Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching
Introduction
COST may serve as part of the culminating experience of your teacher education program, marking the transition from student to professional educator. The consortium allows you to experience this singular moment in your teaching career through full immersion in a foreign culture and classroom.
Each year, between 10 and 15 College of Education students complete this final step of their teacher education programs by taking advantage of this opportunity to student teach abroad. As you think about your student teaching options, we encourage you to consider the COST program, a consortium of universities from across the nation that work through their own colleges and departments to place students in classrooms around the world.
The language of instruction is typically in English. Fluency in another language is not required.
Check out our COST program student reflection videos .
Resources
Section 2
Application Details
Students must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and receive academic program approval to participate in the COST program. Please complete the COST pre-approval application and meet with the UGA COST coordinator to be considered.
COST walk‑in hours
During fall and spring semesters.
- Day: Wednesdays
- Time: 1-4 p.m.
- Location: Aderhold Hall Room G7A
Please email Anna Hiers for more information.
Deadlines
Spring semester
- Pre-approval application deadline: May 1
- COST application deadline: July 15
Fall semester
- Pre-approval application deadline: November 1
- COST application deadline: January 15
Image Gallery
Testimonials
The COST experience has completely changed the way I think of myself and the world. First of all, going to a foreign country completely alone, living with total strangers, and having to pave my own way there was difficult at first, but it taught me a lot about who I am as an individual and what I want out of life in general. I realized a lot about my own personality that I would not have otherwise being surrounded by everything I am comfortable with. I’ve also gained perspective on my own upbringing and my way of life in the United States. We tend to move a lot faster in every way—living to work, driving cars everywhere, even spending much less time eating at a restaurant. Experiencing life in the Netherlands helped me realize that my current life is not the only possible life.
For future COST students considering the program, my best advice is to just take the leap! I was hesitant at so many periods, such as when I found out that I would likely be the only American student at my host site, when I was packing my bags, studying Dutch on Duolingo, and wondering if everything would just be easier if I stayed at my placement in Winder, while spending time with my friends. Maybe it would have been easier, but then I wouldn’t have experienced the personal and professional growth that I did over the past two months. I would not have traded my experience teaching abroad for the world, and it has totally changed what I want out of the next steps of my life. When I was feeling homesick or doubtful about my decision, I kept reminding myself that nothing worth doing was ever comfortable. Living abroad on my own was definitely uncomfortable at times, but at each and every moment, I am so grateful that I made the decision to just go and for everyone who helped me get there.
Ella Laski, social studies education, spring 2026, Netherlands
I participated in the spring 2026 COST program, where I student taught in Ghana, Africa for two months. It was a wonderful experience.
I got to live my life like a Ghanian, something I never thought I would do. I had to completely abandon my American life and mindset and just fully adapt and be immersed in the Ghanian culture, which was such a wonderful experience because it was so different from the United States. And so I highly recommend living with them if you choose to come to Ghana. We made fufu, and I got to try a lot of new dishes.
The COST program gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. I got to experience a new culture, and I learned so much. I grew as a person, and I learned how to be resilient to major cultural changes because Ghana and the United States are so different from each other in so many ways, but it was so fun to learn and understand how their culture and their community works and how their country operates. This opportunity will show you a different side of the world. You will never feel alone, and you will always have support.
Sophie Adams, TESOL education, spring 2026, Ghana