Pathfinder - Colorado College

We encourage students to take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad or to participate in one of the college’s domestic off-campus programs. Either option will provide them with new and unique perspectives on their studies. A student who is thinking about studying off-campus should be sure to plan ahead. Since the college reserves the right to limit the number of students off-campus in a given semester, students should investigate their options early to be sure they have time to incorporate a study-abroad or off-campus program into their college career.

Students may take a maximum of four and one-half units per semester — or the equivalent — on an off-campus study program. With departmental approval, they may apply coursework taken abroad toward degree requirements. Only students in good academic standing are eligible to study off-campus, and a student’s behavioral record will be considered in granting or denying approval for off-campus study. Students on academic or disciplinary probation may be required to delay their off-campus study until their probationary status has lifted.  Students who participate in programs shorter than one semester in duration will still be responsible for their on-campus residential room contract and payments for the full semester.

Colorado College Programs

CC offers semester long off-campus study programs in Aix-en-Provence/Marseille, France (spring), Lüneburg, Germany (spring), and Oaxaca, Mexico (fall), a CC Semester in Environmental Science at Woods Hole, MA, as well as a two-block program in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia. In addition, students may participate in educational exchanges abroad. Current exchange programs include: Jönköping International Business School in Sweden, the University of Wales at Aberystwyth, the Universities of Göttingen and Regensburg in Germany, the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in Brazil, Fudan University in China and Saimaa University in Finland. The college also offers summer and block programs that vary in location from year to year. Please see the summer programs office for information on CC summer blocks abroad, and consult the CC course offerings list published each spring for blocks abroad during the academic year.

Affiliated Programs

Affiliated programs include those administered by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (encompassing seven foreign countries and five domestic opportunities); CET Academic Programs in Beijing, China; the Japan Studies Program at the Kansai Gaidai in Japan; and the Center for European Studies in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Students participating in Colorado College and affiliated programs will normally be charged regular CC tuition plus a program fee that usually covers the overseas room and board, and may also cover field trips, airfare, and other expenses. Financial aid may typically be applied to all CC and affiliated programs.

Nonaffiliated Programs

Non-affiliated programs are programs run by institutions with which the college has no formalized agreement. The International Studies Oversight Committee must approve in advance all study abroad programs sponsored by other institutions or credit will not be granted. The Office of International Programs (OIP) maintains a list of carefully-selected approved programs. If a desired program is not on the list, a student will need to submit a petition including a statement outlining the academic rationale for their choice of programs and program materials describing the course of study. Petition forms are available at the OIP and are subject to the same due dates as regular applications (see below). A committee of faculty and OIP staff will review all petitions.  Approval of petitions is not guaranteed and students are strongly encouraged to select an alternative approved program should their petition be denied. Students participating in non-affiliated programs will not pay Colorado College tuition or board, but will instead pay the program sponsor directly. Tuition and fees may be more or less than what Colorado College charges. An administrative fee will be assessed to all students who study on non-affiliated programs.

Application Procedures

1. Attend a group advising session for students interested in exploring off-campus study options. Regular sessions are held the second Tuesday of every block at 12:15pm in Worner Center. Specific room location can be found on the OIP study abroad Web site: www.coloradocollege.edu/international.
2. Visit the OIP in Worner 232 to research programs that will meet academic goals and personal needs and have an individual advising session. Discuss policies for credit transfer and financial aid. Don’t forget to discuss proposed plans of study with academic advisors and faculty program advisors.
3. After identifying a program, follow the application instructions given by the program sponsor. Apply early, as some programs fill fast.
4. All students studying abroad during the regular academic year must also submit an internal application to Colorado College in addition to completing the application requirements of the program sponsor. The Colorado College application is due February 10 for programs that begin in the fall and October 10 for programs that begin in the spring. Application forms are available at the OIP.
5. Once the letter of approval from CC is received, complete a preliminary course approval form, available from the OIP. Students should secure departmental approval for all courses they wish to apply toward their majors or minors, and obtain the approval and signature from their academic advisors.
6. Confirm participation in the study abroad program with the registrar’s office no later than May 1 for programs that begin in the fall and December 1 for spring programs. The $300 administrative fee for non-affiliated study abroad programs will be charged to all students with confirmed or pending academic leaves of absence on these days.