Alumni Resources
Special Grant for Returning Alumni
If you’ve been abroad with IFSA for a regular or custom study abroad program, you’re eligible for special savings with the IFSA Returning Alumni Grant! Save $2,000 on an IFSA semester abroad—or save $500 on a summer or January program.
IFSA Semester/Year/January/Summer Program Alum
Sign into the IFSA Student Portal to begin your new study abroad application. Select “Application” from the upper menu, then “Select Program,” and then click the “Back-up Program” button. If you any difficulty starting your new program application, please send us an email. After you’ve accepted your new IFSA program agreement, the IFSA Returning Alumni Grant will be applied automatically.
IFSA Custom or Faculty-led Program Alum
To get started, ask your university study abroad office for a list of approved IFSA programs you can choose from. Then send us an email to get a special login to the IFSA Student Portal—and be sure to let us know you’ve traveled with IFSA on a custom or faculty-led program. Once you’ve accepted your new IFSA program agreement, the IFSA Returning Alumni Grant will be applied automatically.
Questions? Need help? Send us an email
Career Resources
Whether you’re thinking about finding a job, internship, volunteering, or studying abroad again, there are lots of ways to stay internationally focused in the future.
Returning home from a term abroad can feel challenging. You may have spent a lot of time talking about culture shock before you went abroad and while onsite, but reverse culture shock often receives less attention. If you’ve found that being back home is a little harder than you expected, you can explore additional resources on navigating reverse culture shock.
Connect With Us! Reach out with any questions at alumni@ifsa-butler.org.
International Opportunities
Students often ask about other international experiences available to them. We’ve compiled a list of databases, organizations and educational opportunities with an international focus.
Don’t forget that IFSA offers an automatic $500 grant to students who choose to study on one of our programs a second (or third!) time.
IFSA Careers
We know our alumni are amazing and it is always fantastic to see the wonderful things you are doing throughout the world.
Would you enjoy being a part of a student’s journey of personal, academic, and intercultural growth? Are you passionate about making international education a reality for all students? Are you ready to bring your unique skills to a mission-driven organization? If so, we would love to talk with you about joining the IFSA global community as part of our team!
LinkedIn Alumni Network
Join our LinkedIn IFSA group of like-minded people who have also studied abroad. We will keep you updated with job openings at IFSA, other international experiences available and share ideas on how to leverage your study abroad power skills to stand out to perspective employers.
Resume and Interview Tips
Here are some best practices for incorporating study abroad into your resume, cover letters and interviews. The power skills you have acquired through study abroad should be highlighted to help you meet your professional goals.
- Explain how your study abroad experience helped you develop skills that will transfer to your career, using descriptive words, such as: Adaptable, Self-directed, Empathetic, Responsive, Resourceful, Self-aware.
- Describe anything you may have done abroad with action words such as: Led, Cooperated, Directed, Facilitated, Coordinated, Created.
- Make the connection between your study abroad experience and the position by matching your transferable skills with the job qualifications and highlight them in your resume and cover letter as well as during the interview process.
- Make a note of your language proficiencies, if applicable.
- Be prepared to describe any research, internships, or volunteer activities in which you participated.
Transcript Information
When you complete your IFSA program, IFSA will mail your home institution an official Butler University transcript with your credits and grades from abroad translated into the U.S. equivalent. Your home institution registrar can then treat your credits abroad the same way as they would U.S. transfer credits.
You will have access to your unofficial U.S. grades in your IFSA Student Portal. There is no need to order your initial transcript from Butler University; transcripts are part of the IFSA program and are always sent to each participant’s home institution.
For more information about when your transcript will be sent, how to order additional copies of your transcript, or requesting a rush copy of your transcript, visit the Transcripts page.
Academic Record Appeal
Students may appeal the content of their transcript according to the official procedures set by the host university and/or program. IFSA can assist you with this by contacting the host institution you attended and/or program instructor as well as our staff abroad for further information.
For more information about the academic appeals process, visit the Academic Appeals page.