This is an entry about study abroad, regarding the CLPS concentrations. This blog entry should not replace the discussion that you have with your concentration advisor both before and after the study abroad experience. That is, you should talk with your concentration advisor BEFORE you go on study abroad and immediately AFTER you return. The before conversation is about planning your experience (not preapproval, which is a term you will get from the study abroad website - we almost never do preapproval). The after conversation is about transfer credit. Please refer to the transfer credit website for information about transfer credit from other universities and the study abroad website (particularly the Study Abroad FAQ) for information about applying credits to Brown and your concentration. There is no limit on the number of courses you can apply for your concentration when you engage in study abroad, but whether each course is acceptable is at the discretion of the head concentration advisor (That last bit is taken directly from our department website).
Study abroad is great. There are a lot of reasons to do it. There's a big, broad world beyond Brown and what we study here, and Study Abroad gives you a novel perspective on what you're studying. I personally recommend it during the junior year, after you have declared a concentration and are well on your way towards satisfying the requirements, but that's a personal opinion, not anything official. But study abroad requires a little bit of planning, and that planning should probably start at least a semester in advance, if not a year. This is why, I strongly recommend talking with your concentration advisor (and possibly the head concentration advisor) before you do so (remember, all of these people have office hours - just show up then - or if you can't because of a class conflict, email them to make an appointment). What the concentration advisors can tell you about is basic ifnormation about transfer credits and helping you plan out your concentration. What we usually don't know about is whether a particular program is good (although sometimes we do - but think about it - I only teach at Brown - I don't know much about other universities).
On a personal note, I thought carefully about doing a study abroad in college - I wanted to go to the University of Edinburgh - but their program was only for a year, not a semester, and if I went, I would not have been able to complete my degree requirements (I double majored in Computer Science and Psychology, and I would not have been able to complete the Computer Science requirements), so I stayed at my home university instead. But I liked the idea that it was possible, and have certainly encouraged students to pursue this if it fits with their plans.
This post is probably incomplete. If you have particular issues that you think would be relevant to share with everyone (not personal to your situation), I would encourage you to let me know, and I'll amend this post or create a new one.