Year or Term Abroad
In recognition of the value of international study, Yale College encourages students to spend a term or an academic year studying in an approved program abroad. In order to participate in a Year or Term Abroad, students must have the approval of the Yale College Committee on the Year or Term Abroad and have been accepted into an approved and accredited study-abroad program. Students in any major may apply. Please note that a term abroad may be taken only during the second term of the sophomore year or either the first or second term of the junior year, and that a year abroad may be taken only during the junior year. Within the limits of the eligibility requirements given below, other combinations of terms of study abroad may be permitted with the approval of the Committee on the Year or Term Abroad. Students are limited to a total of two terms abroad for full Yale credit and financial aid transfer. To be eligible, students must be in academic good standing as a junior or second-term sophomore, as appropriate, to begin an approved term or year abroad and be able to return to enrollment at Yale in academic good standing (see "Requirements for Academic Good Standing" under the heading "Promotion and Good Standing" in this chapter). Students must also have at least a B average at the time of their application and demonstrate sufficient competence in the language of the host country to do university-level course work. In general, by the time that they go abroad students should have completed the relevant intermediate-level foreign language course (e.g., CHNS 130, FREN 131a or b, GMAN 131a or b, ITAL 131b, JAPN 140, KREN 130, RUSS 122, or SPAN 131a or b) or have demonstrated the equivalent proficiency by examination. Study in an English-speaking country or participation in any other program abroad in which instruction is in English is permitted when the student articulates clear academic objectives for such a program. Applicants may petition the committee for an exception to eligibility requirements if they believe they have compelling reasons for the exception.
Applications to the Yale College Committee on the Year or Term Abroad are available on the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs Web site. A complete application includes all of the following: the application form; an approval form from the student's director(s) of undergraduate studies; an evaluation form from the student's residential college dean; a foreign language evaluation form (if applicable); and a statement concerning the proposed course of study. Approval from the committee is contingent upon acceptance into a program or university abroad. Students must provide a copy of their acceptance letter to the committee before departure.
Applications for permission to study abroad in the spring term of the academic year 2007–2008 are due on October 15, 2007. Applications for study in the fall term of the academic year 2008–2009 or for the full academic year 2008–2009 are due on April 1, 2008. Early applications that meet all requirements as listed in this bulletin are reviewed on a rolling basis until the final deadline.
Applications for programs or universities abroad are available directly from the sponsoring institutions. Information about specific programs, including course descriptions, addresses and telephone numbers of the programs, and evaluations from past Yale participants, is available at the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs. Note that application deadlines differ from program to program and usually also differ from the Yale College committee's deadline. Students are responsible for meeting the deadlines set by the programs they seek to attend, whether those deadlines fall before or after the Yale College committee's deadline.
In selecting programs abroad in which to enroll, students should be aware that such programs vary in quality, and some may not be approved for a Year or Term Abroad. At a minimum, approved programs must involve full-time work at the university level and must be undertaken during the regular academic year at an institution outside the United States. Students should note that programs in the Southern Hemisphere are subject to a different academic calendar, one which extends into the months of June, July, and August. With this exception, summer terms do not qualify as part of a Year or Term Abroad.
A list of programs which have had the approval of the committee in the past and in which Yale students have participated with success is available on the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs Web site. Students applying to enroll in programs not previously reviewed or approved by the committee may be required to furnish informational literature about the program, course syllabi, or a letter of support from a Yale faculty member familiar with the program. The committee evaluates programs primarily on the quality and structure of their academic offerings. Study abroad advisers are available in the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs to assist students in selecting an appropriate program.
1. Students on a Year Abroad who complete a full program of study for the equivalent of two terms of enrollment at Yale may earn up to nine course credits. Students on a Term Abroad who complete a full program of study for the equivalent of one term of enrollment at Yale may earn up to four course credits. What the committee considers a full program of study varies from program to program. Students should consult with the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs to ensure that they are enrolled in a full program abroad. Enrollment in the Year or Term Abroad Program is the only arrangement by which students may offer more than two outside credits toward the thirty-six course credits required for the bachelor's degree.* Students receiving credit for the Year or Term Abroad may not apply any other credits from outside Yale toward the 36-course-credit requirement.
2. To be awarded credit toward degree requirements, students must submit to the committee such evidence of their achievement as transcripts or other official academic records, wherever possible. Students should also be prepared to provide on their return to Yale copies of all course work, syllabi, and letters from instructors describing the nature and quality of their work. No credit will be awarded for a course in which the grade earned was lower than a C or its equivalent in other grading scales. Nor will credit be awarded for a course taken on a Pass/Fail option, if the student had the choice of taking the course for a letter grade. In addition to applying credits earned on a Year or Term Abroad toward the 36-course-credit requirement, students may, with appropriate permissions, apply these course credits toward fulfillment of distributional requirements and some of the requirements of their major programs. Petitions for credit toward the distributional requirements should be directed to the residential college dean; petitions for credit toward major requirements should be directed to the relevant director of undergraduate studies.
Usually, if the student has consulted with the director of undergraduate studies and an adviser in the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs before going abroad, the award of credit upon return from a Year or Term Abroad is routine. Students who perform poorly in their academic course work abroad, fail to complete work, or significantly alter their proposed course of study without approval from the committee can face difficulty in receiving credit upon return to Yale.
3. Because a Year or Term Abroad counts as the equivalent of one or two terms of enrollment in Yale College, the academic regulations of Yale College pertain to enrollment abroad. Students must earn a sufficient number of credits abroad to remain in academic good standing. Failure to do so will result in academic warning or dismissal for academic reasons. (See "Academic Penalties and Restrictions" in this chapter.) Withdrawal from an approved program abroad has the same consequences as withdrawal from Yale College.
4. Students who have received permission to study abroad but later decide not to do so must notify their residential college dean in writing of their change of plans and then either enroll as usual in Yale College or apply for a leave of absence before the deadline (see "Leave of Absence, Withdrawal, and Readmission" in this chapter). In some cases, such students will have to withdraw from Yale College if the deadline for requesting a leave has passed, or they have already taken two terms of leave, or the deadline for enrolling in courses in Yale College has passed. Under no circumstances can a Year or Term Abroad be converted retroactively to a leave of absence. Similarly, a leave of absence cannot be converted retroactively to a Year or Term Abroad.
5. After returning from a Year or Term Abroad, students must enroll in Yale College for at least two terms. Students who have accelerated should speak with their residential college dean about the possible need to decelerate (see "Acceleration Policies" in this chapter).
6. Students who have been approved by the committee to study abroad and who receive financial aid from Yale are eligible for aid while abroad. For information about financial aid support, consult a counselor in the Student Financial Services Center, 246 Church Street, 432-2700.
*Study during the academic year at the Paul Mellon Centre in London (Yale-in-London) is equivalent to enrollment in Yale College and is not considered a Term Abroad. Application to the Yale-in-London program should be made directly to that office at the Yale Center for British Art. For details, see under "Yale-in-London" in chapter I and under British Studies in chapter IV. Likewise, study during the academic year in the Peking University–Yale University Joint Undergraduate Program in Beijing is equivalent to enrollment in Yale College and is not considered a Year or Term Abroad. For details, see under Peking University–Yale University Joint Undergraduate Program in chapter IV.
