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Earn College Credit

EF Study Abroad CSU semester program
Earn college credit for your EF Gap Year experience through our partnership with Colorado State University.

CSU offers courses that will complement your program and enhance your immersive international experience. These courses are a wonderful way for students to embrace their EF Gap with an academic lens, and the learning objectives of your travels will form the basis for the coursework you complete.

EF Gap Year program students can earn up to 12 college credits while Semester students can earn up to 6 credits.

Course details

IE 1XX (course number yet to be assigned): Understanding Self and Society in the World*
This online, asynchronous, 3-credit course is designed for students participating in a structured gap semester international experience. Through guided reflection, journaling, readings, projects, online discussions, and a final project, students will critically analyze their global experience, moving beyond surface-level observations to develop meaningful insights into the societies they encounter. Students will be challenged to authentically reflect on their own shifting perspectives to help shape future academic and professional interests.


IE 272: World Interdependence - Current Global Issues*
This online, asynchronous, 3-credit course is designed for students participating in a structured gap semester international experience. Through readings, online content, online discussions, short research papers, and a final paper, students will engage in a comparative study of the international systems, institutions, and cultures of selected countries. This course will supplement real-world intercultural encounters to provide a deeper understanding of global connectedness.

*Courses and course information are subject to change.

Details about Internship and Language courses for Gap Year students coming soon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Earning college credit during your EF Gap experience comes with a lot of questions; we’ve answered the ones we get most often. If you have additional inquiries, please reach out to one of our expert EF Gap Year Consultants.

Students who wish to incorporate CSU courses as part of their EF Gap program must inform their Gap Year Advisor when enrolling. There are two course enrollment terms each year: fall & spring.

Please ask your Gap Year Advisor about the specific dates pertaining to your program.

Each course term is 16 weeks long from start date to final date of the term. Your EF Gap program will overlap with some part of this 16-week term, and you will need to follow all deadlines communicated to you by CSU and your course instructor to ensure your successful completion of the course.

How external courses transfer is entirely dependent on the home university’s policies. We suggest you check with the office of the registrar at your home university to determine if and how the credits will transfer.

The CSU coursework is in addition to the organized activities and excursions built into your EF Gap program. Your assignments will build directly upon your gap experiences.

You will complete CSU coursework during the corresponding programs, usually during free days, evenings, and weekends off.

Other than that, you can schedule your coursework based on your own schedule; typically, students complete their final project shortly after returning home.

All courses cost $900. These charges are in addition to the overall program price; you’ll gain college credits and a leveled-up EF Gap experience through coursework that complements and enriches our experiential education programs.

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