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Faculty Guide to Off-Campus Study

Welcome to the Center for Global Programs! We thank you for your support in helping Denisonians gain a global perspective on their education. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for any questions at globalprograms@denison.edu.

Academic Planning Form

Meet with your student to fill out Academic Planning Form and then sign it (digital signatures or scans of a written signature preferred). Helpful tips:
  • The standard course load for OCS programs may be as few as 3 courses or as many as 5-6.
  • Many programs have at least one required course.
  • Try to limit the number of required courses your student must take during the semester off campus to increase their possibilities for programs. ONLY list courses that they must take during the OCS semester.
  • If students could elect to fulfill a requirement while off campus but could also take it another semester on campus, please indicate that clearly so that we know where there is flexibility. 
  • Electives mean courses that count towards Denison elective credit, but not towards a major, minor or GE. Many majors have options to fulfill requirements (e.g. any 200-level ENGL course), please list these as a major requirement in the field on the left and then list a particular course number only if the student must take that exact course. 
  • The GE Competencies (e.g., P, Q, R, & W) should be completed on campus and not off campus!

OCS Program Selection

You can view all of our approved semester OCS programs in Global Tools. Students who are interested in Summer or January-Term options should visit this page that explains how to select programs for these terms. All students are required to attend a Group Advising session where an OCS Advisor from the Center for Global Programs walks students through the process of searching and selecting an appropriate OCS program. Some departments recommend specific programs through Departmental Advising Guides. 

Departmental Advising Guides

The Center for Global Programs is working with department chairs across campus to design and publish departmental advising guides. The goal is to have these guides aid students in navigating the off-campus study process by providing department-specific policies and recommendations. You can see the guides we've already published here. This is an ongoing project, and new guides will be added as the year goes on. 

OCS Application

For full details about the application process, timeline, and deadlines, visit our Application Process page. Students typically start the application process in the early fall of their sophomore year for programs starting the following summer, fall, and spring of the following academic year. Students start the process by opening an Advising & Program Selection application in Global Tools (on Application Process page). Denison limits the number of students approved for programs through caps, so please encourage students to apply as soon as they express interest to ensure the best chance of receiving a space on their first choice program. If students miss the application deadline, please instruct them to email our office right away so that we can talk to them about what alternative options are available to them. 

Course Approval for OCS Programs

The Registrar's Office provides detailed instructions for students to navigate the course approval process in MyDenison (must log in to view page). To ensure that OCS credit will transfer back to Denison, students must obtain transfer credit pre-approval before going off campus (note, however, that students studying with university programs will not always have their courses until they are on site; in those cases, students should secure approval at that time).

The Registrar's Office asks students to submit their course approvals in a single bundle to the Registrar's Office by the deadline below:
  • Summer / Fall OCS: April 1 
  • Spring or January-Term OCS: November 1
Forms students require for the course approval process:

*NEW* OCS Language Policy

Starting with the Fall 2024 cohort, Denison students studying in a non-English speaking country during the semester are required to take a foreign language course offered by the program or partner university. This requirement is waived for students with a documented language disability accommodation on file in Denison's Academic Resource Center (ARC). Some programs have long held this requirement, but going forward this will apply to all programs in non-English speaking countries. 

Additional Helpful Information to Share with Students

  • While students are off campus, a 12-credit generic “placeholder” is placed on the student's record (INTD 075 - 12 credits). Upon completion of the program, the number of credits shown on the student's OCS transcript will replace the “placeholder” credits.
  • Credits earned at another institution, including those earned abroad, are displayed on Denison’s transcripts in the upper left-hand side under “TRANSFER CREDIT ACCEPTED BY THE INSTITUTION.”
    • ​​​​​​​They will not display in the Denison credits area for semester abroad since the students did not attend Denison during that time.
    • ​​​​​​​Transfer grades display as “T*” where the “T” denotes transfer and “*” denotes the grade.
    • Transfer grades DO NOT factor into the student's Denison GPA.