Reasons for Petitioning
Possible Reasons for Petitioning
Off-list program: The Office of Global Learning maintains a list of pre-approved programs on the OCS website. A study abroad program that is not named on this list is considered off-list. Students who wish to study on an off-list program need to petition. Students who plan on being away for the full year on two different programs and who would like to participate on an off-list program during either semester must petition before they leave to study off campus.
Incomplete graduation requirements: Students who have not completed a combination of the QSR requirement (1 QSR course), PE requirement (2 PE tests and 3 PE classes), or writing requirement (3 WI courses) need to petition. If only one class requirement is left to complete, a student does NOT need to petition. In this case, students need to complete the Acknowledgement of One Incomplete Requirement form.
Incomplete language requirement: Students must meet the language requirement if they are interested in studying in a country that speaks a language taught at Hamilton. Students must pass a course or otherwise show proficiency at the following levels:
Fourth semester (140) – French, German, Russian, Spanish
Second semester (120) – Arabic, Italian, Chinese, Japanese
Second semester (120) – any language offered by Hamilton Critical Languages program on a regular basis
Environmental Studies majors may be exempted from the study abroad language requirement if they attend one of the pre-approved environmental studies programs.
Classics majors are exempted from the Italian language requirement if studying on a Classics program in Italy for which the focus is on classical studies and languages. Classics majors studying on a Classics program in Greece do not need to enroll in a Modern Greek language course if they are studying a classical language.
Low GPA: Students who have a study abroad GPA lower than 2.7 need to petition. The study abroad GPA is calculated by averaging the GPA of the two consecutive semesters preceding the last semester at Hamilton before studying abroad.
Transfer student with only one semester at Hamilton: Transfer students who have only one semester of Hamilton grades need to petition.
Study abroad outside of first or second semester junior year: Since studying abroad is typically reserved for the junior year, students who wish to study their second semester sophomore year or during their senior year need to petition. Some academic departments require their concentrators to reside on campus in the senior year and enroll in courses specific to their senior project. Students who need, for good reason, to study abroad in the last semester of the senior year need to be aware that they must be in a program that can guarantee completion and receipt of official transcript by the Registrar's Spring Due Date which is May 10. Failure to receive the official transcript by this date means that a senior abroad will not be eligible to graduate with the class. Because of the academic calendar of many universities abroad, it is difficult to comply with this requirement. For that reason, approval of a petition to study abroad in the last semester of the senior year may not be approved. Please consider this carefully before deciding to study abroad in the spring semester of the senior year.
Personal Extenuating Circumstances: From time to time personal extenuating circumstances such as illness, family issues, and other personal issues may be an important factor in your choices. It is your choice whether to discuss these personal issues in your petition, but if they are pertinent to your situation we recommend that you discuss this with a study abroad advisor or the Assistant Dean of Off-Campus Study. Petitions are treated with the highest confidentiality and are circulated only to those in a position to make a decision.
- See Petitioning Process to find out what steps you need to take to file a petition.
