College-run study abroad options provide students "a chance to apply their knowledge to an unfamiliar situation" and gain "global citizenship," according to Associate Dean of the Faculty for International and Interdisciplinary Studies Lynn Higgins, who has led 15 Dartmouth-led study abroad terms. Higgins said transfer terms have a number of disadvantages, notably that a maximum of four credits may be obtained from transfer terms.
The cap was put in place to maintain "the integrity of the Dartmouth degree," according to College Registrar Meredith Braz.
Kit Dauten '14, who is currently on a transfer term at the University of Sydney in Australia, said in an email to The Dartmouth that she decided to take a transfer term because her major, psychology, does not offer a study abroad program, and she has "always wanted to go to Australia." The popularity of Dartmouth study abroad programs at least 50 percent of College students participate in one or more LSAs or FSPs as an undergraduate, according to the Off-Campus Programs Office website also make them restrictively selective, Dauten said.
"Dartmouth is an extremely competitive place, and of course its highly qualified student body wants to study abroad all around the world," she said. "However, so few people are selected to each program."
Braz said that students tend to take transfer terms due to "scheduling issues" fitting FSPs or LSAs of interest into unique D-Plans can prove difficult for some students or a dearth of opportunities provided by Dartmouth that fit their interests. A student's ability to enroll in a transfer term, however, can be impeded by an institution or a program's lack of compatibility with the D-Plan, Higgins said.
Merideth Lathrop '14 said she is considering a transfer term to take classes relating to her planned future career, occupational therapy, that are not offered by Dartmouth. She also mentioned that her major, neuroscience, has no corresponding study abroad program at Dartmouth.
To receive Dartmouth credit for a transfer term, students must receive prior approval from the appropriate academic department. While transfer credits can fulfill major, minor and distributive requirements, they cannot satisfy Dartmouth's language requirement. The transfer term classes must also "be an integral part of a liberal arts and sciences undergraduate curriculum," according to the Office of the Registrar's website.
Transfer terms further differ from Dartmouth programs in the availability of College financial aid and fees.
"Financial aid is not available for a student on a transfer term because basically, you're on a leave [term]," Higgins said.
Braz pointed out that although financial aid is not available for those on transfer terms, students on exchange programs terms spent at other institutions that have a pre-established arrangment with the College do receive financial aid.
Students who participate in a transfer term must also pay an application processing fee of $2,200 for Winter, Spring and Summer transfer terms and a $1,100 fee for Fall transfer terms. The fee increased from $25 to $1,100 beginning in the 2011 Winter term as part of the College's effort to close the $100-million budget deficit. The new fee structure, with variable fees for different terms, took effect at the beginning of this term, according to the Off-Campus Programs Office website.
The transfer fee is not an unusual amount, according to Braz, who said that some schools require transferring students to pay full tuition for that term. She said the high fee is due to "the cost of not having someone here" but still saving the student's place. The College encourages students who wish to take a transfer term to do so during Fall term, when enrollment on campus is typically highest.
Dauten noted the limiting nature of Dartmouth-run study abroad programs, which typically offer credits through a single department, citing the biology FSP as an example.
"If I wanted to study abroad in Costa Rica, I would have to take some biology classes and then while I am there take three more biology classes, which I am not interested in doing," Dauten said.
On her transfer term, by contrast, she said can study a wide range of topics at the location of her choosing.
While Higgins and Braz said they would encourage students to consider Dartmouth-organized programs before a transfer term, they agreed that transfer terms provide a necessary service to some students.
"I see transfer terms as an alternative for students who have not found the opportunities they wanted through Dartmouth programs," Braz said. "There isn't a one-size-fits-all."
Higgins described a Dartmouth off-campus program as a "package" with classes as well as organized extra-curricular experiences that are designed by the department faculty.
"The distinction between curricular learning and extra-curricular learning, that distinction breaks down because you're learning in class but you're also learning when you go out of class, in field trips, excursions and even walking down the street," Higgins said.
Deborah Yeoh-Wang '14 said that her FSP to Beijing provided students with a variety of trips and cultural activities planned throughout each week, including a mid-term trip to Tibet. Yeoh-Wang participated in the Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literature FSP this past fall.
"Going on these cultural excursions made my FSP much more enjoyable and inspired me to explore China on my own," she said.
Ada Cohen, an art history professor who is leading the art history FSP in Rome this spring, also said that excursions are vital to student learning.
"For our discipline, you study the material by being in physical contact and proximity with them," she said, explaining that the art history class she will be teaching this spring will not take place in the classroom, but in situ for example, a class about the Coliseum would take place at the actual landmark.
She described studying abroad as "mind-stretching" and "soul-stretching" because programs place students outside of their comfort zones.
