Eligibility:

In order to study abroad you must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.80 at both the time of application and the time of departure, and you may not be on Disciplinary Probation Level I or Level II at either the time of application or the time of departure. If you meet these requirements at the time of appliation but do not meet them at the time of departure, permission to study abroad will be withdrawn and you will be responsible for any financial losses (such as deposits and other fees) incurred to date. Note that many programs have more stringent minimum requirements (e.g. a 3.00 GPA).

Application Procedure:

IMPORTANT: The deadline for submitting your application – regardless of the deadline set by the host institution – is Friday, September 18 for spring-semester programs, and Friday, February 19 for fall-semester and year-long programs.

  1. Meet with your academic adviser in order to discuss your plans and conduct a “degree audit” – this will let you know what requirements you still have to fulfill in terms of both the Common Course of Study and your major(s), and how you will have to arrange your courses at home and abroad in order to meet these requirements; you should also discuss the best time for you to go abroad.
  2. Make an appointment with Dr. Michael Jordan, Director of International and Off-Campus Education (208 Scott Hall, ext. 5262) in order to discuss the options most suitable to your academic and cultural interests, and receive the necessary information and application forms.
  3. Fill out an online Preliminary Study Abroad Petition Statement. This should be submitted prior to your application; you will not hear back from the office unless there is a problem.
  4. If you already have a passport, make sure it is valid for at least six months after the end date of the time you plan to spend abroad – many countries require this six month buffer, and will not allow you to enter if your passport expires within that time period. If you need to apply for or renew your passport, do so immediately – you may want to pay the extra fee in order to expedite it, since processing time for a new passport is currently 10-12 weeks, and you will need to have your passport in hand in order to apply for a visa if one is required by your study abroad program.Official passport photos are available at CVS Pharmacy (6 for $7.99) or Walgreens (2 for $7.99), both of which are located on Sullivan Trail Rd. (en route to Metzgar Fields). Completed passport applications may be turned in at the Prothonotary’s Office of the Northampton County Courthouse (any time during business hours), or at the U.S.Post Office located at 201 Ferry St. in downtown Easton, by appointment only . To schedule an appointment at the Post Office, call (610) 253-4151. You will need to take your completed forms, an additional government-issued ID (a driver’s license works well), and two separate checks (they will tell you how to make them out).
  5. Once you have selected the program(s) to which you intend to apply, fill out the application forms. Please apply online if you have that option, then print off a hard copy of your completed application and turn it in to Ms. Banas. If you do not have the option of applying online, fill out the application and turn it in to Ms. Banas; she will mail it to the program after making a copy for your file.
    • Most programs require letters of recommendation from faculty members. Be sure to politely request these letters at least two weeks in advance, providing your professors with appropriately addressed and stamped envelopes as a courtesy. It is also helpful to provide them with a list of the courses you have taken with them, and a representative sample of your work (such as a final paper).
    • Official transcripts are obtainable from the Registrar’s Office in Markle Hall, and can be mailed by the Registrar directly to the host institution.
    • Application fees (currently ranging from $0 – $75) are payable by check, credit card or money order, depending on the program’s policy.
    • Some programs require additional sets of passport sized photos with the application – these may be obtained at CVS or Walgreens (see #4 above), or they may be obtained free of charge from the Office of Public Safety at Lafayette (please contact Jim Meyer at ext. 5330, or meyerj@lafayette.edu, for details).