Students from a wide variety of concentrations are able to incorporate at least one semester of study abroad into their academic programs. Not only humanities and social science concentrators, but also students majoring in the sciences and arts can find high-quality programs that will meet their academic needs. 

 

All study abroad requires planning, but students in some departments may find that fulfilling their requirements on campus and/or transferring credit from study abroad for their concentration requires particularly early planning. Look at information from departments of interest to you to learn what their concentrators need to know to study abroad.

ART

Art concentrators planning to study abroad should consult with a member of the department, particularly the chair or faculty members they plan to study with in their senior year, as early as possible. The department requires concentrators to take the junior seminar course in order to prepare for their senior year. Art students must complete a 300-level course in the same area as their intended senior project before the end of the junior year. Although these requirements may limit the study abroad program choices available to some art students, the department recognizes and supports the invaluable experience of study abroad.

 

CREATIVE WRITING

Creative writing concentrators may not transfer credit for any creative writing workshops taken abroad. By following the department's Study Abroad Planning Guide for Creative Writers, however, creative writing majors can fulfill their requirements and still participate in study abroad.

 

ECONOMICS

Economics majors should be aware that they must take the required courses Economics 265,275 and 285 at Hamilton College. You may not transfer credit for these courses. You should plan to complete all three courses PRIOR to study abroad as you may not be able to do so in your senior year. In addition, students may not count any transferred courses for 400-level credit, and so cannot fulfill the required two electives at the 400-level or above in this way. You may, however, transfer credits for electives at the 200 or 300-level. You should not take and transfer credit at the 300-level for any course that substantially overlaps a 400-level course you intend to take at Hamilton.

 

Finally, The Department does not approve for transfer credit courses that are not fundamentally economics courses; do not have sufficient prerequisites (e.g., at least one introductory level course in Economics for courses taught at the 200- or 300-level); are not sufficiently rigorous; or are not appropriate to the liberal arts mission of the College.  Courses in Business, Accounting, Management and Marketing typically WILL NOT be approved for transfer credit.

 

Students applying to the Hamilton College Junior Year in France Program must have at least French 200, although excellent students who have studied through French 140 may apply. It is important that students have at least some experience writing in French prior to taking university courses in France. The department will award credit toward the major for most courses taken in France, provided they are taught in French and pertain in some way to France. Consult the College Catalogue or the Department website for more information.

 

The Mathematics Department requires that one of the two required courses, Modern Algebra (Math 325) and Real Analysis (Math 314), be taken before the fall of senior year. Students planning to go abroad in spring of the junior year should therefore take one of these courses before leaving. No course at the pre-calculus level may be transferred for College credit of any kind. Students planning to spend a full year studying in a non-native language will need to plan carefully to be able to meet all the concentration requirements, as the Department advises that you not take Math courses in a non-native language.   Students going for only one term or who will be studying in their native languages do not usually have problems meeting the requirements.

 

The Philosophy Department strongly encourages concentrators to finish Philosophy 201, 203, and ideally, 355 by the end of the sophomore year. 
The department strongly encourages study abroad. Students should take Sociology 301, 302 or both, if possible, prior to studying abroad in their junior year. Both courses must be taken at Hamilton. Courses in related disciplines, such as anthropology, social work, or urban studies may be transferred for credit as sociology electives with departmental approval. Because Sociology 549 and 550 (senior thesis courses) are required and taken in the senior year, sociology majors should not be off campus during their senior year.

THEATRE

Theatre students contemplating study abroad should be aware that certain courses required for the concentration are taught only in alternating years, and are not available as independent coverage: Theatre History (307) and Advanced Acting (301) are currently among those courses.  Theatre History is generally taught during the fall semester, while Advanced Acting is generally taught during the spring semester.  Thus, students wishing to study abroad should either fulfill
these requirements prior to leaving campus, or should make sure that they will be taught during a semester following their return.

Credit toward the concentration is usually granted only when a course is similar to a required Hamilton theatre course, in its catalogue description and syllabus.  Credit is usually not granted for technical courses, either in acting or design, or for courses consisting largely of attendance at productions.