Overseas Program

Overseas Program

Immerse yourself in another culture while gaining real-world teaching experience. You’ll return home with a better understanding of your host country through the relationships you build with students, teachers, and members of the community. Gain a new perspective on your own teaching practices in the United States and a broader worldview so greatly needed in our classrooms today.

Host Countries

Foreign Language Requirements

There are no foreign-language proficiency requirements for most locations. In Costa Rica and Ecuador, we recommend basic Spanish-language proficiency. In Costa Rica, Ecuador and Mexico, we recommend basic Spanish-language proficiency. We do encourage participants to learn basic words and sentences in their host country’s native language, either by enrolling in an introductory course or using self-study materials.

Your choice of host country should be dictated by your professional goals as well as your personal preferences. If you are interested in a license addition in reading or technology, a placement in an English-speaking area is probably the best choice for you. Similarly, if you are interested in teaching English as a new language, non-English speaking countries are a good fit.

What You'll Teach

In English-speaking countries, you can expect to teach classes in your licensing areas (elementary education, secondary mathematics, visual arts, and so on.).

In non-English speaking countries, your focus will be working with your school’s foreign language teachers to provide instruction in conversational and written English. If you happen to be fluent in your host country’s native language, you may have the opportunity to teach classes in your licensing area. Most participating schools, however, value the program because they want to expose students to native English speakers.

IU earns national award for campus internationalization

Indiana University is one of just three universities in the U.S. to be honored with an award for an exceptional campus program or initiative focused on internationalization. IU earned the NAFSA 2021 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization for its Global Gateway for Teachers.

Learn more

Eligibility Requirements

Participants must meet all the School of Education’s eligibility requirements for student teaching, which include:

  • GPA requirements for your licensure area
  • Completion of all professional course work toward your degree
  • For foreign-language majors, a passing score on the Foreign Language Proficiency exam (usually taken at the end of your junior year)

In addition, Bloomington and Guest students will teach for 10 weeks (50 days) in an Indiana placement, completing the requirement for Indiana state licensure. Global Gateway will then place students for an additional 8 teaching weeks in the host country for the remainder of the semester.

What It Costs

See our country and program pages for location and program specific cost breakdowns for IU Bloomington, Guest, and Partner Students. Students will be responsible for their regular IU or campus tuition, as well as fees related to student teaching and practicum coursework. Students are also responsible for travel and living expenses during their stay. These costs vary depending on the country you choose to visit.

We aim to make our program as accessible and affordable as possible. For IU Bloomington students, scholarships are available. For Guest and Partner Campus students, we recommend reaching out to your Overseas or Study Abroad Offices at your institution for financial aid and scholarship information. We can also work with you to identify national scholarships.

Scholarship opportunities (for IUB students only)