEMENTS PROGR LANG INFR10061  CSE 130 2023 2026
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburgh  CP S 204 HMN-COMPTR INTERACT INFR11017  CSE 170 2023 2026
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburgh  CP S 206 DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS INFR11022 CSE 124 2017 2020
    United Kingdom - Scotland University of Edinburgh  CP S 208 COMPUTER GRAPHICS INFR11021 CSE 167 2017 2020