Choosing a Program

Choosing a Program

Choosing a Program

Introduction. The benefits of off-campus study depend on the institution and the country to which you go, and on the background, planning, and energy which you bring to the experience. Primarily, off-campus study is intended to deepen and bring fresh perspectives to your understanding of an academic field. Bowdoin also expects your education to be advanced in several other ways: it may strengthen your foreign language skills; give you the competence to operate in a culture different from your own; make available new field experiences; expose you to new methods of instruction and learning; further your understanding of the complexity and diversity of world affairs; help you reexamine your values and your culture as others view them; and strengthen resourcefulness and adaptability.

We encourage you to think hard about how to shape your plans in order to draw the benefits above from off-campus study. They will not materialize without effort and imagination on your part! To find the most suitable program, complete a successful application, and integrate your off-campus study with your Bowdoin experience, you should start planning early in the fall of the academic year before that in which you hope to study away, and fully investigate all available resources. Work closely with the staff of the OCS Office and your academic advisors.

Some important steps:

  • In September or early October, complete your OCS preliminary information form in order to put your interest on record and receive regular email announcements.
  • Come to the Off-Campus Study Fair in October.
  • Work your way methodically through the programs in the options list, to make sure that you have not overlooked any viable options in countries that you might not initially have considered.
  • When planning the Bowdoin classes you will take before study away, consider what prerequisites your program might have. Look also at how Bowdoin's Exploring Social Difference and International Perspectives distribution requirements can help you in your preparation for another culture.
  • Talk to a faculty member in your intended major about the department's own guidelines, the courses you will need to take, and how study away can best support the major.

Finding a program that fits your own academic needs. Use the programs' and universities' websites to research their offerings. Carefully consider how the teaching and learning environment may differ from that at Bowdoin, and whether it is suited to your own strengths.

If you will have the two years of college-level language that most language-focused programs require, you should find out if it is possible to enrol in university classes, which we strongly recommend that you take. Advanced students should also consider the effect on a program of the participation of large numbers of students with little or no previous experience in the language. Programs based in some larger cities are also more likely to be impeded by the presence of large numbers of English-speaking students and tourists.

There is much variation among programs in teaching methods, types of assignments, amount of supervision and direction from instructors, and forms of assessment. All students should pay close attention to this, and bear in mind that the method of assessment of many university courses remains heavily weighted towards final examinations, and most courses offer less direct contact than at Bowdoin with the instructor. In particular, if you have a learning difference for which you receive accommodation or use resources at Bowdoin, you should find out whether your intended university or program is able to make accommodations for documented learning disabilities. Many programs and universities now ask applicants to voluntarily disclose any conditions that might affect their participation so that they can clarify the level of assistance that can be offered in their location.

As well as the programs' published information, the experience of returned or even currently participating students is also a valuable resource that will help you understand the characteristics of particular programs. We can put you in touch with Bowdoin students. But ask the right questions, as it is a natural tendency for all of us to dwell more on memorable breaks than on the details of courses and teaching methods!

In all of this please remember to make your academic needs your first priority, so that you do not waste energy on an unsuitable idea. Do not choose a program (or a semester) because that is where or when friends are applying; find the best program for your own individual needs, and avoid the insularity that would make you spend much of your time away with people you know well. And do not let Maine's cheerless winter weather influence you; applications that cite little more than the relaxation and opportunities for travel in beautiful surroundings that time away from Bowdoin can provide are not well received!

Remember, finally, that for perfectly good reasons about half of all Bowdoin students remain here. It can seem as if nearly everyone in the sophomore year is thinking about study away (normally, about three quarters of the class look into it), but a fair number of those students eventually decide that the course offerings at Bowdoin make better sense in the context of their academic career, or that they do not want to miss out on other opportunities in student government, athletics, journalism, the performing arts, or outdoor activities. You may have to make some hard choices; but remember that there are many other study abroad opportunities, including summer and graduate study, if study away in a Bowdoin semester or year is not feasible.

Other considerations. Be sure that you are mentally and physically prepared for an unfamiliar environment or culture. Anyone studying abroad should be prepared for "culture shock," a loss of emotional equilibrium, when confronted with a set of rules for social interaction that are different from those of the US. The duration and intensity of study abroad make such an effect more common in study abroad than in ordinary travel (and not only in countries that are culturally most dissimilar from the US). Although program administrators have experience in helping students through difficult patches, the facilities to deal with complex problems will be limited in some countries. Culture shock can exacerbate existing problems such as anxiety, depression, or eating disorders. Do talk over your plans with parents and counselors, especially if you think that you may be susceptible to such stress.

If you have a physical disability that could affect your participation, we would be pleased to help you identify viable options. Remember that the environment, facilities, and legal requirements will vary greatly in different countries and programs. For example, it is often impossible to renovate historic buildings to provide unimpeded wheelchair access.

Bowdoin's Program Options List: Introduction

Depending on their academic needs, students are normally expected to select from Bowdoin's options list of over 100 programs and institutions. The OCS Office, in consultation with the faculty's Off-Campus Study Committee, maintains the program options list, which is designed to meet the great majority of academic needs. The list represents a wide range of programs, in many countries, that have been used successfully by Bowdoin students in the past and continue to be recommended by academic departments. We attempt to select the best available program in most locations to which more than an occasional student is likely to need to go. The list excludes some institutions of high quality whose curriculum is too dissimilar to Bowdoin's to offer enough courses for which credit can be transferred; or whose housing and social arrangements do not permit Bowdoin students to become properly integrated into the institution and the culture of the host country. We keep our knowledge of programs current through student evaluation forms and faculty visits. Programs may be added to or removed from the list as more appropriate opportunities emerge. Please do not assume, because you know that a Bowdoin student participated in a particular program in the past, that the program is on the current options list.

Bear in mind, especially if you went to the fair, that most study abroad organizations run numerous programs and publicize them widely, but you will almost never find all of any organization's programs on Bowdoin's list, as we either have insufficient experience with them or have identified more suitable options.

Broadly, the institutions on this list are either programs designed for US or international students, or universities that enrol visiting students for a duration of at least a semester. But there is a great deal of overlap between the two categories, with many programs allowing enrollment in local university classes and many universities offering the kind of service, through an international students office, once found only on a program. In choosing your program or university, consider the level of interaction with the local academic environment and culture that will be possible. Bowdoin students with the requisite level of language (usually the equivalent of at least two years of college-level instruction) are expected to take at least one and preferably more courses in a university if that option exists.

American colleges and universities, except for the members of the Twelve College Exchange and a few others that run domestic programs, such as American University's Washington Semester, do not appear on the options list. This is not for the most part because of any doubt about their academic rigor, but Bowdoin does encourage its students to explore high-quality academic experiences in cultures different from our own; petitioners for off-campus study at accredited, four-year US institutions must therefore demonstrate that they will not be doing substantially the same kind of work that they would do if they stayed at Bowdoin.

Please look thoroughly through the entire options list. Make decisions appropriate to your own academic needs; do not rely on what you hear your friends are planning, or where they went last year. You may be surprised to find how many parts of the world offer interesting strong options. There are certainly some fine English-speaking universities on the list, but do not assume that if you have no great language competency or background they are your only option. We encourage students with appropriate interests and needs to take the somewhat more challenging and rewarding, as well as less crowded, route of participation in a program in Africa, Asia, or Latin America.

View the program options list »