CU Boulder Global Start

Spend your first semester with CU - abroad!

Why Global Start?

Set yourself apart from the start by spending your first semester with CU Boulder studying abroad! Join a global CU community as you live and learn with other first-semester Buffs, earning CU Boulder credits and completing foundational coursework for your CU degree. Gain essential skills that will serve you for the rest of your time at CU Boulder including growing your independence, self-confidence, resiliency, adaptability, and problem-solving skills!

Due to the unique nature of the program, CU Boulder Education Abroad provides highly customized one-on-one advising and support throughout the application & pre-departure process​, as well as while you're abroad. So you'll always feel like a member of the Buff community no matter where you are. By the time you arrive on the Boulder campus for the spring semester, you will already have built a community and the foundation necessary to be successful for the rest of your college career and beyond!

CU Boulder offers two exciting Global Start programs geared towards specific colleges and programs. Check out the links below to learn more.

CU Global Start: First Semester in London

Students admitted to:

  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • College of Communication, Media, Design, & Information
  • Program for Exploratory Studies
CU Global Start: First Semester in Berlin

Students admitted to:

  • College of Engineering & Applied Sciences

Want to learn more?

FAQs

Many of the skills developed during a study abroad experience directly benefit students throughout the rest of their college careers and beyond. Through study abroad, students build independence, self-confidence, resiliency, adaptability, and problem-solving skills, all of which play a significant role in both academic and professional success. Studying abroad your first semester gives you a jump start on building these skills.
 
Already planning on studying abroad your junior year? Great! There's no limit to the number of times you can study abroad, so you can study abroad in your first semester and in future terms with planning. Have your cake and eat it too!

Additionally, the very nature of study abroad means that many students find the friendships they make while abroad to be particularly strong and long-lasting. There is a unique bond that forms between people who are learning to navigate an entirely new culture, city, and environment together.  This kind of experience among a smaller community can be especially appealing for students who may not be excited about the larger campus events that take place in Boulder in the fall, or that may feel a bit overwhelmed by and/or worried about finding a group of students with shared interests in a big campus setting. Global Start allows students to make the most out of the first semester of their freshman year, creating amazing memories with other first year students who share similar interests.

This first semester program is a good fit for students who:

  • Like the idea of transitioning to college life within a smaller cohort of students, as opposed to jumping directly into life on a big campus.
  • Already have the travel bug and want to start their college career in a uniquely global way.
  • Are pursuing a degree path or have other college goals that might make studying abroad for a full semester later on more challenging, so going for their first semester is the best way to fit in a full-semester experience.
  • Are looking for an alternative to the traditional college experience. 
Interested students should email GlobalStart@colorado.edu to request an application be opened. The online application will request basic information such as whether you have a passport, who your emergency contacts are, etc. It will also ask a couple of questions about why you are interested in the program and what you’re hoping to get out of the experience. In all, the application should take less than two hours to complete. There is no application fee.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and spots are first-come-first-serve. Upon submitting your application, you will receive a decision from the Education Abroad office within a couple of weeks, along with more information about next steps. You will then be asked to commit to the program by May 10 in order to hold your spot, which involves signing the Financial Contract. Make sure you are familiar with the financial implications of signing that contract, particularly the “Withdrawal Schedule and Financial Responsibility” section of the program costs page.  

Our Program Costs page lists the program fee as well as an estimated out-of-pocket budget. If you don't see your term available, then we're still finalizing the budget, but you can look at the previous year's cost to get a close estimate.
 
The Program Fee is what students will be charged for the program, and the “Items Included in the Program Fee” section breaks down everything that is built into the program fee. The Estimated Costs not included in the Program Fee provides a comprehensive estimate of everything else students should budget for, such as airfare, meals, a phone plan, public transportation, etc.  

We do not include independent travel in our Estimated Costs, since this varies widely by student. If you plan to do any independent travel while abroad, make sure you are budgeting extra for that. Your program will also provide opportunities for students to sign up for additional excursions and travel experiences.
 
The $700 program deposit will be billed to students’ CU Bursar accounts in mid-July, followed by the remainder of the program fee in early August. The program fee will be due September 5. More details can be found on our Billing page. 

Yes! Federal, state, and institutional aid can be used towards the program and will automatically be applied to students’ CU Bursar accounts after the Program Fee is billed. The exception to this is work-study and the Colorado College Opportunity Fund (COF) available to in-state students, which cannot be applied to courses taken outside of Colorado.

If you are expecting to receive any private scholarships, check with the sponsor to see if your private scholarship can apply to study abroad.

Additionally, Education Abroad has scholarships available for the program! If you would like to be considered for a Global Start scholarship, complete that section of the "Cost Planning" form in your Global Start application.

The deadline to commit to the Global Start program is May 10. To commit to the program, log into your MyCUAbroad account, read the Financial Contract linked at the top of your checklist, and click “Commit.” (Note that if you are under 18 at the time you apply, you will be sent a link to the Financial Contract for you and your parent/guardian to sign, instead of being able to commit within the MyCUAbroad portal directly).

Upon committing to the program, you will be subject to the financial withdrawal schedule posted on the Program Costs page. 

Interested students will be provided with an opportunity to discuss their intended degree plan with an Academic Advisor, to ensure that the courses they’ll take on the Global Start program will align with their academic plan.
 
All courses taken on the Global Start program will come back to CU for in-residence, CU credit.   

The CU Global Start program is a cohort of 10-20 CU Boulder students. In addition, you will be taking classes and living alongside other first-year students enrolled at your program's center from a variety of different U.S. universities. This creates a lively environment that allows you to build a strong CU Buff community while also having the opportunity meet other U.S. study abroad students and explore your host city together. 

Education Abroad has an extensive pre-departure process in place designed to help prepare you for both the transition to university life as well as to spend a semester studying abroad.  
 
Upon acceptance into the Global Start program, you will receive detailed information about what you can expect for the next few months as you prepare for your fall semester. At that time, you will be provided with an opportunity to connect with your academic advisor as well to discuss how the Global Start courses will fit into your degree plan. 
 
Shortly following the May 10 confirmation date, Education Abroad will arrange a zoom call for all the admitted students to have a chance to meet the CU Education Abroad staff and get to know the other CU students who will be participating on the program with them. During that call, we will go over next steps and timelines, as well as answer any pressing questions that students may have.
 
Over the course of the summer, our on-site partners will also be in touch about next steps and pre-departure webinars, which will cover everything from academics to housing to working out a phone plan. During this time, you'll also be prompted to complete the CU New Student Orientation that all CU Boulder incoming students complete. Then in mid-summer, CU Ed Abroad will host an in-person Global Start orientation on the Boulder campus to allow students to meet each other in person, go over more pre-departure specifics, and give you the opportunity to get to know the Boulder campus and take part in some of CU's new student summer activities. 
To offer the Global Start program, Education Abroad collaborates with on-site partners (Arcadia Abroad in London and CIEE in Berlin) who have run first-year programs for many years and provide robust on-site support throughout the program. 
 
This support begins before you even arrive on-site, as you'll work closely with the program staff to prepare for your program. Then, upon arrival, you will be met at the airport by program staff, who will take you directly to your housing to get settled in. Your first few days will be packed with orientation activities aimed at getting you set up for a successful semester. This orientation will cover topics such as health and safety best practices, how to use public transportation, what to expect from your first semester of college coursework, cultural differences between the US and your host country, budgeting advice, and more. 
 
Your classes will take place at the your program's center, where you'll be interacting with program staff on a daily basis and easily able to connect with them should you have questions or concerns arise. The staff are there to support your health, safety, and overall success on the program. This can be anything from assisting with academic accommodations, to connecting you with on-site mental health support, to providing advice on independent travel plans or things to see and do in your host city, to being on call 24/7 should an emergency arise. Additionally, you will remain supported by the CU Education Abroad office throughout your semester abroad. 
Students will be responsible for booking their own flights to and from the program site. After students are committed to the program, they will be provided with detailed instructions on how to book their flights and when and where they should plan to arrive. On arrival day, program staff will meet students at the airport and will take them to orientation and their housing. 

Housing will be provided by your program and you are required to live in program-provided housing. Students will be housed in residence halls alongside the rest of the CU students as well as other U.S. first-year students studying abroad. Given the cohort nature of this program, independent housing is not allowed.  
 
Following acceptance into the program, you will be asked to fill out a housing form in your program's portal, from which they will make housing placements. If you have a specific roommate request, you can make this via the housing form, and the program will do their best to accommodate these requests, although we can’t make any guarantees. Most rooms are double-occupancy. Singles are very limited and priority is given to students with documented medical needs.
 
There is no meal plan, but students will have access to a shared kitchen that will be furnished with the basics, and grocery stores available within walking distance. There are shared laundry facilities located within the building and your program will provide all students with a bedding pack. 

Provided that students submit the CU housing application by the spring housing deadline (more details will be provided closer to the fall semester), Global Start students can be placed in on-campus housing when they return to Boulder for the spring semester. Note that it is unlikely that students will be able to request specific roommates or housing arrangements for their spring semester. 
CU has a full program scheduled to help you integrate into the Boulder campus in the spring semester.  

This actually begins over the summer, when Global Start students will be invited to campus for an in-person orientation that will allow you to meet the other CU students attending Global Start in the fall, meet with your academic advisor, and become familiar with Boulder and the CU campus.  

While abroad, you will remain in close communication with your CU academic advisor, who will help you prepare to register for spring courses in advance of spring course registration. 

Finally, you will be invited to move into your CU spring housing a day early, when you will have the opportunity to attend a variety of new student welcome activities and reconnect with your fellow Global Start students after the winter break. Additional activities will be scheduled over the following few weeks to help you jump into campus life and living in Boulder! 
Family and friends interested in visiting you abroad are encouraged to come when the program ends in mid-December. Students are expected to be fully engaged with program activities, making new friends, and focusing on their coursework during the official program dates, including during orientation. Limiting family visits to times outside of the program dates allows students to fully experience the cohort nature of this program, and explore their host city alongside their new CU Buff community.  

There is a fall break in the middle of the program which is another time for family to visit. However, it is important to keep in mind that many students will want to make other travel plans during this break.
Students are allowed to travel on weekends and over breaks during their program. The program will request students fill out a travel form if they will be staying outside of the host city overnight - this allows program staff to ensure student safety in case of an emergency. While students are allowed to travel independently, it is important to keep in mind that both London and Berlin are very large cities and students will want to leave ample time to explore these great places!