Resume Study Abroad: 6 Examples for Students and Grads

By CVBooster Team · Published 2026-11-02 · Updated 2026-11-02

6 min read

To put study abroad on a resume, list it under Education with the program name, the host university or city, and the dates, then add two or three bullets for what you did and learned there. If you did an internship or research abroad, it can also go under Experience. Below are six complete resumes that show a semester abroad, a language immersion program, an internship, research, an engineering exchange and a short summer program, each placed where it earns its space.

Plenty of students write that they gained a global perspective. Employers have read that sentence about a million times, so they skim it. A course taught in Spanish, a flat-share with four nationalities and a group project with a deadline in two time zones tell them something.

Example 1: a semester abroad in the education section

Start here if your time abroad was a semester at a partner university. It sits directly under your degree, and the bullets name the courses, the language and one outcome.

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What the sources agree on

Iowa State's study abroad office, in its guide to marketing your study abroad experience on your resume, says where it goes: "Include study abroad information in the Education, International Experience, or Professional Experience sections of your resume." It also says what to write: "Be sure to include the study abroad program title, location, dates traveled, and a brief description of skills learned while abroad."

The same page recommends action verbs such as collaborated, navigated and adapted, and lists the skills students tend to build abroad: cultural understanding, flexibility, foreign language skills and problem solving. Use them as a prompt, but prove each with a task.

MIT's career office tells applicants in its resume guide to "Record accomplishments and contributions, not just responsibilities" and says "experience comes in many forms." A semester abroad is experience if you describe it in terms of what you did.

Harvard's career services, in its resume guide, says to "Tailor your resume to the type of position you're seeking." Which bullets you keep depends on the job: language and teamwork for a client-facing role, research methods for a lab.

Five more resumes with study abroad

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Where it goes, and what to write

• Under your degree in Education. The default for a semester or exchange. Program name, host university, city, dates.
• Under Experience. Use this when you worked or researched abroad. A role title and an employer make it count as work.
• In a separate International Experience section. Good if you have more than one stay or a long list of other items under Education.
• In Skills. Add the language and the level, with a test result if you have one.

Each bullet should name a task, a result and, where it applies, a language: what you did, in what setting, and what changed. Our guides on relevant coursework on a resume and college freshman resumes show how to fit these bullets around a short work history. For languages, see the CV language skills guide, and for general layout, the resume skills section guide.

Mistakes to avoid

• Listing only the country. Name the program and the host institution.
• Vague bullets. Gained cultural awareness says nothing. Name the project, the language or the result.
• Claiming fluency. Say conversational or intermediate, or quote a test level such as B2.
• Leaving out dates. A semester abroad with no dates looks like a holiday.
• Giving it more space than the job. For a technical role, keep it to two lines and put your projects first.

Frequently asked questions

How do I put study abroad on a resume?

List it under Education with the program name, host university, city and dates, then add two or three bullets on courses, projects and language. Use Experience if you worked or researched there.

Should study abroad go under education or experience?

Education for a semester or exchange. Experience for an internship, research post or job abroad.

How long should the study abroad entry be?

Two to four lines. A short program needs less. Keep the longest entry for the one most relevant to the job.

How do I show language skills from studying abroad?

List the language with a level and, if you have one, the test: B2, JLPT N3 or a university certificate. Then add one bullet that shows you used it.

Is a short study abroad program worth listing?

Yes if you can describe what you did. Three weeks of field work in a clinic is worth a line, while a sightseeing trip is not.

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