Off-Campus Study Advising and Application Process
We believe students should plan off-campus study in active collaboration with faculty advisors, our office, and other trusted people our their lives. Our office relies on faculty advisors to help students plan their majors, while finding ways to thoughtfully and purposefully integrate study-away plans with Bowdoin-based academics. Please see our Guiding Principles section for more of our philosophy around advising and program selection
Our process requires submission of the “Registration of Intent” due November 1st and the two-part “OCS Application”--an online portion students complete independently, and a paper course exercise sheet with faculty sign-off--due February 22nd and 24th respectively (find all our forms here). Please take this opportunity to talk with your students about departmental offerings, major/minor requirements, and timing. (For more information about the student application process, please review the “How Do I Study Off Campus?" section of our website. Please note: the OCS application period coincides with the major declaration process.)
Choosing a program:
Bowdoin students may choose from over one hundred approved program/university options, though occasionally students will petition for an opportunity off the list. When it comes to program/university selection we are happy to review the Options List with students in one-on-one meetings, giving them a variety of recommendations to research and run past trusted faculty mentors. We encourage you to reach out to us if you have a question about a program/university brought to you by a student, or to ask us why we are recommending it to your student. Likewise, we are happy to listen to your recommendations about other trusted programs/universities in your field; while there tends to be limited opportunities to revise our approved options list we will certainly take your feedback into consideration!
Letters of recommendation:
Many program/university application processes require a faculty recommendation form or letter. We ask students to request these letters/forms from faculty members in a timely manner to allow plenty of time to write and submit and to provide faculty members with information about the program and their interest in the respective program or any relevant personal essays. Every institution’s process and timing is different, but most are rolling-admissions and only review and provide admissions decisions once an application is complete. Therefore, prompt completion of recommendations is greatly appreciated!
Generally speaking, the application process is not as competitive for study abroad opportunities (programs or universities) compared to fellowship and scholarship applications. Therefore, while these letters are greatly appreciated and useful to programs and universities, we do not anticipate that faculty will put the same effort into these letters as compared to other student opportunities, such as national fellowships and scholarships. Letters of recommendation should be on letterhead and they should answer the following questions: a) in what capacity do you know the applicant; b) how did the applicant perform in that capacity; c) do you support the student's application to the program/university (e.g. do you think the applicant will be able to adjust to a new academic setting and will it contribute to their academic studies). We do our best to understand each institution’s admissions process, so if you have any questions please let us know.
Credit While Off-Campus
Regarding academic credit while abroad: please become familiar with OCS’s policies about credit transfer. There is a section on the paper application (Course Exercise and Sign-off) to give general approval for the student's study away plans, and on the far-right side of the course exercise is a section to indicate pre-approval for major/minor credit. The classes listed on this form may be subject to change once the student arrives and goes to register at the host institution. OCS requires students inform us of their proposed-final class schedule. We tell them to run by their faculty advisor any changes to classes taken away intended for major/minor credit because we only review their courses for general credit. We do not currently send faculty copies of the course notification form because of the sheer volume; however, copies can be requested by sending us an email. The OCS Application now allows for faculty pre-approval of course equivalency.