a) CLASS STANDING:
Students with the appropriate academic background may apply for some summer programs as
early as freshman year. Graduating high school students, even those who have earned college
credits prior to their admission to a degree program at IU, are not eligible for summer programs.
Some semester programs allow second-semester sophomores to participate, but the norm for IU
semester and academic year programs is for students to complete two years of full-time study on
an IU campus before going abroad.
Students who transfer to Indiana University must have at least one full semester of IU credit on
their transcript before they are considered for study abroad.
Overseas Study does not encourage students to prolong their academic experience simply to
study abroad. Students pursuing a second degree may be given lower priority in the selection
process. Students will have to show an academic rationale for participating in more than one
Overseas Study program. However, students are not permitted to remain a second year
on the same academic-year program.
Graduate students who have completed at least one semester at IU may apply to a limited
set of programs that allow graduate student participation. Note that most Overseas Study
programs are designed for undergraduate students and only offer undergraduate courses.
b) GPA:
To apply to an I.U. program, students need the cumulative GPA indicated in the program
requirements: 2.75 to 3.00. Certain programs are rigid in their adherence to the stipulated GPAs
while other programs consider students whose GPAs approximately meet the requirement.
c) ACADEMIC PROGRESS:
To be eligible to apply for study abroad, students must be making satisfactory academic progress
toward their degree, particularly those applying for semester and academic year programs.
Students for whom study abroad is not deemed directly relevant to their degree may be given
lower priority in the selection process. (Note: Acceptance into a program does not automatically
qualify a student for continued financial assistance.)
d) LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of prior language coursework with a grade of B or better is
expected.
For programs that require five or six semesters of foreign
language background, the minimum language requirement must be completed
during the regular academic semester preceding the program. That is, the
required language may not simply be taken during the summer prior to
program participation.
Students who intend to study abroad for a year or a semester in a
location where courses are taught in a foreign language should be
enrolled in that language during the semester immediately preceding
program participation.
Summer program applicants who have not taken any language courses
in the current or immediately preceding semesters may have lower
priority in the selection process than students who have had the
requisite language courses more recently. Language proficiency in such
cases must be demonstrated.
Non-native speakers of a foreign language who have placed out of
language courses at IU but who have never enrolled in a language
course before the program may also have lower priority in the
selection process for programs that require language proficiency.
Students who take an intensive elementary language course prior to
a summer program may be accepted conditionally, pending their
performance in the course.
e) PROGRAM-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:
Some programs have requirements in addition to class standing and GPA.
f) LOWER AGE LIMITS
The Office of Overseas Study does not permit university applicants under the age of 18 or high
school students to participate in its programs.
g) PREFERENCE TO INDIANA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Any student enrolled at one of the eight Indiana University campuses may apply to the programs
administered or co-sponsored by the Office of Overseas Study.
Only a very small number of programs are open to students
from other institutions.
In some cases the child of an IU employee who attends another institution may be permitted to
apply to IU-administered (but not co-sponsored) programs. In-state fee status and dependent
fee courtesy are normally applicable in these cases.
h) DISCIPLINARY STATUS
Students with sanctions of disciplinary probation or stronger (i.e., deferred suspension,
suspension, or expulsion) may not participate in Overseas Study programs. Overseas Study
reviews the disciplinary records of all program applicants, and reserves the right to deny
acceptance to students who have problematic disciplinary histories.
The Associate Vice President for Overseas Study appoints faculty committees to screen applications
for study abroad. A standard dossier consists of an application with demographic information, a
transcript, recommendation letters from instructors (typically, two for academic year and one for
summer) and the student's personal statement. There are interviews for all academic year
programs and may be interviews for other programs at the discretion of committee chairs.
The committee recommends students who not only meet the minimum eligibility criteria but who
also show the type of intellectual curiosity, personal maturity, academic rationale and social
flexibility necessary for a successful study abroad experience.
The Associate Vice President for Overseas Study has the final authority to accept or reject the
recommendations of the selection committees.
In the case of co-sponsored programs, once the Associate Vice
President has approved the committee's
recommendations, the Office of Overseas Study forwards the dossiers to the co-sponsoring
agencies. In some cases those agencies permit direct admissions in which case the students will
receive automatic acceptance letters. In other cases, the agency or the institution makes the final
decision regarding admission.
In the event that students wish to appeal the decision of the selection committee, they may send
a petition to the Associate Vice President asking that their case be reviewed.
Acceptance into programs is always contingent upon a student's maintaining a level of academic
performance consistent with previous work and satisfactorily completing course work in the
semester of acceptance. Students who receive Incompletes or Withdrawals for course work
during that semester may forfeit final program acceptance.
For many
programs, eventual program participation is contingent upon the
student's ability to obtain travel documents (i.e., passport, visa,
work permit, etc.). These documents are issued at the
discretion of U.S. and foreign government offices. While the
Office of Overseas Study and co-sponsoring agencies can provide
documentation in support of applications, the government bodies have
final authority over issuance of travel documents.
Applications may be denied for any reason, including insufficient
documentation, pending legal action, past criminal history, etc.
Application procedures and requirements may vary based upon
citizenship. Non-U.S. citizens may have significantly
different conditions to meet to obtain travel documents and should
look into the timeline for obtaining the required travel documents
prior to applying for a program.
Section II: Academic Policies
1. Advising
All students accepted to a semester or academic year overseas study program meet with a study abroad advisor to discuss the courses that are appropriate for them to
enroll in abroad.
An advising form signed by the student, the advisor(s) in the major(s) and minor(s) and, in most
cases, the study abroad advisor reflects the common understanding by all
signers of what course work the student will take abroad. It is understood that enrollment
patterns abroad may require some last minute changes.
All students, but especially those on co-sponsored programs, must contact Overseas Study
directly regarding any changes to their schedule to ensure IU credit for course work overseas.
Any correspondence between the student and the home-campus advisors must be shared with
Overseas Study which must approve any changes to the original schedule.
2. Course Load
Students participating in summer programs are required to take a fixed number of credits offered,
even if they do not need all the credits for degree requirements.
15-16 credits are the minimum course load each semester required by most programs
[the few exceptions are outlined in program-specific handbooks and will be discussed
at Overseas Study advising sessions.] Students should not drop below full-time status
as stipulated by each program policy.
Exceptions are considered only in cases of illness or similar extenuating circumstances.
Graduate students accepted to graduate semester programs must take a minimum of 9 credits and a maximum of 12 credits per semester.
If a student drops below the minimum required hours, an F is awarded for the remaining number of credit hours.
Students participating on co-sponsored programs must adhere to the
co-sponsor's minimum course load requirement, but Indiana University
may impose additional academic requirements.
3. Independent Study and Individualized Readings
Students are not permitted to include independent study courses as part of their minimum course
load abroad. Instead, Overseas Study encourages students to arrange ahead of time with an IU
faculty member to do research while abroad but register for the independent study credit for the
semester of their return.
Overseas Study strongly discourages students from taking correspondence courses through the
School of Continuing Studies during their stay abroad. Such courses cannot form part of the
term's minimum course load.
Graduate students accepted to graduate semester programs may only participate in research with the written approval of their faculty advisor.
4. Pass/Fail Option
Overseas Study does not permit the declaration of P/F for IU-administered summer or semester
programs or on co-sponsored programs.
Overseas Study permits students on IU-administered academic year programs in mainstreamed foreign language environments
to take two courses during the year P/F with the exception of pre-session
courses, required language courses and courses used to complete degree requirements.
P/F policies for your individual school still apply.
Students must declare a course P/F by each program's published deadline and never after
receiving a final grade.
5. Withdrawal from an Overseas Study Program
If a student withdraws from the program shortly after arrival at the program site (typically during
the orientation period), enrollment in the Overseas Study program is deleted from the student's
record instead of recording W's in all courses.
We cannot guarantee that students who complete a pre-session before withdrawing from a semester or academic-year
program will receive credit for that portion of the program.
Resident directors monitor students on IU-administered programs to ensure that they do not fall
below required minimum enrollment levels. It is the student's responsibility to keep the program's
administrators and the Office of Overseas Study informed about their enrollment.
6. Dropping and Adding Courses
Reasonable deadlines for dropping classes are established at each program site based on the
host country's academic calendar.
Students are encouraged to attend more courses initially than they expect to enroll in so they can
drop the least appropriate courses before the registration deadline.
7. Incompletes
Students are expected to complete all course work before they leave the study abroad site. They
are not permitted a grade of Incomplete in order to complete an assignment after their return to
the U.S. (An exception is made for short-term field school programs in which the analysis of field research
is completed by a deadline shortly after return to the U.S.)
If students do not complete course work prior to departure from the program site, they receive an
F for that course.
If a student has completed all course work abroad, but no grade is reported due to an oversight or delay by
the host country faculty or the program administrators, the Office of Overseas Study temporarily
enters an Incomplete until the correct letter grade is determined.
In circumstances beyond a student's control (e.g., closure of the program) the Office of
Overseas Study is permitted to award a permanent Incomplete (one that does not become an F
at the end of a year).
8. Course and Credit Requirements
In awarding credit for course work taken abroad, Overseas Study assumes that the contact hours
are comparable to those at IU (i.e.12.5 contact hours per credit hour).
Courses taught by IU faculty abroad are expected to include required reading, written course
work, examinations and, when possible, term papers. Field study programs typically incorporate
journal writing into the assessment process.
When enrolling in courses taught by host country nationals, students are expected to select
courses that require work that can be assessed for a grade or to arrange for special assignments
that can be evaluated. If no such academic work can be arranged, the student will not receive
credit for the class.
9. Course Approval and Course Equivalencies
Courses on Indiana University Overseas Study programs are reported to the Registrar with IUB
course titles and numbers wherever feasible. IU faculty evaluate foreign course descriptions and
syllabi in order to determine what their department's equivalent IU level and number should be.
This sometimes takes place before students go abroad, but more often occurs when students
return from abroad with course material to substantiate their request for credit. The Registrar has
developed a flexible equivalency system (e.g., undistributed courses with the original course titles
on the transcript according to a numerical ranking, HIST-OS 100, 200, etc.) to facilitate accounting
for courses with no exact equivalent in the IU system.
The Office of Overseas Study keeps a record of courses that have approved IU equivalents.
Students are given guidelines for selecting courses abroad when there are no pre-established
equivalencies. Students are guaranteed credit for all IU study abroad course work, but the
amount and level of the credit for each course is determined by campus departments with the
assistance of the Office of Overseas Study.
The Registrar allows courses taken abroad to be reported as 1 credit more or 1 credit less than is
listed in the IU bulletin.
Once the IU grade and course equivalency information has been verified, Overseas Study
produces grade reports for the Registrar and, in some cases, the recorder. Overseas Study lists the unequated courses as 100-level undistributed course work. When a department decides that
those courses should be listed as upper-level undistributed credit or as an IU course, Overseas
Study needs electronic documentation from the department to that effect:
https://www.indiana.edu/~overseas/courseapproval/course_memo.pl
It is important to note that until the equivalent IU courses and grades are posted, the student's
OneStart degree audit will not be a reliable indicator of the student's requirement or credit situation. Therefore,
since the OneStart report may be temporarily inaccurate, it is required that students check with
Overseas Study to verify actual standing vis-a-vis requirements and degree completion.
10. Residency
a) MAJOR COURSES:
Most departments are flexible in permitting courses taken overseas to count toward degree
requirements. However, Overseas Study respects a department's requirement that students who
study abroad still need a number of actual home campus credits (typically 10 for the major and 6
for the minor) before they receive a major or minor from that department.
b) SENIOR RESIDENCY:
All students on Overseas Study programs are registered at IU-Bloomington. However, credits
earned by students who reach senior standing (usually 86 credits) on Overseas Study programs
satisfy the senior residency requirement on their home campus (e.g., IUB, IUPUI, IPFW, etc.).
This policy facilitates study abroad for students unable to go abroad until their fourth year of
college.
When a transfer student to IU decides to go abroad after only one or two semesters on an IU
campus, the student's school reserves the right to re-evaluate the student's "senior residency"
credits from abroad so that the transfer student will have enough on-campus credit to justify a
degree from that school.
Students from an IU campus other than Bloomington are registered administratively as special
non-degree students on the IUB campus for their time abroad, but they earn credits toward the
home campus degree. Consequently, if a student wishes to pursue an IU-Bloomington degree
after the study abroad program, the student will have to fulfill the senior residency requirement on
the Bloomington campus before qualifying for the degree. The student may have to satisfy the
major department's residency requirement in Bloomington as well.
Likewise, if an IUB student who spends a year abroad wishes to complete his or her studies on
another IU campus, he or she will have to determine the impact on the residency requirement
with the degree-granting campus.
11. Grading Policies
a) The Office of Overseas Study includes grades for all IU overseas course work in the student's
cumulative GPA.
b) On many programs, particularly summer and short-term programs, IU faculty are responsible
for assessing the student's work. In these cases, the faculty use the same rigorous,
discriminating grading criteria they use at home. In cases of field study experiences, the faculty
are necessarily diligent in establishing clear criteria to evaluate non-classroom academic
exercises. Overseas Study course work abroad is as rigorous as on-campus course work and
Overseas Study assumes its faculty abroad takes special care to devise discriminating criteria to
assess students' work.
c) When grades are given by faculty from the host country using that country's grading scale,
equivalency scales are used to translate the grades to U.S. grades. These scales are not a mere
adaptation to the U.S. percentage or letter grade system, but rather are designed to match the
spirit of the host country grading system with the U.S. one. The same variation that occurs
between the differing demands of professors here at IU is likely to occur with teachers abroad
and Overseas Study does not make adjustments to the grading scale on this count.
d) In the interest of promoting rigor, Overseas Study does not include A+ on equivalency scales
and awards an A+ for courses abroad only in rare circumstances. A+ grades are reserved for
exceptional cases and are awarded the same GPA weight as an A.
e) After departure from a program site abroad, should students have
questions about how a final grade was achieved they may
submit an inquiry. Inquiries should be directed either to the
co-sponsoring agency or Overseas Study.
The co-sponsoring agency, host university and/or Overseas Study will
seek feedback from the faculty member of record and verify that
grading procedures that are considered the norm for that particular
institution, country and/or program were followed.
Overseas Study
recognizes the professors as the primary authorities in matters of
grading. Overseas Study will NOT adjust grades; only corrections
for calculation or recording errors will result in a grade change.
f) Should students
believe that there has been professorial misconduct, they should
file a formal petition. Evidence about such misconduct must be
provided to support such petitions, not hearsay, subjective
impressions, or remarks of a personal nature. Dissatisfaction with
a grade, based on the student perspective of his or her own
performance, will not constitute acceptable grounds for an appeal.
Inquiry/Petition Process
- To file an
inquiry/petition in connection with a course from a co-sponsored
program, the student must follow the specific procedures of the
co-sponsoring agency (e.g., IES, CIEE), within the agency’s
specified time lines.
- To file an inquiry/petition in connection with a course from an IU-administered
faculty led program, the student must write directly to the
professor and send a copy of the statement to the Office of Overseas
Study.
- To file an
inquiry/petition in connection with a course from any other IU-administered
program, the student must send a formal statement and any supporting
documents directly to the Office of Overseas Study.
- Inquiries must be filed within 2 months of student notification of
the final grade. Review/investigation may take up to 60 days to
complete.
12. Appealing the Outcome of a Petition
a) Within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the Office of Overseas Study’s response to a petition, a student may file an appeal.
b) The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Office of Overseas Study and should include ample documentation or evidence.
c) The appeal is forwarded to members of the Overseas Study Advisory Council’s Appeals Committee along with all relevant correspondence and documentation collected by the Office of Overseas Study in investigating the initial petition.
d) The Appeals Committee convenes (in person or by means of virtual technologies), and may uphold the decision of the initial petition or determine an alternate outcome. Alternate outcomes may vary, depending upon focus of the petition and actions permissible within the purview of the Office of Overseas Study. Appeals Committee decisions are final and become effective when the Committee issues its decision.
e) The Appeals Committee issues a written decision within seven (7) calendar days after convening. The decision sets out the committee’s conclusions and the findings of fact and reasoning supporting those conclusions. The presiding officer of the Committee sends the decision to the student, with a copy to the Associate Vice President for Overseas Study.
The Appeals Committee of the IU Overseas Study Advisory Council
The Appeals Committee is appointed by the Vice President for International Affairs and includes two current members of the IU Overseas Study Advisory Council and one senior member of the IU faculty.
Section III: Academic Integrity
All students must respect and abide by the academic regulations of
both IU, any co-sponsoring agency and the local host institutions.
Any acts of academic misconduct, including cheating, fabrication,
plagiarism, interference, violation of course rules or facilitating
academic dishonesty, will be adjudicated by local academic officials
and then be referred to the judicial process on the student’s home
campus.
Section IV: Personal Conduct
All students must respect and abide by the laws
and customs of the
host country, the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and
Conduct, and any rules and regulations for student conduct made or
adopted by IU, its employees, agents, consortium partners, and partner
institutions abroad, from the published official program arrival date
through the official program completion date, including but not
limited to host institution
rules and regulations for student conduct designed to safeguard
health, well‑being and safety.
Section V: Withdrawal, Refund and Non-payment Policies
Withdrawal from a Program
If you do decide to withdraw from a
program, it is your responsibility to send a formal statement to
Overseas Study (overseas@indiana.edu),
outlining the reason for withdrawal. Do not cancel or change your
registration.
If you are abroad through a
co-sponsoring agency, it is also your responsibility to inform that
agency of your decision. Do not cancel or change your registration.
Overseas Study will notify the Office of
Student Financial Assistance of your withdrawal. Please note that
students who withdraw after a program begins should expect to repay
any financial assistance awarded for the program.
Refund Policy
Nonrefundable prepayment(s):
The prepayments paid for any IU program will NOT be refunded
under any circumstances.
IU Administered Programs
Withdrawal before the program begins:
If you withdraw from the program after you have registered or have
paid the fees but before the program begins, Overseas Study will
remove the charges or refund all of the fees paid to IU
except the
nonrefundable prepayment(s) and any other fees that are
non-recoverable at the time of withdrawal. Do not cancel or change
your registration.
Withdrawal after the program begins:
If you withdraw from the program after it begins, you must send a
formal statement to Overseas Study that indicates the last day you
attended classes and explains the arrangements you have made with the
onsite administration for finalizing participation. Overseas Study
will consider a partial refund of fees only 1) if you become seriously
ill or 2) if an emergency requires you to return to the U.S. In these
cases, the amount of the refund will be determined individually on the
basis of costs recoverable by Overseas Study at the time of
withdrawal. Do not cancel or change your registration.
Program cancellation: In the
unlikely event that IU cancels a program, Overseas Study will
determine refunds based on each individual case. Factors include the
timing of the cancellation, number of students affected, housing
situation, negotiation of recoverable housing costs and other
program-related fees. The amount of credit already completed and the
opportunities for students to complete courses through alternative
arrangements will also be considered.
IU Co-sponsored Programs
The non-refundable prepayment and IU
Services Fee are NOT refundable under any circumstances. Each
co-sponsoring agency sets its own refund policies regarding fees paid
to them. A refund of any co-sponsored program fees collected by
Indiana University will be subject to the refund policy of the
sponsoring agency. Please see program handbooks for details.
Non-payment
Students must meet their
financial obligations to program providers (Indiana University or
co-sponsoring agencies) before courses and grades will be officially
awarded.
Students who have not met
the financial obligations of the program by the final deadline will
be awarded grades of F for the minimum number of
required credit hours of the program.
Deadline for resolution
of all financial issues is the last day of classes of the academic
term immediately following the term of overseas study participation
(approx. May 5; August 15; Dec. 20).
Note that the IU
Bloomington Bursar and your home campus financial aid office may
also assign sanctions, including financial holds and the immediate
repayment of financial assistance.
