About 45% of Vassar students spend a semester or a year at another institution either in the U.S. or abroad. Study abroad can be especially valuable for students majoring in foreign languages and literatures and international studies; it also complements work in other departments and programs, such as art history or Africana studies. Students planning to study abroad discuss the possibilities with their academic advisors and then submit an application to the Committee on Leaves and Privileges. To be granted permission by the committee, students must present a compelling academic rationale and meet various academic requirements (a GPA of 3.0 or better, for example, and language proficiency, depending on the country).
Study Abroad: Students wishing to study abroad may apply for Vassar sponsored programs, exchange programs, or pre-approved programs offered by other institutions. Vassar sponsors programs in Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; Clifden, Ireland; Bologna, Italy; Madrid, Spain; and St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition, Vassar offers exchange programs in France, Japan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. In addition, students may apply for pre-approved programs in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Central America, the Caribbean, and Latin America. More
Domestic Exchange Programs: Vassar students have the opportunity to spend one or two semesters at other American colleges and universities through a variety of exchange programs. Students may apply with the approval of their academic advisor to study for a year or a semester at Amherst, Bowdoin, Connecticut College, Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Trinity, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Wheaton, or Williams, all member colleges, with Vassar, of the Twelve College Exchange Program.
Additional options include a semester at the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theatre Center in Waterford, Connecticut, with academic credit sponsored by Connecticut College; and a semester of studies in maritime history and literature, oceanography, and marine ecology at the Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, with academic credit sponsored by Williams College. Students may also participate in exchange programs with the historic Black colleges: Fisk University, Howard University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College. In addition, Vassar offers a program in urban education in cooperation with Venture/Bank Street in New York City. Students interested in teacher certification, the theoretical study of education, or the study of cross-cultural education are interns in public schools and take three courses at Bank Street College. Vassar also offers semester-long internships and research projects in Washington, DC, that enable students to explore journalism, American government, and issues of public interest.
Click here for more information and the complete list of domestic study away programs.
Summer Programs: Offered through various foreign language departments at Vassar, summer study abroad does not require permission from the Committee on Leaves and Privileges. Vassar currently offers summer programs in Siena, Italy; Munster, Germany; Oaxaca, Mexico; Qingdao University in China; and Ochanomizu University in Japan. More
