Bethel University has long recognized the importance of offering its students a wide range of off-campus educational opportunities in both domestic and international locations. Such experiences are a significant part of the academic program at Bethel, providing an opportunity for expanded understanding of the world. Bethel offers several faculty-led programs as well as a wide variety of programs within third-party organizations, consortiums, and universities around the globe. Students must attend Bethel at least one semester before participating in an off-campus studies program.

The Office of International and Off-Campus Programs advocates for and serves in building and boldly moving forward quality, inclusive, and accessible study away programming designed for students of any academic discipline, ability, background, or financial means. For a complete listing of program offerings and application information, visit Bethel's study abroad website. 

Several components of the General Education curriculum are intended to prepare graduates for life in the interconnected, mutually dependent global community. The off-campus, cross-cultural experience (Z) course requirement can be met by successfully completing an approved off-campus experience. 

Programs Offered

Bethel Faculty-Led Programs

January | Summer

Bethel offers faculty-led January programs for undergraduate students each year.

Faculty-led January session courses are about 3 weeks in length and are announced at the Spring Study Abroad Fair for the following January.

Bethel Third-Party Programs

Semester | January | Summer

Bethel partners with a wide array of both Christian and secular third-party providers to give students a great variety of semester, January, and summer program options located all over the U.S. and the globe.

Intercultural Engagement Endorsement

When students study off-campus for a semester, they able to count that experience toward an endorsement in intercultural engagement. This endorsement combines academic courses, campus activities, and off-campus experiences to equip them with skills to interact, communicate, and collaborate with people across cultures.

Enrollment Requirements for Students

In order to study away, students must still have an active registration at Bethel. Students cannot audit off-campus course.

Grades and Credit Transfer

• Faculty-Led Programs:
  • Faculty-led programs are Bethel courses and do not require a transfer process.
  • Grades for faculty-led programs are factored into the GPA as usual.
• Third-Party Programs:
  • For students participating in approved third-party programs, credits earned will normally transfer to Bethel.
    • However, to ensure that this credit will transfer to Bethel to meet specific requirements, it is strongly recommended that students complete the course petition process BEFORE going abroad.
    • For courses transferred in from a foreign university, students will need to earn the equivalent of a C in the course for Bethel to accept the credit. Bethel will not transfer in failing grades.
    • Letter grades for each course will appear on the transcript but will not be factored into the GPA.
  • Programs for which Bethel grants the credit (Semester in Segovia) will be factored into the GPA as usual.

Residency Requirement

• Freshman must complete at least one semester on campus as a fulltime Bethel student prior to studying abroad (with the exception of programs designed for first-year college students).
• Seniors must meet Bethel's residency requirements when participating in an off-campus program.
  • Courses taken through Bethel third-party provider programs meet residency requirements.
    • In order to receive formal documented approval for studying off-campus during senior year, students must complete the Residency Requirement Petition.
  • All faculty-led courses meet Bethel's residency requirements and do not require a petition.