When applying to the program, students must select a "cultural core" region, which must be a region of the world of competitive importance to the US.  Regions currently include: Eastern Europe, Western Europe, South America, Asia, and Southeast Asia. EGL students must complete 12 HU/SS credits dedicated to the chosen cultural core region. These courses may span a range of topics, including history, economics, and political science. Courses pertaining to the region can cover any historical point in time.

The cultural core should consist primarily of:

• courses taken in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts 
• transfer credit from study abroad in the chosen cultural core region

The cultural core may include either:

• 100-level foreign language courses taken in a university classroom setting (6 credits maximum)
• advanced placement and transfer credits, not including transfer credit from study abroad in the chosen cultural core region (6 credit maximum)
• one "general international course", such as International Economics, that has a broader scope than one specific region

Study or Work Abroad Waiver

At most, 3 credits of the cultural core may be waived for either:

• approved study abroad, in the chosen cultural core region, resulting in credits being transferred back to UM
• approved work abroad, in the chosen cultural core region, for an appreciable length of time

Pre-Approved Courses

The following list (by geographical region) includes courses which have been pre-evaluated for cultural core and language study. This list represents only a small portion of the courses available. Courses not found on this list may be submitted for approval to Stacie Edington (sjed@umich.edu).

• East Asia
• Eastern Europe
• Middle East
• Latin America
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Western Europe
• General International Courses (at most 1 course from this category may be applied to the cultural core)