Off-Campus Studies

We believe that active engagement with a culture or region other than one’s own to gain a deeper understanding of world issues and to develop empathy for others is one cornerstone of a liberal arts education. Study off campus not only exposes students to different worldviews and broadens students’ knowledge of global interconnections, but it facilitates the development of students’ self-reliance and ability to communicate and collaborate with diverse groups. As a result, off-campus studies helps prepare Whitman graduates for the evolving global workplace of the 21st century and to be judicious citizens throughout their lives. The off-campus studies (study abroad) program at Whitman College is designed to provide a range of in-depth opportunities for qualified students to study in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania and in the United States. We offer fall semester and spring semester opportunities through our partner universities and national study abroad providers.

Overseas Programs (Semester)

Advisors: Susan Holme and Nadir Ovcina

Information about opportunities for study outside of the United States and on partner programs within the United States, including application procedures, eligibility requirements, deadlines, and fees, is available from the Off-Campus Studies Office, Memorial Building 205. Students should consult with Susan Holme, Director of Off-Campus Studies, Nadir Ovcina, Associate Director of Off-Campus Studies, or the appropriate faculty advisor for the program listed on the OCS website to determine the suitability of participation in a particular academic program overseas. Students who wish to apply any credit from overseas study to their Whitman degree need to complete a Whitman OCS Application in myOCS and receive approval for their proposed course of study from Off-Campus Studies prior to studying off campus. Students can gain access to the application after a minimum of at least one advising appointment with a Whitman OCS advisor. Students who wish to study outside the United States during the fall or spring semester may only transfer credit from programs on Whitman’s approved OCS Partner Program list (see below). Transfer credit will not be granted retroactively if a student has not received prior approval from Off-Campus Studies. At Whitman, students typically participate in OCS for a single semester in their junior year - either the fall or spring semester - after declaring their major. However, students who wish to be considered for OCS approval for a full academic year in one location abroad may petition for an exception.

Deadlines for the submission of the Whitman Off-Campus Study Application are as follows unless stated otherwise with the program listing:

Semester

Deadline

Spring 2026

April 30, 2025 (highly recommended deadline)

September 11, 2025 (final deadline)

Fall 2026

February 5, 2026

Spring 2027

April 30, 2026

Students who intend to pursue overseas study are advised that careful planning is often needed in order to include off-campus studies as an integrated part of their four-year career at Whitman. Students are expected to have completed at least four semesters at Whitman or, in the case of transfer students, completed at least 58 credits, prior to participating in semester or academic year off-campus studies. For some destinations, students will need to have completed at least four or five semesters of foreign language work at the college level to qualify. To assist students with planning for off-campus studies, Off-Campus Studies Advising by Major pages are available on the Off-Campus Studies homepage at www.whitman.edu/ocs.

The college requires that students who have not yet completed the intermediate level of the local language enroll in language courses during their period abroad. Additionally, Whitman College grants no academic credit for work experience or internships per se, though it may grant credit for academic coursework linked to internships. Academic work undertaken on Partner Programs will be recorded on the student’s Whitman transcript including the grades reported by the program. However, grades from courses taken abroad will not be used in the calculation of Whitman semester and cumulative grade-point averages. Students may apply need-based financial aid and merit scholarships that they receive through Whitman College to the fees of Partner Programs, as calculated by the Office of Financial Aid Services. Listed below are Whitman’s affiliated off-campus studies programs, referred to as our Partner Programs. For further details about program options, please refer to the Off-Campus Studies website at www.whitman.edu/ocs.

U.S.-Based Programs (Semester)

Advisors: Susan Holme, Nadir Ovcina, and Helen Kim

Whitman College encourages qualified students interested in pre-professional internships, urban issues, government policy, acting training, and oceanography to consider participation in one of the four U.S.-based Partner Programs described above. Students interested in these programs must complete a Whitman OCS Application in myOCS and receive approval for their proposed course of study from the Off-Campus Studies Committee prior to enrollment in the program. Students can gain access to the application after a minimum of at least one advising appointment with a Whitman OCS advisor. Academic work undertaken on U.S.-based Partner Programs will be recorded on the student’s Whitman transcript including the grades reported by the program. However, grades from these off-campus programs will not be used in the calculation of semester and cumulative grade-point averages. Whitman College grants no academic credit for work experience or internships per se, though it may grant credit for academic coursework linked to internships.

Students may apply need-based financial aid and merit scholarships that they receive through Whitman College to the fees of these U.S.-based Partner Programs, as calculated by the Office of Financial Aid Services. Applications and additional information about the programs can be obtained from Off-Campus Studies (Memorial 205).

The U.S. Partner Program deadlines are the same as the overseas program deadlines listed above, with the following exception:

Semester	Deadline
Spring 2026	October 8, 2025
Fall 2026	April 9, 2026
Spring 2027	October 7, 2026

List of OCS Partner Programs (Semester and Academic Year)

The following off-campus studies (OCS) programs are Partner Programs of Whitman College approved by the Off-Campus Studies Committee (OCSC) for transfer credit. To apply credit from an OCS program toward their Whitman degree, students must apply to the Off-Campus Studies Office for OCS approval and be granted admission by their chosen program. Students are not permitted to transfer credit from fall semester, spring semester, or academic year courses offered by study abroad programs or foreign universities other than those on our approved list below. Whitman College reserves the right to withdraw programs from this list at any time for safety, security, health or other reasons.

Africa

Cameroon
- Middlebury School in Cameroon
Ghana
- CIEE: University of Ghana Arts & Sciences
Morocco
- IES: Rabat – Study in Rabat
- SIT: Morocco Migration and Transnational Identity
South Africa
- CIEE: University of Cape Town Arts & Sciences
- SIT: South Africa International Relations and the Global South
Tanzania
- SFS: Tanzania Wildlife Management Studies

Asia

Cambodia
- SFS: Cambodia Environmental Justice & Mekong Ecologies
China
- CIEE: Shanghai China in a Global Context
Indonesia
- SIT: Indonesia Arts, Religion, and Social Change
Japan
- Associated Kyoto Program (AKP)
- CIEE: Tokyo Arts and Sciences
Korea
- CIEE: Seoul Arts and Sciences
Nepal
- SIT: Nepal Development, Gender and Social Change in the Himalayas
Taiwan
- CET: Taiwan

Europe

Austria
- IES: Vienna European Society and Culture
- IES: Vienna Music
Czech Republic
- CIEE: Prague Central European Studies
- CIEE: Prague Film Studies
Denmark
- DIS Copenhagen
England
- BADA: London Theater Program
- IES: London Health Practice & Policy
- IES: London – Study London
- IES: London Theater Studies
- IES: Queen Mary, University of London
- IES: University College London (UCL)
- IFSA – University of Oxford
France
- IES: Nantes French Language Immersion and Area Studies
- IES: Paris French Studies
- Middlebury: Studies in Paris Program
Germany
- IES: Berlin Language and Area Studies
- IES: Berlin Metropolitan and Urban Studies
- IES: European Union
- IES: Freiburg Environmental Studies & Sustainability
- IES: Freiburg Language and Area Studies
- Year of Study in Munich
Greece
- College Year in Athens (CYA)
Hungary
- AIT Budapest (Aquincum Institute of Technology)
- Budapest Semesters in Mathematics (BSM)
Iceland
- SIT: Iceland: Climate Change and the Arctic
Ireland
- IFSA – University College Dublin
- IFSA – University of Galway
Italy
- Syracuse University Florence
- IES: Milan Italy Today
- IES: Milan-Music: Voice, Composition, & Instrumental
- Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies (ICCS) in Rome
- IES: Rome – Study Rome Language and Area Studies
Netherlands
- IES: Amsterdam – Conservatorium van Amsterdam
- IES: Amsterdam – Psychology & Sciences
Scotland
- University of St Andrews
Serbia, Austria, & Hungary
- SIT: Belgrade, Budapest and Vienna Comparative European Perspectives on Conflict & Democracy
Spain
- Middlebury: Getafe Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
- IES: Granada – Study in Granada
- Middlebury: Madrid Sede Prim
Sweden
- DIS Stockholm

Latin America & the Caribbean

Argentina
- IFSA – Argentine Universities Program
- IFSA – Study in Buenos Aires: Psychology & Neuroscience
Chile
- SFS: Chile Wild Patagonia – Fire & Ice
- SIT: Chile Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment
Costa Rica
- CIEE: Monteverde Sustainability and the Environment
- CIEE: Monteverde Tropical Ecology and Conservation
Ecuador
- SIT: Ecuador Comparative Ecology and Conservation
Mexico
- IFSA – Mérida Universities Program
Panama
- SFS: Panama Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies
Turks and Caicos
- SFS: Turks and Caicos Marine Resource Studies

Middle East

Israel
- Hebrew University (Rothberg International School)
Jordan
- CIEE: Amman Middle East Studies

Oceania

Australia
- IFSA – University of Melbourne
- SFS: Australia Rainforest to Reef
New Zealand
- Frontiers Abroad: Geology of New Zealand
- University of Otago

United States

Massachusetts
- Sea Education Association Semester
Washington, D.C.
- AU Washington Semester Program

Whitman Summer Studies in China

The Whitman Summer Studies in China program is a six-week Whitman faculty-led summer program founded in 2001 and administered in cooperation with Yunnan University in Kunming, China. The program is designed to give students an opportunity to strengthen their conversational Chinese language skills and learn about contemporary Chinese society firsthand. Participants enroll in a four-credit, intensive Chinese language course at the university and a two-credit Seminar in Chinese Studies course taught by the Whitman faculty director of the program (see AMES200 Special Topics: Summer Seminar in Chinese Studies). Admission to this program is by application in the preceding Fall semester. All continuing students (first, second and third-year students) regardless of major are eligible to apply. Course prerequisites include successful completion of Chinese 106 or a higher-level Chinese language course. Need-based scholarships for program fees are available to qualified students from the David Deal China Exchange Endowment. The program is typically offered every other year and will be offered again in Summer 2025 in China.

Non-Whitman Summer Programs

Students who wish to transfer credit from non-Whitman summer study abroad programs should complete the Summer Study Abroad Transfer Credit Application available through the Summer (non-Whitman) program brochure in myOCS accessed through the Off-Campus Studies homepage. It should be submitted online no later than three weeks prior to the summer program’s actual application deadline. Students who are seeking summer study abroad options for credit should first review the guidelines on the Off-Campus Studies homepage at www.whitman.edu/off-campus-studies/getting-started and consult with a Whitman advisor in Off-Campus Studies about suitable programs prior to selecting a program. Prior approval from Whitman is required to transfer credit from any summer course taught outside the United States. Transfer credit will not be granted retroactively if a student has not received prior approval from Whitman Off-Campus Studies.

Special Programs

Special Programs