Eligibility

To be eligible for semester-long Macalester study away approval, you must:

• Be at least a second-semester sophomore by the time you study away. First-year students, first-semester sophomores, and transfer students who enter as juniors may not participate in study away programs.
• Be enrolled at Macalester the semester preceding your semester of study away. You may not take a leave of absence the semester prior to studying away. If you take a leave of absence from Macalester to study away independently, you cannot receive Macalester credit or financial aid for the experience.

• Be current in your Macalester Student Account (no outstanding payments).
• Complete Macalester mandatory pre-departure requirements, including attending an in-person orientation session.

• Have appropriate academic standing and conduct status with the college (see full policy below).

Macalester eligibility must be met at the time of application and maintained until departure.

Note: Macalester eligibility does not determine eligibility for specific study away programs. Universities and programs may have different eligibility requirements than Macalester. Factors such as GPA, previous coursework, probationary status, co-curricular activities, and more may be considered as part of program admission. You may receive conditional approval from Macalester to participate in your program if you do not initially meet these criteria. CSA staff will continue to monitor your progress until it is time to directly apply to your program or complete post-acceptance requirements, should applying directly not be applicable. Should you not meet eligibility at that time, you will be given instructions to select a different program, defer study away to a future semester, or, if necessary, cancel participation.

For eligibility information about Short-Term Mac-Led Study Away Programs, please visit a different section of our website: Mac-Led Programs.

Strict academic or strict disciplinary probation

You may not be on strict academic or strict disciplinary probation during the semester immediately preceding the semester you plan to study away. You may, however, submit an application for study away while on strict probation, but any approval would be subject to the condition of getting off strict probation during the semester preceding study away.

A student approved for study away who falls into strict probation between the time of approval and the program start date will have approval revoked, consistent with the above guidelines. Due to the academic calendar, this could happen at the last minute. You will be responsible for any financial consequences that result from cancellation of your study away approval.