Guidelines
- Office Resources
- Requirements
- When to Study Off Campus
- Choosing a Program
- Costs & Financial Aid
- Off-Campus Study Application
- Academic Credit
- Predeparture Planning
Other Information
Announcements and Events
Office closed. The office will be closed on Friday, 9 May, and for the week of 16 June.
Applications. Applications and petitions to Bowdoin for permission to study off campus in the 2008-09 academic year (fall semester, spring semester, or full year) are accepted from 1 February 2008, once the major has been declared, and should be dropped off in the OCS office no later than 21 February 2008. Please consult OCS for programs with early deadlines or that fill early. Application forms are available here as a PDF or in the OCS office. No further applications can be accepted for 2008-09.
Predeparture Meeting. Required for all students leaving for OCS in the fall. Thursday, 17 April 2008, 7:30 PM. Daggett Lounge, Thorne
Petitions. Students intending to petition (for programs not on Bowdoin's Options List) must make an appointment to discuss their plans with OCS, for a date no later than Wednesday, 6 February 2008.
Office hours. Walk-in office hours (M-Th, 2-4)) and appointments (M-F, 10-12) begin after the introductory meeting in September. Most questions can be simply dealt with on a walk-in basis. If you have complicated questions or need a petition interview, please email the office to make a 30-minute appointment, with a brief explanation of what you need to discuss.
Returning students. Submit your program evaluation form on-line. (Log in with your Bowdoin user name and password.)
Views from Away Photo Exhibit: See the winners and all the entries from 2006-07!
Executive Assistance Program
Executive Assistance Program for Bowdoin Students and Faculty Traveling Abroad (PDF)
Off-Campus Study is a Bowdoin academic program that assists students to extend their education at the College through study for a semester or year at other institutions and programs, abroad and in the U.S. Annually about 230 Bowdoin students participate in off-campus study; over half of the College's students have studied away by the time of graduation. The program is administered by the Office of Off-Campus Study (OCS), which is overseen by the Off-Campus Study Committee and the Office of the Dean for Academic Affairs.
Off-Campus Study derives from and supports Bowdoin's mission to provide a liberal arts education through which students deepen intellectual capacities and qualities of maturity that can serve the common good. It entails courses that enrich and bring fresh perspectives to the understanding of an academic field characteristic of the liberal arts, and that are integrated with and comparable in intellectual challenge to the course of study at Bowdoin. Depending on the program and the location, it also strengthens foreign language skills; gives the competence to operate in a foreign culture; makes available new field experiences; exposes students to new methods of instruction and learning; furthers their understanding of the complexity and diversity of world affairs; helps them reexamine their values and their culture as others view them; and develops resourcefulness and adaptability. Off-campus study demands that students be actively engaged in their own education as at Bowdoin, and that after return to Bowdoin they continue to explore how the experience can shape their individual courses of study.
Students who wish to study away should thoroughly read all sections of the on-line Guidelines for Off-Campus Study (see menu), and visit the OCS Office to discuss their options as early as possible in the preceding academic year.
Office Contact Information
Director: Stephen Hall
Assistant Director: Melissa Quinby
E-mail: offcamp@bowdoin.edu
Phone: (+1) 207.725.3473
Fax: (+1) 207.725.3988
Office location: Dudley Coe 301
Mailing address: Off-Campus Study, 4800 College Station, Bowdoin College, Brunswick ME 04011-8439
Office advising hours: 10:00-12:00 (appointments) and 2:00-4:00 (walk-ins), Monday to Thursday; 10:00-12:00 (appointments) Friday. Meetings by appointment during College vacations.
Important Dates
7 October 2008: Off-Campus Study Fair (Smith Union, 3:00-5:30 PM)
23 February 2009: Bowdoin's OCS application deadline