All student who go on a Modern Languages and Cultures Year Abroad are assessed by Oral Exam during the Welcome Week (Freshers' Week) of their final year, so it is essential that students keep this week free.

This Oral Exam is organised by the Modern Languages and Cultures department and more information can be found on the ML Year Abroad ELE page.

The Humanities Study Abroad Exam Board meets in early December of each year to confirm and release the Year Abroad marks from the previous academic year.

Marks are not able to be released before the Exam Board meets as it is dependent on the receipt of Study Abroad host university transcripts, which sometimes do not arrive until October or November. The marks then need to be converted as set out by our mark conversion document (found in the Assessment and Feedback section of the College Taught Handbook) and this can be a long complicated process. Therefore, your patience is appreciated in awaiting the release of your Year Abroad marks.

For students who were on SML3020 or SML3025, please note that if we receive your transcript late, then the release of your Year Abroad marks will be delayed. If we do not receive them at all, this could affect your graduation date and possibly your degree title. Therefore, it's extremely important that you send us your transcript as soon as possible after completing your Study Abroad placement.

For the latest information on Modern Languages and Cultures Year Abroad Assessment and when marks are released, please see the Modern Languages Year Abroad ELE page.

Although your time abroad might seem like a wonderful, if increasingly distant, memory now it is worth remembering the unique benefits this experience has given you.

Study Abroad has improved your communication skills as you needed to interact with others from different backgrounds and different cultures. Furthermore, you also gained new skills as you learned to study in a different way. Different languages and cultures have different ways of thinking and different ways of learning; by exposing yourself to these alternative methods, you have enhanced your own study skills. Moreover, you have learnt to be flexible to these new methods and gain the ability to adapt to a new environment. Not only has this built your own confidence, it is also an extremely important skill for your future career.

In addition, your time abroad has helped you to engage more with the world around you, and possibly encouraged you to expand your own horizons. You have discovered new cultures, and by comparison, you might feel you have also rediscovered your own. This cross cultural comparison can be extremely beneficial in developing your analytical skills in the real world through understanding a new culture, while challenging your own previously-held perceptions. You have had the chance to meet people from all over the world. Not only have you interacted with people from your host nation, you probably also encountered people from other countries who were on a similar exchange programme. Meeting people from such an array of backgrounds will have encouraged you to be more open-minded and tolerant of other cultures.

Finally, please remember that the Year Abroad is a welcome addition to any CV, and it particularly impresses employers with an international focus. By having done a Year Abroad, it shows you are willing to leave your comfort zone, and take on a new challenge in a completely new environment. It demonstrates your adaptability and independence, plus your greatly improved language skills will be a bonus to many employers in an ever-increasingly globalised world.

If this has whetted your appetite for living and working abroad, the Career Zone have a wealth of information about international employment and they can support you even after you have graduated from Exeter. Feel free to visit their site if you want to continue your global professional journey.

For more information on the resources available regarding reverse culture shock, how to 'sell' Study Abroad to future employers and how to find jobs or further study opportunities abroad, among other things, please see the When You Return section on the Study Abroad Outbound website.