How to Apply

Kenyon’s application process, completed through StudioAbroad.  

• The CGE offers advising appointments throughout the year in order to help answer your questions about off-campus study. Please make an appointment through Google Calendar. OCS advising appointments for the Class of 2027 will begin on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024 and must be completed by Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. Prior to your first appointment, please complete the short Advising Questionnaire in StudioAbroad.

• After you choose a program, you must interview with someone in the CGE to open your application for you. Early-deadline applicants* must complete their OCS interviews between Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, and Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Standard-deadline applicants must complete their OCS interviews between Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, and Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. These appointments should also be scheduled through Google Calendar.

• Following your interview, you will be able to begin working on your OCS application in StudioAbroad.

• Final decisions for OCS participation are made by the Faculty Subcommittee on Global Engagement. You will be notified of the decision by email to your Kenyon email address.

*About the early deadline: Normally, all students must complete their interview and begin their application by Jan. 24, 2025, and complete their application by Feb. 2, 2025. However, if your program provider has a deadline of Feb. 15, 2025, or earlier, you are considered an early deadline applicant and must complete your application (including an interview appointment) by Dec. 2, 2024. It is your responsibility to note your program deadline by checking the program provider's website. We will not accept applications that are not completed by Kenyon deadlines, and we cannot accommodate students who do not plan ahead. Kenyon-Exeter and Kenyon-Rome are not considered early deadline programs.

The process for approval to study off-campus is competitive. You are responsible for compiling the strongest possible application. The number of spaces available for off-campus study is limited.  Still, in most cases students who qualify are ultimately granted permission to study off-campus. Students applying for OCS for an academic year or a split-year (two programs in one year) must present a very strong case for this longer option. Because this process is a competitive one, some year-long or split-year applicants may be approved for one semester only. The CGE reserves the right to take disciplinary history into account when making final OCS approval.

Apply to the program(s) for which you have been approved through the program provider website (not through Kenyon).

• Program deadlines vary, so be aware of your program’s deadline requirements. For applications with rolling deadlines, apply as soon as possible after your Kenyon approval. IMPORTANT: The deadline listed in StudioAbroad is the Kenyon application deadline; you must check your program deadline on the specific program website.

Kenyon is committed to providing equal access to off-campus study for qualified students with disabilities. Not all OCS program accommodations are equal to those provided at Kenyon for students with disabilities. The CGE is confident that there is an appropriate program for every student and works with all students to find the programs that best fit their needs. Students are encouraged to self-disclose regarding any disabilities, so that the CGE can assist in finding a program with reasonable accommodations.

With approval to participate in OCS as a Kenyon student comes the obligation to complete the full cycle of programming that supports your experience: pre-departure orientation, the OCS program, re-entry debriefing and evaluation.

• Academic credit is earned on an OCS program only when you have carefully planned your course of study with a faculty advisor and the Center for Global Engagement, you have followed the correct application procedures, your application has been approved the Faculty Subcommittee on Global Engagement, and you participate in a CGE-approved program.

• You must submit the OCS Course Pre-Approval Form, approved by your academic advisor and major department chair, to the Registrar’s office prior to OCS departure.

• You must take the equivalent of 15-16 semester hours (= 1.87 - 2.00 Kenyon units) each semester. See the transfer credit key for credit conversions.

• You must take each course for a letter grade and receive a grade of C- or better in order for credit to transfer. Students will have letter grades for work done off campus whenever the course is taught and graded by a member of the Kenyon faculty, and the course is given credit in the department where the member is appointed. These grades will factor into the student’s GPA at Kenyon. All other OCS grades will be posted on the transcript as transfer credit but will not be calculated into the College GPA. Grades below a C- will be posted, but no credit will be awarded.

• Credit is not awarded for internships but is awarded for a course associated with the internship.

• Students who fail to follow College procedures regarding off-campus study, or who withdraw from Kenyon, and, thus, circumvent existing College regulations regarding off-campus study, are prohibited from receiving credit for coursework completed off-campus.

Students participating on OCS programs in a country where the official language is not English must take a language course while on OCS. This course must either be the primary language of the country or one that is prominently spoken in the locale of the OCS program. This policy applies to each semester of OCS participation. Failure to take this language course will result in no credit for any coursework from the OCS semester transferring back to Kenyon.Many programs require prior language instruction, and it is the student's responsibility to make sure they understand these requirements before applying. The CGE will assist students in understanding these requirements, but their intended program has the final say. Prior language instruction will be taken into account when making a decision on the student's Kenyon OCS application. It is imperative, therefore, that students articulate how their language background fits with their program choice and academic trajectory.

Kenyon students are not permitted to receive academic credit, or use funding provided by or channeled through Kenyon College for activities that are subject to a Travel Warning issued by the U.S. Department of State. Exempted from this policy are certain semester-long Kenyon-approved OCS programs.

For faculty wishing to take students for any activity where Kenyon is a sponsor, Kenyon credit is earned, transfer credit is earned, Kenyon funding is used, or Kenyon is the distributor of funds from an outside source, a waiver to the policy may be requested by submitting the following:

• The itinerary for all portions of the trip

• Plans for safety and security in response to the specific language of the Travel Warning

• Program and other support available to students while in the Travel Warning destination

• The specific academic justification for studying in the Travel Warning destination.

Petitions to waive the Travel Warning restriction will be read carefully by a committee comprised of: Director, CGE; Assistant Director (OCS), CGE; Manager of Business Services; Provost or Associate Provost; Dean of Student Development; and one faculty member from the Faculty Subcommittee on Global Engagement. Decisions will be based on careful evaluation of the petition’s response to the specific language of the Travel Warning.

Waivers apply to the specific program or project and not to the country as a whole. Waivers may be revisited or revoked at any time by the College, if circumstances change.

Petitions cannot be approved for countries under U.S. Trade & Economic Sanctions.

All students are required to be adequately covered by an insurance policy while participating in all off-campus study programs. 

Kenyon's medical insurance plan will cover students when they participate in off-campus study programs whether in a program in the U.S. or abroad. If students already have alternative medical coverage and elect not to take Kenyon College's insurance, the waiver must be completed and returned to the accounting office. The charge for insurance will not be removed from a student's bill unless the waiver is received. Each student must verify that any alternative coverage chosen will remain valid while off campus.

Students are not permitted to opt out of their OCS program housing to live in self-arranged (independent) housing. This prohibition does not include programs that assist students in finding apartments as a regular part of their housing process. The costs section of the website details included housing expenses.