Cost of study abroad
Fees and tuition
To participate in an IESP program, you are required to pay a mandatory study abroad program fee and health insurance costs.
For most IESP programs, you will pay UW tuition, and, as at the UW, you will need to pay the typical costs of attending school, room and board, as well as costs of getting to your study site.
You may have to pay additional fees to your host university for activities, insurance, housing, language pre-session, etc.
In addition, you will incur expenses for entertainment, personal items (such as toiletries) and vacation travel. Out-of-pocket costs are necessary to consider as part of the total costs of studying abroad, and you must budget carefully, keeping these in mind.
Budgets
Cost estimates are listed on each program's web page. Estimates are based on information provided by the host university and by reports from past participants. Please review the individual program budgets, as they differ greatly.
Bear in mind that you should budget carefully, keeping fluctuating currency exchange rates and additional expenses in mind. Build a realistic monthly budget, plan how you will withdraw and use funds, and keep emergency funds separately to be available if needed.
Most IESP programs are exchanges, and you will be billed for 12 UW credits. The tuition you pay to UW will allow a student from your overseas host university to study at UW. Conversely, that student will pay tuition at his or her university, which is what allows you to study there. Hence, the term "exchange program." The two programs where you will pay the host university's tuition are at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and BUTE, in Budapest, Hungary.
Financial aid
Because IESP's programs are considered "in residence," financial aid applies to all UW-Madison degree-seeking students on study abroad programs. Therefore, you can apply for aid as you would if you were studying on campus at the UW.
If you already receive aid, you may qualify for additional funding to offset the extra costs sometimes associated with study abroad. Additional aid often comes in the form of loans, although some need-based study abroad grants are available annually. Likewise, if the anticipated cost of studying abroad is lower than studying on the UW campus, you could receive less aid than if you were staying on campus.
Even if you have not received financial aid in the past, you may be eligible for a loan to help with additional study abroad expenses.