Credit Requirements

A semester abroad or a year abroad assures you of four or eight course credits, respectively, provided that certain conditions are satisfied.

If the following seems familiar, it should — after all, you did sign off on them in the Bates Application. We do hope that this reminder proves helpful.

  • The course load must be the normal full year or semester requirement for home-based students at your foreign university or for your study abroad program as defined by the Off-Campus Study Committee.  If the normal full load is 3 courses, take 3; if it is 7 courses, take 7. For a listing of the full course load and of the minimum grade requirements, consult the Off-Campus Study Course and Credit guide.
  • All courses must be taken for a letter grade.
  • Students must earn the equivalent of a 3.00 GPA and must pass all courses in order to receive full credit. The grades are not included in your Bates GPA.
  • The courses must be appropriate to the liberal arts and sciences as defined by the Bates faculty for the fall or winter semester with one course allowed “at the margin” of what the faculty approves. (For example: business, pre-law/law, marketing, entrepreneurship.)
  • Courses may not duplicate other courses applied toward the Bates degree.
  • No credit is awarded for courses taken online.
  • Students must take their examinations at their regularly scheduled times and location.
  • At English-language universities at least half the course work must be above the first-year level.
  • Credit is awarded for an internship if it has an academic content, is assessed by a letter grade that appears on the transcript, and represents no more than 25% of the full course load.
  • Students who study in non-English speaking settings must take at least one full-time course in that country’s language, modern or ancient. If the language is taught as a major at Bates, a majority of the course work must be taught in that language unless an exception is granted because of the academic focus of the program.
  • Students should email their course selection to Darren Gallant or Jennifer Hyde to confirm its suitability for general credit.
  • Students must live with a family or students from the host country when these housing options are available. Independent housing is not allowed.
  • Students must attend the pre-departure orientation organized by the Off-Campus Study Office.
  • Students must arrange for an official transcript to be sent directly to the Center for Global Education, Bates College
  • Students must complete a Bates evaluation at the conclusion of their experience.

The Bates College Off-Campus Study Committee, which is responsible for the awarding of credit, may award partial credit if these conditions are not fully satisfied. The Committee does not award more than four course credits per semester.

Information about applying credit towards the major, minor and GEC may be found here.