Off-Campus Study Programs
Students planning to study in a foreign country and on pre-approved domestic programs must register their intentions with the Office of Off-Campus Study by the published deadlines and follow and complete the procedures specified above for transferred credit. The transfer credit procedures described above do not apply to the Hamilton programs in China, France, Spain, New York City, Washington, D.C., or Boston.
To receive an approved academic leave of absence for off-campus study, a student must:
1. earn a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher during the two consecutive semesters at Hamilton immediately preceding the student’s last semester at Hamilton before leaving for study abroad;
2. receive no final grades of F in the semester immediately preceding the proposed period of study abroad;
3. not be on academic (GPA below 2.0 for the semester immediately preceding the proposed period of study abroad) or social probation (6 or more points) on the start date of their leave of absence for study abroad; and
4. complete the writing, quantitative and symbolic reasoning, and physical education graduation requirements.
With the exception of a small number of pre-approved programs for particular concentrators, to earn credit toward a Hamilton degree from work transferred from study abroad in a country whose language is not English, a student must meet the following requirements:
1. prior to studying abroad, pass a course (or otherwise demonstrate proficiency) in the language of that country at:
a.) the fourth-semester level for French, German, Russian and Spanish;
b.) the second-semester level for Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Italian, and Japanese;
c.) the second-semester level, if the Critical Language Program at Hamilton offers instruction in that language regularly.
2. while studying abroad, undertake for credit work that is either conducted in the language of that country or that increases the student's proficiency in that language. The work must be worth at least one-fifth of the total work presented for transferred credit from the study abroad experience.
Note: For programs in Classical Studies, proficiency at the second-semester level in Ancient Greek or Latin is required prior to attending the program and continued study of Ancient Greek or Latin is required while in the program, regardless of the country in which the program is located (e.g., Italian is not required to study at a Classics program in Italy).
Final approval of off-campus study programs and transfer of credit is granted by the Committee on Academic Standing who may, upon the recommendation of an academic department at Hamilton, modify these requirements for specific students or programs of study.
Students who change their programs after leaving campus must discuss substitutions with the Office of Off-Campus Study by email or telephone.