Academic Considerations, Off Campus Study, Claremont McKenna College

Study Abroad: Academic Considerations

Academic credit
Internships
Courses completed toward Major
General Education Requirements
History GE Courses
Psychology GE Courses
Grades
End of Year Exams
Independent Study

Higher Education Abroad:

You may be taking all or some of your courses at a foreign university next year, and you will find that many other countries approach higher education very differently than we do in the USA. The concept of a broad-based liberal arts program is unknown in many countries; it is not unusual for university students outside North America to study only one subject. Students often are expected to take much more responsibility for shaping their academic program, and instructors provide relatively little guidance (for example, students may be expected to read widely from a long list of resources, with no specific assignments). Expectations about the style and form of essays may be different, and grades often depend on one exam, written or oral, given at the end of the year.

Learning about another country's educational system is one of the reasons for studying abroad, but these differences can take some time to assimilate, and thus may interfere with the unprepared students' ability to benefit fully from the experience.

Credit Transfer

Academic credit is granted only after you return from abroad provided you received approval from the CMC Off-Campus Study Committee prior to leaving, enroll full time (not minimum full time), and obtain grades of C or above while abroad. Credit/No-Credit is not an option.

Placeholder course: The Registrar will enroll you in a "place-holder" course called "Off-Campus Study" worth 3 credits. This course is a place-holder for registration and transcript purposes, and does not reflect what you will actually earn for credits while abroad. When your original transcript is received from your program sponsor, the Registrar will add your actual credit earned and list coursework taken along with the grades you received.

Internships: Students may receive a one-half credit for an internship completed while attending an approved program abroad. To be eligible for credit, the student must be enrolled in an organized class of which the internship is a component, had the internship course pre-approved by the registrar, and achieve grades of C or better in the course. Internships that fail to meet these criteria are not eligible for credit. Receiving compensation for the internship does not preclude the granting of credits.

Courses completed toward Major: Individual departments determine the number of elective credits that can be applied towards a major. In most instances, CMC students can receive up to two courses per major per semester abroad with prior approval from the chair of the department. However, some departments will allow only one course per semester. Core courses should be completed on campus. Not every course students take needs to satisfy a major or GE degree requirement. Remember that studying abroad is a chance to broaden your education and to take courses unavailable on campus.

General Education Requirements: Some academic departments will allow students to complete a GE requirement abroad. However, courses can be impossible to find because survey introductory courses are often taken at the foreign high-school level or are specific to CMC. It is highly preferable to plan to complete your GE requirements at CMC. Please remember that students may not complete more than four general education requirements off-campus, to include any combination of summer school, advanced placement and study abroad. The Off-Campus study Committee expects students to complete most GE requirements before studying abroad.

History GE Courses: Students who do not fulfill their GE requirement from the list of approved courses at CMC, may take any two history courses to satisfy the GE requirement at CMC or The Claremont Colleges. Courses offered at summer programs at other colleges/universities and at study-abroad programs may also qualify, but must be approved by the chairperson of the CMC History Department and will be handled on a case-by-case basis. It is strongly recommended that approval be sought in advance.

Psychology GE Courses: Only those lower division courses in Psych, or classes that have the same or similar titles (even if they are upper division) will count. For example, Child Development will count as the Developmental Psych GE. Also, Developmental Psych at the 100 or above level will count as our below 100 (lower division) Developmental Psych. Beyond that, other classes cannot count as GE in Psych.

Grades: Student's grades from abroad will not be computed in the CMC GPA, but they will be reflected on student's transcripts, including C-, D, D- and F. Many graduate programs require official transcripts from a school attended abroad. Be sure to obtain extra copies for yourself in case you decide to apply to graduate schools later on.

End of Year Exams: Exams given in many countries at the end of the year may be the primary or only basis on which grades are determined. We require students who enroll full time in a foreign university to undertake a course of study equivalent to that which a degree student would take, and we expect them to complete all of the readings, papers, exams, and other work required. We also expect that faculty will assess students work according to their usual methods and standards. Therefore, students must take all exams, including end-of-the year or sessional exams, that the university will permit them to take; a student will not receive credit for a course in which he/she chooses not to take an examination that he/she is permitted to write. (Students will not be expected to take degree exams that cover more than one year's work; and students for the fall semester only will not be expected to return in June to take exams.)
If an exam is optional for all students, they are also optional for you. Many students find this end-of-the year exam system daunting because it differs so much from what they are accustomed to here. Don't hesitate to ask your tutors or other advisers for advice about how to prepare for them (sometimes you may be able to review exams from previous years, which will help give you an idea of the approach taken and the kinds of questions asked). The vast majority of students do well on the exams, but returning students advise that you take them seriously and keep up with your work throughout the year.

Independent Study: Independent studies will only be approved if there is a valid academic reason for the student to take an independent study. Independent study must be approved before leaving for study abroad with the exception of Pitzer and SIT programs. Students can do no more than one independent study each semester. Independent study must follow CMC guidelines (see CMC catalog).