Planning for Study Abroad

The Data Science BA program strongly encourages all students to consider studying abroad, whether for a summer, a semester or a full year. Many universities around the world offer excellent courses in data science, computer science, statistics, or any of our domain emphases that can easily be applied to the major requirements at Cal. UC Berkeley Study Abroad Advisors and the Data Science major advisors will work with you to design an individualized program plan to fit your interests.

By studying abroad as a Data Science major, you will gain a more global perspective and understanding of data, and of the different cultural values around data privacy that exist around the world. You will also gain more global experience and cultural awareness that will be valuable in any career field. Not to mention, you will meet interesting people and have an amazing, unforgettable experience!

Studying abroad can be the same cost or even less expensive than studying at UC Berkeley, depending on your program. 

  • View the Berkeley Study Abroad center’s information on finances.
  • You can also apply financial aid toward study abroad programs, and your aid package will be adjusted to the cost or your program.
  • Berkeley Study Abroad also offers scholarships to aid students in funding their study abroad opportunities. 

Be sure to pay attention to the start and end dates of each program, as many do not align with the start and end dates of the semester at UC Berkeley. If you want to study abroad in your final semester, also note that your program end date may conflict with Commencement events.

  • First-Year Admits: Most students study abroad during junior year, although there are a growing number of programs available to sophomores. In choosing when to study abroad, you may want to consider whether you plan to apply for summer internships, and when the recruiting period for your career field takes place (for example, recruiting for summer internships in software engineering often takes place during the previous Fall semester). See our sample 4-year plans for first-year admits.
  • Junior Transfer Admits: As a junior transfer, it will be difficult to study abroad in your junior year unless you begin the planning process as soon as you are admitted. It is more likely that you will be able to study abroad in your senior year, during the summer, or during an extra semester if you are willing to extend your time at Cal. See our sample 2-year and 2.5 year plans for junior transfers. 

NOTE: If you are planning to study abroad in senior year, consult with a College Adviser in advance to make sure you will satisfy the Senior Residency requirement.

Data Science majors have participated in study abroad programs all over the world.

  • Research whether the programs you are interested in offer coursework in English. Unless you are fluent in another language, consider carefully before enrolling in upper-division data science coursework in another language, even if you technically meet the prerequisites. 
  • If you hope to take courses toward the Computational & Inferential Depth requirement, consider UC EAP programs that are strong in Computer Science or Math & Statistics course offerings.
  • If you hope to take courses toward your Domain Emphasis, use UC EAP’s Find a Program webpage (select a Discipline and then select a Subject Area) to find programs with a focus on areas relevant to your Domain Emphasis.
  • If you hope to take courses toward the 7-Course Breadth requirement, check out UC Berkeley’s Pre-Approved Breadth Database.

Credit for Study Abroad Courses

Any courses abroad will need to be petitioned and reviewed by Data Science faculty. Please make an appointment with a Data Science advisor before you go abroad to discuss your intended courses and the petition process. If you are going on UC EAP, note that you will also need a major advisor's signature on your EAP Academic Planning Form.

Minimum requirements for course eligibility toward the major:

  • Effective Fall 2024, students may complete a maximum of 3 upper-division courses toward the Data Science major at other institutions outside of UC Berkeley, including UC EAP. (Students admitted to UC Berkeley prior to Fall 2024 who are eligible to continue following L&S College requirements must meet the L&S requirement on residency in the major, which requires a minimum of 12 upper-division units toward the major to be completed at UC Berkeley.)
  • A course must be transferable for upper-division credit and a minimum of 3 semester units to satisfy an upper-division requirement in the Data Science major.
  • All courses toward the major must be completed with a letter grade of C- or better, or equivalent.

General tips on petitioning courses abroad: 

  • Review the criteria for courses meeting Data Science major requirements.
  • Generally, the requirements most likely to have approved equivalents abroad are Computational & Inferential Depth (CID) and the Domain Emphasis (DE) requirements. Data C100, Probability, Human Contexts & Ethics (HCE) and Modeling, Learning, & Decision-Making (MLDM) can be taken abroad but courses must meet more specific criteria to be approved, so the chances of finding an acceptable course might be lower.
  • To maximize your chances of finding classes that will count toward the Data Science major, focus on study abroad programs where you will be able to take classes in a language in which you are fluent (e.g. if you do not speak German, you might find limited offerings that you can take toward the Data Science major in Germany.) 
  • Courses will rarely be offered as Data or Data Science. Try looking for courses under Computer Science, Statistics, Information Science, or Mathematics, or a discipline related to your Domain Emphasis.
  • Compare the course syllabus with similar UC Berkeley courses that are already approved for the Data Science major. Look for similarities in prerequisites, course materials and topics covered.
  • If a course has already been approved by a UC Berkeley department as equivalent to a course that is approved for the Data Science major (for example, a course has already been approved by the EECS department as equivalent to CompSci 188 at UC Berkeley), then the course will count toward the Data Science major subject to the course eligibility requirements above.
  • You will need to be able to provide an English-language syllabus for our faculty to review. If you are having trouble finding one, please contact a Berkeley Study Abroad Advisor for assistance. Generally, the syllabus should include a course description, the textbook or reading materials used, assignments, and a weekly schedule.

When to submit your petition: 

  • Petitions may be submitted one semester in advance (for example, a petition for a Spring study abroad program may be submitted during the previous Fall), after you know what classes you will be able to take. Please work with the Berkeley Student Abroad office to find out when the schedule of classes for your study abroad program will be available.
  • Petition review typically takes 2-4 weeks, but can take longer in complicated cases including study abroad. We cannot guarantee that petitions will be reviewed by any specific date.

Petition Limitations:

  • We will consider a maximum of 3 course petitions at a time, per student. If you are considering more than 3 courses, please work with a Data Science advisor to determine which courses are the best options to submit. If a petition is reviewed and denied, you may submit a petition for a new class.

Previously Reviewed Course Database

View our list of courses that have been previously approved for the Data Science major. These courses are NOT pre-approved so you must still submit a petition to count any course abroad toward your Data Science major. Courses are reviewed in the context of a student's overall program plan, so the same course that is approved for one student may not necessarily be approved for a different student. There is also no guarantee that the same courses will be offered or available when you study abroad.

Academic Advising While Abroad

Data Science Advising offers online appointments via Zoom and Google Hangouts. Schedule an online appointment regularly through the Book an Appointment links on our Advising page. You can also contact us anytime at ds-advising@berkeley.edu.

Need Advising?

Data Science advisors are available to help! Email us at ds-advising@berkeley.edu, or find out about our other advising services.