Studying Off Campus

As part of the overall program in International Education at Hope College, the International Education Office offers information and assistance to all students interested in off campus study. Applications and detailed descriptions of programs are available from the Fried International Center in the Martha Miller Center or you can email studyabroad@hope.edu with any questions.

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Types of Programs

Hope College has long recognized the value of offering its students a wide range of off-campus study opportunities, both domestic and international. These are available to qualified students through the college's membership in a number of consortiums, including the Great Lakes Colleges Association, Inc. (GLCA), a Michigan non-profit corporation, which cooperates with the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES), the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), the School for International Training (SIT), GlobalLinks as well as a handful of other approved program providers. Semester and year-long opportunities for off-campus study are available in virtually every part of the globe. May and June terms and summer school programs offer short term options. All off-campus programs, independent of length, subject matter, or location, fall into one of the following two categories:

Official Hope College Programs

Hope College exercises direct or indirect academic and administrative control over these programs. Students who participate in these are screened by the Off-Campus Programs Admissions Committee and they remain on the rolls of Hope College. It is the responsibility of students to demonstrate to the Off-Campus Programs Admissions Committee that they have made prior arrangement with the campus administrator and/or the academic departments concerned for the awarding of credit. Once the student is off-campus, it is the continuing responsibility of the student to communicate any program changes to the chairperson of the department from which credit is expected. Students in these official programs continue to receive administrative support and will be regarded as regular Hope College students in all respects. They are entitled to retain financial aid and to have grades and credit earned recorded on their Hope College transcript.

Non-Official Programs

Students may, of course, enroll in other programs over which Hope College does not exercise administrative or academic control. It is important to note that students enrolling in one of these programs are, in practical terms, withdrawing from the college. This means that they do not need the permission of the Off-Campus Programs Admissions Committee in order to participate. However, they also lose the right to use Hope College financial aid awards and any credit earned will be treated as transfer credit. Students considering participation in one of these programs should consult their departmental advisor in order to determine whether or not transfer credit is likely to be accepted. Upon completion of such a program, students who intend to return to Hope College need to apply for readmission. The programs described here are considered official programs.