Off-Campus Study

The world is your classroom. All Hope students have access to semester, year-long and short-term study opportunities abroad. Choosing to study off-campus will enhance your language skills by providing opportunities for you to practice with native speakers every day — and can help you earn your degree even faster. It’s not a matter of if you go, but when. We recommend your junior year.

If you plan well, with the help of your professors and advisor, spending a semester abroad can help you meet both general education and language major requirements, allowing you to double-up academic credits and earn your degrees in less time.

Considerations

• The recommended time to study abroad is generally junior year; however, some students study abroad as early as their sophomore year, especially if they began at Hope with a higher language proficiency.
• All classes taken in the target language transfer back as credits for the minor or major in the language.
• You can take certain general education requirements abroad. Note that if you take these courses in the target language, you can receive credits toward your language major or minor and also have the general education requirement met.
• Sometimes this is also possible with credits counting toward the discipline of a second major. Early and careful planning is key.
• It is important to meet with your academic advisor regarding courses you plan on taking off-campus and how this fits within your academic plan, particularly credits counting toward your major (and provide appropriate course descriptions).

Featured Programs

• UPAEP – Universidad Puebla
• CYA – College Year in Athens
• IES Beijing – Contemporary China & Chinese Language
• Meiji Gakuin University Exchange
• IES Berlin – Language and Area Studies
• IES Paris – French Studies

Department May Terms

• Spanish and Andalusian Art and Culture in Malaga, Spain
• Hope in Puebla, Mexico
• Hope in the South of France

Programs by Language

Through the Center for Global Engagement, Hope College offers many options for language students to study off-campus. Take a look:

• Classics
• French
• German
• Japanese
• Mandarin
• Spanish

In addition to off-campus study opportunities during the academic year, Hope offers several May term programs of particular interest to language students. See our program listing for courses offered.

“There was a moment two months in when everything clicked: the language, the city and the people. I realized that I was no longer a foreigner living in Santiago, but a student who could understand and express himself.”
—Collin Thomas ’19