Study Abroad

Studying abroad is an immensely enriching academic, personal and professional experience. Colby offers many exciting programs and economics students take full advantage of them. This page gives guidelines and describes procedures for getting credit for courses taken abroad that are applicable to Economics majors and Managerial Economics minors.

Initial Procedures

Off-Campus Study at US Institutions or During the Summer

Students planning to transfer academic credits from other U.S. institutions or from summer or JanPlan courses at foreign institutions must request pre-approval using the Application for Transfer of Credit form. Approval must be obtained before taking course(s). Courses must be approved by the Economics Department Chair or Associate Chair. Course description(s) from college catalogs are required.

Study Abroad During the Academic Year

Students planning to study abroad during the academic year need departmental and college approval for the proposed courses and academic institution and should take the following steps.

Step 1: Explore the college’s Off-Campus Study website: https://life.colby.edu/offcampus/. You will find information about Colby-approved programs, the College’s study-abroad application process, and all other aspects of studying abroad at Colby. This will answer many of your preliminary questions.

Step 2: If you have additional questions, make an advising appointment with the Off-Campus Study office (located in DavisConnects) to talk with OCS staff about your interests and potential programs.

Step 3: Submit the appropriate applications. You must submit a “Statement of Intent” to study abroad by November 15 of the academic year prior to the year you plan to study abroad. You must also submit the Colby Course Approval Form for Off-Campus Study by February 20 of the year before your proposed abroad experience.

The Colby Course Approval Form for Off-Campus Study indicates the program that you hope to attend and requires the approval of your academic advisor. You will also need to list the courses you hope to take abroad and receive pre-approval for their transfer to Colby. General-credit courses toward the 128 credits required for graduation can be approved by your academic advisor. Economics courses can be approved by your Economics academic advisor, if applicable, or the Economics Department Chair or Associate Chair. Courses that you wish to count toward other majors or minors or toward distribution requirements must be approved by the OCS faculty liaison in the appropriate department: for example, credit for courses for the Sociology major would require the approval of the Sociology OCS faculty liaison.

You also need to apply to the specific study abroad program that you intend to attend. Your program application will have a deadline determined by the specific program. Some programs have fixed deadlines, while others have rolling admissions with no fixed deadline – but it is often the case that the earlier you apply, the better your chances of being accepted. Consult the Off-Campus Study Office for deadlines.

Getting Credit Toward the Economics Major or Minor

Students should request pre-approval for Economics credit for courses taken off-campus or abroad abroad using the Colby Course Approval Form for Off-Campus Study described above. Economics majors should present this form to their Economics academic advisor, although advisors may refer course approval requests to the Economics Department Chair or Associate Chair. Economics minors should present the form to the Economics Department Chair or Associate Chair. Please complete the department’s requirements checklist and bring it to the meeting with the advisor or chair/associate chair.

You must provide course catalog descriptions (including course prerequisite information) when requesting course pre-approval. In cases in which the course descriptions and other available information are insufficient for the faculty member to make a reasonable judgment about a course’s suitability for credit toward the major or minor, pre-approval will not be granted; you may be able to receive Economics credit upon your return to Colby by providing course materials (e.g., syllabus, exams, course notes) to the Chair or Associate Chair for review.

It is normal for students’ plans to change between submitting the Colby Application for Approval and enrolling at the study abroad institution. There is no need to re-submit the Application for Approval; instead, you may request credit upon your return to Colby by submitting the Application for Economics Department Credit for Study Abroad/Off-Campus.

The Registrar’s office will process Economics equivalence credit after courses are completed and the College has received transcripts from the host institution. It is your responsibility to submit either the Colby Course Approval Form for Off-Campus Study or the Application for Economics Department Credit for Study Abroad form, and to confirm that they have been processed by the Registrar’s office and that Economics course equivalence is noted on your Colby transcript.

Credit will be earned only for courses that are fully completed, including final exams. In British universities where both “class grades” and “exam grades” are given – e.g., the London School of Economics – no credits will be given for a course in which an exam grade is not received.

Department Rules for Off-Campus and Study Abroad Transfer Credit

You may receive credit at the 200-level or above toward the Economics or Economics-Financial Markets major or the Economics minor for a maximum of three courses taken off campus. EC121, EC133, and EC134 do not count toward the three-course limit. For majors, at least 3 of the upper-level core courses (EC223, EC224, EC293, and EC393), as well as the senior seminar course, must be completed at Colby.

To earn 300-level credit, elective courses must require prerequisites that are equivalent to Micro and/or Macro Theory (EC223 or EC224) and must demonstrate a sufficiently high level of rigor in the syllabus and written work required in the course. Courses with only introductory-level prerequisites (i.e., the equivalent of EC133/EC134) will be eligible for 200-level elective credit only.

Not all courses that have the word “economics” in the title are Economics courses. If, after reviewing the course material, we find that a course fails to contain a sufficient amount of economic content, then you will not receive Economics credit toward the course. Business, marketing, and management courses generally are not eligible for Economics credit.

General Advice

When selecting courses to take abroad, plan for any prerequisites for courses that you plan to take in your senior year.

This is a good chance to broaden your exposure to other topics not offered in our curriculum, so take advantage of it when possible.

If you will be away during the spring of your junior year and you are interested in pursuing a Senior Thesis or Honors Project, talk with potential advisors before you leave in your junior year. It will be difficult to start a year-long research project from scratch in September of your senior year.

Studying Economics in Sweden

Learn more here.

Questions?

For further information contact the Economics Department Off-Campus Study Advisor:

Professor Jim Siodla
Diamond 359
[email protected]