Eligibility & How to Apply

Source: https://bosp.stanford.edu/apply/eligibility-how-apply Parent: https://bosp.stanford.edu/

All BOSP participants are subject to and will be held accountable for the policies in this section.

Step 1: Determine Eligibility

Stanford undergraduates, who have sophomore standing or higher, are eligible to participate in a Bing Overseas Studies Program when they:

Have completed a minimum of 45 academic units
Have completed three (3) quarters of on-campus residency while enrolled full-time (not applicable to transfer students)
Have made satisfactory academic progress (not on academic probation or suspension at the time of participation)
Are not subject to suspension due to Community Standards or involuntary leave of absence
Have not conferred their undergraduate degree prior to the last date of residence of the program

Students on Academic Notice require the approval of a professional advisor in Academic Advising and BOSP to participate.

Frosh who will have earned 36-44 academic units in their first year may be eligible to participate and may consult BOSP for further guidance. Students registered with the Office of Accessible Education and taking a reduced course load should also consult BOSP for guidance.

International students should meet with the Bechtel International Center when making plans to study off-campus with BOSP.

Seniors or coterms are eligible as long as they do not confer their undergraduate degrees before they study away; students must keep an undergraduate status until and while they are away to remain eligible.

Students can apply to as many quarter-length programs as they wish in their Stanford career. For Global Seminars, preference is given to students who haven't already participated in a BOSP Global Seminar.

Step 2: Review Application Policies

You will need to review the Bing Overseas Studies Program (“BOSP") Participation Assumption of Risk, Release of Claims, Indemnification and Hold Harmless Agreement before you apply.

To determine an applicant’s qualifications, standing at the University, and readiness to participate in a program, the following offices may be consulted:

Dean of Students Office
Office of Residential Education
Office of Accessible Education
Academic Advising
Office of Community Standards
SHARE Title IX Office
Vaden Health Center/Counseling and Psychological Services

NOTE: Vaden will not share confidential health information with the program, but may identify a concern with an applicant’s readiness to participate, to be further addressed directly with the applicant.

BOSP reserves the right to revoke admission at any point prior to the program should there be any changes to a student’s qualifications, standing at the University, and readiness to participate in the program. BOSP will notify the student should there be any concerns, or if the student is no longer eligible to participate in the program.

Keep the following in mind when applying for a Quarter-Length program:

You will need to apply two quarters in advance for all programs (this does not count the Summer quarter).
There are two application rounds, both with different deadlines. Programs oversubscribed after the 1st round will not accept applications in the 2nd round. Students are encouraged to apply for their desired program in the first round since the program may not be available in the 2nd round. During the 2nd round, all students (including students who did not apply during the 1st round) are eligible to submit an additional application for another program.
Programs MAY decide to accept late applications if there is space available, if so a second application round will open for specific programs. Again, only one program can be selected at that time.
If you are waitlisted during a first round, and make a decision to apply second round to another program, you will need to choose which program status you would like to keep (either remaining on a waitlist or the alternate program). We are unable to accommodate multiple statuses.

Keep the following in mind when applying for a Global Seminar:

Students who haven't previously participated in a BOSP Global Seminar are given priority.
Applications will open towards the end of Autumn Quarter and will be due in Winter Quarter.
There are two application rounds, both with different deadlines. Programs oversubscribed after the 1st round will not accept applications in the 2nd round. Students are encouraged to apply for their desired program in the first round since the program may not be available in the 2nd round. During the 2nd round, all students (including students who did not apply during the 1st round) are eligible to submit an application for another program.
Students may only remain on the waitlist for one program. If you decide to apply for a program during the second round, you must first withdraw your initial application. By doing so, you will forfeit your place on the waitlist, allowing you to proceed with your second-round application.
You can apply to one program in each application round.
Results will be announced several weeks after the application deadline.

Applying for Multiple Quarters

The Bing Overseas Studies Program strongly encourages students to spend more than one quarter away, if possible. Students interested in spending multiple quarters at different locations must apply for a program during the application round for each individual quarter he or she wants to spend away. For example, if a student wants to attend Berlin in Autumn Quarter and Paris in Winter Quarter, he or she must apply for Berlin by the Autumn Quarter application deadline (in the winter quarter prior), and for Paris by the winter deadline (in the spring quarter prior). Students may participate in a Global Seminar after a Spring Quarter away or before an Autumn Quarter away providing that there are no overlap in program start or end dates. Students must apply for both programs separately.

Students already enrolled in a quarter-length program interested in extending their stay at a single location must submit an Extension Request.

Late Applications

In limited circumstances for some BOSP programs, it may be possible to submit a late application. Please refer to the Dates & Deadlines page to see if a program is accepting late applications.

Step 3: Apply

View our current application deadlines as well as future application deadlines, and then log in to the BOSP Application System to apply. The application consists of multiple essay questions so we advise you not to wait until the last minute to submit an application.

Step 4: Confirm your Accepted or Waitlisted Status

You will receive an email if you are accepted or waitlisted for a program. You must confirm or decline your accepted or waitlisted status by the confirmation deadline stated in the email. Log in to the BOSP Application System to confirm or decline your accepted or waitlisted status. Note: you may only confirm your status to one program in each quarter;

Accepted and Waitlisted Students

It is your responsibility to ensure that all prerequisites and participation requirements are completed before you study away. All participation requirements will be detailed on your application dashboard in the BOSP application system. If you do not complete all prerequisites and participation requirements, your admission will be withdrawn.

Waitlisted Students

There is no financial commitment to remain on the waitlist, though, we do expect that you are ready to participate. Only students on the waitlist who have completed all of the participation requirements will be accepted into the program as soon as space becomes available, even on very short notice. Please understand that it is impossible for BOSP to predict whether you will be accepted into the program. You may remain on the waitlist for as long as you wish.

Extensions & Withdrawals

Please visit the Extend & Withdraw section of the website to review the appropriate policies and procedures.