Affiliate Programs

We partner with vetted and approved study abroad organizations to provide a broader range of programs to make sure we have options in countries throughout the world, as well as programs for all majors and terms. Students who want to study abroad for a semester may want to consider an affiliate option if they cannot find a Drake Program or Exchange Program that meets their personal and academic preferences.  

Global Engagement has selected specific programs from our Affiliate Partners that enhance our education abroad portfolio. Students studying abroad for a semester are required to select programs from an approved affiliate semester program list. The list of approved programs is kept up to date in our application system. Drake reviews approved programs based on the feedback received from students and faculty regarding these partners on an ongoing basis. 

Affiliate programs tend to be offered year after year, especially semester programs. If you have a semester program that you are interested in, it is quite likely that the program will be open and available during the year you would like to go abroad. Another thing to consider about affiliate programs is that they are often intended for Americans to participate in. If you are comfortable only taking coursework in English, this can be a good option, but it also means that some programs consist largely of American students. In practical terms, that means for some programs you would be taking courses mostly with American students, living with American students, and doing extracurricular activities with American students while abroad. If you seek a deeper level of integration into the local community, you may want to consider an exchange program, or carefully select an Affiliate Program where you can be near more international or local students.  

Additionally, Drake charges a study abroad fee to students participating in an Affiliate Program. The charge will not occur until the student "Commits" to the program in the application system (this occurs after applying, and after being "Accepted" to the study abroad program). For short-term Affiliate programs, such as J-term and Summer, students will be billed a $300 education abroad fee when they commit. For academic year, quarter, and semester Affiliate programs, students will be billed a $500 study abroad fee when they commit. Similar to Drake and Exchange semester abroad programs, students pay Drake tuition and fees while they are studying abroad.