The United Kingdom and Ireland
As a general rule, there is more responsibility placed on individual students to take the initiative and structure their time for study. There is typically less actual contact hours in the classroom and more time for students to pursue their studies independently. Also, for your grade you may be expected to concentrate your academic efforts in library research and writing, and it is not uncommon to have a large percentage of your grade be based upon only 1 or 2 exams/papers. In general, you should be prepared for some differences between the overseas and U.S. academic systems and be aware that you may experience a period of adjustment. Be sure to fully take advantage of the support services provided by your overseas host university.
France
As a general rule, there is more responsibility placed on individual students to take the initiative and structure their time for study. French faculty are much less accessible to office hours, and the lecture-centered focus of the classroom is based more on theory and ideology than on practical application or philosophical discussion. You will experience a harsher grading scale than you are accustomed to in the US. It is common for French students to obtain a grade of C. Please note that you should keep all documentation, including course outlines, reading lists, course descriptions etc. for all of the courses that you take while in Paris. French universities typically do not offer syllabi for courses.
Spain
In general, you should be prepared for some differences between the overseas and the US academic systems and be aware that you may experience a period of adjustment. You may also experience some academic differences dependent upon where each of your professors was educated. You may have some professors who provide detailed syllabus with dates and expectations that are firmly set, while others will be more fluid and less specific.
The Spanish educational degree structure is extremely different from the US degree system. Usually students enter their degree program in cohorts and move through their entire degree with the same students in the same classes. Spanish students don't choose their schedules, rather they will take the courses offered for their particular cohort in that particular semester.
A larger percentage of the student's grade will be determined by a midterm and final exams. For some courses, the final grade will be solely determined by a midterm and final exams.
Germany
In general, you should be prepared for MANY differences between the overseas and the US academic systems and be aware that you may experience a period of adjustment. You may also experience some academic differences dependent upon where each of your professors was educated. You may have some professors who provide detailed syllabus with dates and expectations that are firmly set, while others will be more fluid and less specific.
While the courses offered at the JYM center might feel similar to your classes at AU, the classes you take directly-enrolled at the LMU will likely be quite different. Most will be lecture driven and the class size can range in from 20 students to 400 students in a class. The registration process will also be very confusing and quite different, but JYM will help you with this process.
Netherlands
In general, you should be prepared for some differences between the overseas and the US academic systems and be aware that you may experience a period of adjustment. Specifically at UCM, instruction is designed around the "Problem-Based Learning" system, which is significantly different than at AU. You can find more information about this on UCM's Web site. You may also experience some academic differences dependent upon where each of your professors was educated. You may have some professors who provide detailed syllabus with dates and expectations that are firmly set, while others will be more fluid and less specific.
A larger percentage of your grade will be determined by your midterm and final exams. For some courses your grade will be solely determined by your midterm and final exams.
Sweden
Courses are not taken all at once at the University of Gothenburg, rather they are taught one or two at a time in intensive course modules throughout the semester. Some modules last 1/4 of the semester whereas others last 1/2 of the semester. Each module will finish at the end of the study period, meaning you will take your exam at the end of the module. Therefore there is no overall final examination period at the end of the semester for all classes. In general, you should be prepared for some differences between the overseas and the US academic systems and be aware that you may experience a period of adjustment. Keep in mind that your professors have grown up and studied and taught in a different learning and teaching environment, therefore their teaching style may vary from what you are used to here at AU.