Opportunities for Study Abroad and Domestic Off-Campus Study

Rhodes encourages its students to study off-campus through the programs it administers or through programs administered by other institutions. Off-campus study, whether domestic or international, requires substantial prior planning. Students interested in pursuing such a course of study should formulate their plans well in advance.

Off-campus study opportunities are coordinated by the Buckman Center for Global Engagement. The staff in the Buckman Center can assist students in researching off-campus study programs and can facilitate completion of the program’s application process. Students are responsible for meeting with their academic advisors to discuss program choices and for course selections. 

While specific acceptance criteria vary across programs, minimum requirements for acceptance to study abroad and away are good social standing, good academic standing, and a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.50. Once accepted, a student must maintain good social standing and good academic standing to participate in the program. If approval to participate is rescinded on these grounds, it will be considered a voluntary withdrawal, which means that the student is withdrawn from the program without refund even if the student is already en route or on site. 

Students may study off-campus on a one-semester or year-long Rhodes Program, Exchange Program, or Affiliated Program. In general, students pay tuition, room, and board to Rhodes and receive tuition, room and board on the program (there are some differences, depending on the type of program; these are specifically noted in the sections below). Rhodes institutional aid and federal/state aid are portable for these programs. In any given year, Rhodes offers over 600 such options for off-campus study.

Off-Campus Study Application Process

Each student who intends to pursue off-campus study must complete the Off-Campus Study Application available on the Buckman Center website. This Application, after being changed from “pending” to “accepted”, grants approval for the program of study and, subject to general college policies regarding transfer credit, assigns appropriate credit for the academic work successfully completed. Normally a student cannot earn more credit while on a semester study abroad program than could have been earned in a regular semester at Rhodes. The Buckman Center website contains instructions, checklists, deadlines, application materials, and policies.

Types of Off-Campus Study Available

There are three broad categories for off-campus study, listed below.

• Rhodes Programs
  • Summer Programs ("Maymesters")
  • Semester Programs (NYC Internship Program, Cape to Campus: South Africa, Global Environmental Challenges, and Rhodes in London)
• ISEP and Bilateral Semester Exchanges
• Affiliated Summer and Semester Programs

Petitioning to Study Abroad with Non-Affiliated Programs

A student may petition for variance from the policy regarding Affiliated Programs via a Buckman Center application reviewed by the Executive Director of the Buckman Center for Global Engagement. Petitioners may request approval to participate for a semester abroad with non-Affiliated Programs from a discrete list of exceptional programs maintained by the Buckman Center. Petitions may be granted or denied based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: the quality of the petition, the rationale on the inadequacy of an Affiliated Program for the student's academic purpose, and the number of petitions already granted for that term, among others.

If the petition is granted, the student will be able to participate on the program by paying tuition, room, and board (in some cases, partial or no board) to Rhodes and receive tuition, room and board (or partial or no board) on the program abroad, using portable institutional and federal/state aid on the petitioned program. Credit earned on these programs is treated as transfer credit. Petitioners are encouraged to secure placement on an Affiliated Program prior to the relevant deadlines for in the event their petition is denied.

Course Credit from Study Abroad & Away

Students, department chairs, the Registrar's Office, and Buckman Center staff all play a part in how a student earns course credit from Study Abroad & Away. The process for enrolling in or transferring credit from Study Abroad & Away programs varies by program. The policies for transfer credit can be found here.