Bryn Mawr College

STUDY ABROAD ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

College-Wide Requirements

You are required to complete college-wide requirements prior to the start of your senior year.  These include:

___ 1 unit of College Seminar

___ 1 unit of Quantitative Skills

___ Foreign Language Requirement

___ 2 units of Division I: Social Sciences

___ 2 units of Division II: Natural Sciences and Mathematics (including a lab course)

___ 2 units of Division III: Humanities

___ 8 credits in Physical Education (including the swim test)

You should have completed a minimum of 4 PE credits by the time of the application.  It is not realistic to expect to satisfy the Q or Division II requirements while abroad or, in most cases, to study a language other than the native language of the country for which you apply.

If you are planning to study abroad for the full academic year, normally you will have completed all your requirements, including PE, by the end of the sophomore year.  With prior approval from the Director of Athletics and Physical Education and appropriate documentation, it is possible to earn a maximum of 2 PE credits while abroad.  If you are planning to study abroad for one semester, you should have made good progress towards completing these requirements by the end of the sophomore year and present a viable plan to complete them all by the end of the junior year.

Students failing to meet these standards or failing to present a viable plan will receive lower priority in the Foreign Studies Committee approval process.  

• GPA Requirements: Students applying for Study Abroad are expected to have, and to maintain, a minimum GPA of 3.0.

• Foreign Language Requirement

If a student plans to study in a non-English speaking country, she should take courses in the relevant foreign language every semester at Bryn Mawr prior to study abroad.  If the student is applying to a program in which the primary language of instruction is not English, she needs to go to the language department and ask the Major Advisor to make sure that she has adequate preparation.   Most non-English speaking programs expect students to complete at least intermediate language courses before matriculation, and some require more advanced preparation.  Even after a student has met Bryn Mawr’s foreign language requirement through proficiency testing or advance placement credit, she should continue building her foreign language skills in upper-level courses

• Declare a Major

If you are interested in studying abroad in your junior year, you must declare your major (s) well before submitting your study abroad application.  For students proposing independent majors, exceptions to this deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  Viable candidates will have already made good progress in their majors and will be maintaining a major grade point average of at least 3.0.

• Semester or Year

Most students may study abroad for one semester only during their academic career.  The committee will consider requests for exceptions to this rule from students majoring in a foreign language and those accepted to. Cambridge, Oxford or the London School of Economics,  which are yearlong programs  for which one semester is not an option.

• Pre-departure Residency  Expectation

Each applicant for study abroad is expected to be on campus during the semester preceding study abroad in order to participate in orientation program and to consult with her dean and major adviser about credit arrangements.  For exceptions, see “Leave of Absence and Study Abroad” under the section “Study Abroad Policies”

Study Abroad Information Session: Attend mandatory Study Abroad general information session for sophomores

Academic Policy

A student is required to carry a full-time course load while studying abroad.  Each Bryn Mawr course (one unit) carries an equivalent of four semester hours or six quarter hours at other institutions.  Because of differences in the academic calendar or course weighting, the number of courses that constitute a full-time load at an overseas institution may be different from the number of courses that constitute a full-time load at Bryn Mawr. The maximum number of Bryn Mawr-equivalent credits that may be awarded for a semester of study abroad is five units, and for a full academic year, the maximum number is ten units.

To earn a semester of credit—four Bryn Mawr units—you will need to complete 15 or 16 semester-hours or between 22 and 24 quarter-hours during your study abroad.  For example, if each course offered by a study abroad program carries three semester hours, you will need to take five courses to receive a full semester of Bryn Mawr credit.  A student taking a full load for only one term of a three-term year will receive three Bryn Mawr units; a full load for two terms will receive five units; and a full load for three terms will receive eight units. Students should not take courses graded as pass/fail while abroad.

It is the student’s responsibility to know the required number of courses she must take overseas before leaving Bryn Mawr and how many Bryn Mawr equivalent credits will be awarded upon her return.  She should discuss any question she may have with the Director of International Programs, her dean, or her Major Advisor.  In cases where a full-time course load for a term abroad is the equivalent of only three Bryn Mawr course units, a student will still be charged regular Bryn Mawr tuition.

Courses used to fulfill requirements in a student’s major

All courses taken abroad to fulfill major requirements must be approved by the student’s Major Advisor.  You should list all the courses you plan to take while abroad on the Major Work Plan.  Be sure to work out a tentative plan of courses to take upon returning to Bryn Mawr. Courses in subjects or departments not offered at Bryn Mawr may need approval from a related Bryn Mawr department to assure their eligibility for credit.  For example, Geography courses might be approved by Growth and Structure of Cities, Geology, or Political Science. 

Foreign Language Study While Abroad

To enhance cross-cultural understanding, a student is expected to enroll in the language course offered by the study abroad program unless she receives a waiver.  If you attend a program where the instruction is in English but the local language is not English, you  must study the local language.  For example, if a student participates in the DIS program in Denmark, she is required to register for Danish.

Transferring Credits from Abroad

In order to transfer credits to Bryn Mawr, you must earn a “C” grade of 2.0 or above.  “C-“(minus) grades are not acceptable for transfer credits. Courses that lie outside the liberal arts will not be transferable (e.g., Business, Communications, Fashion Design, etc.). 

Grades Earned Abroad and Bryn Mawr GPA

Grades earned abroad, which are judged by individual instructors according to local practice, are not included in a student’s Bryn Mawr Grade Point Average.  Only the number of transferred credits is recorded on the Bryn Mawr transcript.  Nonetheless, you may be asked to submit your study abroad transcript when you apply to graduate or professional schools, which will certainly take the study abroad grades into consideration when evaluating your application.

Health, Safety & Emergency Management

The health and security of our students are two of the College's primary concerns. We work collaboratively with overseas programs and institutions, study abroad colleagues around the country, and contacts in the U.S. Department of State and other government and non-governmental agencies to ensure that all students and their families receive adequate and up-to-date information regarding preparation and participation in study abroad.

As a study abroad student, we expect you to:

• Assume responsibility for all the elements necessary for your personal preparation for the program and participate fully in orientations offered by Bryn Mawr and your study abroad program or institution.

• Read and carefully consider all materials issued by the study abroad program or institution that relate to safety, health, legal, environmental, political, cultural, and religious conditions in the host country. 

The U.S. Department of State Web site at http://travel.state.gov/ offers consular information sheets for every country of the world.  These sheets list such information as the location of the U.S. embassy or consulate in the subject country, entry requirements, health and safety issues, road conditions and other useful information for travelers.  The Department of State also issues travel warnings, which advise travelers to avoid a country or specific area of a country.  The College does not send students to countries or regions that appear in the Department of State’s Travel Warnings. 

• Conduct your own research on the country you plan to visit with particular emphasis on health and safety concerns, as well as the social, cultural, and political situations.

• Consider your physical and mental health, and other personal circumstances when applying for or accepting a place in a program, and make available to the program staff accurate and complete physical and mental health information and any other necessary personal data.
• Consult the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel for immunization requirements and for general health updates and guidelines.  You should have a complete physical checkup, and have your eyes and teeth checked before departure.  For obvious reasons, it is best to do as much preventive health maintenance as possible before leaving for an unfamiliar environment. 
• If you have pre-existing medical condition that may require treatment or need prescription medication, have your physician summarize them in a note and be sure to bring an adequate supply.  Carry information on your blood type and always carry prescription medication in its original container.  If your medical condition is complicated in any way, a copy of recent test results can be invaluable to a treating physician overseas, for example, a copy of a recent X-ray report or blood tests. 
• Obtain and maintain appropriate insurance coverage and abide by any conditions imposed by the carriers.  Some programs require that students purchase their health insurance, so be sure to read the program materials. 
• You and your parents must determine what exactly is covered and decide whether or not you wish to purchase additional insurance(s), including traveler's insurance, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation, in relation to her anticipated needs.  Usually if a student sees a physician or require hospital treatment abroad, she must pay cash and obtain receipts for which she may be reimbursed in the U.S.

• Inform your family and any others who may need to know about your participation in the study abroad program, provide them with emergency contact information, make a plan, and keep them informed of your whereabouts and activities.

• Understand and comply with the terms of participation and emergency procedures of the program. Become familiar with the procedures for obtaining emergency health and legal system services in the host county.

• Be aware of local conditions and customs that may present health or safety risks when making daily choices and decisions. Promptly express any health or safety concerns to the program staff or other appropriate individuals before and/or during the program.  Obey host-country laws. 

• Commit to following the program policies and keep the staff informed of your whereabouts, particularly your travel plans.

• Commit to avoiding illegal drugs and excessive or irresponsible consumption of alcohol.

How Parents can help:

In study abroad, as in other settings, parents can play an important role in the health and safety of students by helping them make decisions and by influencing their behavior overseas.  We recommend that parents:

• Be informed about and involved in the decision of the student to enroll in a particular program.
• Obtain and carefully evaluate the program materials, as well as related health, safety and security information.
• Discuss with the student any of her travel plans and activities that may be independent of the study abroad program.
• Engage the student in a thorough discussion of safety and behavior issues, insurance needs, and emergency procedures related to living abroad.
• Be responsive to requests from the study abroad program or institution for information regarding the student.
• Keep in touch with the student.