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Study Abroad | Wellington
Fall 2024: Academics

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Select Your Program Option:

  • Fall 2024

  • Spring 2025

  • Fall 2025

  • Spring 2026

Please note this program will not be running in Fall 2024.

AcadEmics Overview

As part of this program, students have access to a large catalog of courses at Victoria University of Wellington.

The course titles and descriptions listed at the bottom of this page are examples of what is offered, but do not represent the full list of subjects or classes available each semester.

Review these instructions for how to search for courses in the Victoria University online course catalog: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/explore/other-quals/study-abroad-and-exchange/study-details?international=true#choosingcourses

To see a full listing of available courses visit: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/study/programmes-courses/courses.

Victoria University has several academic departments and classes that are not open to visiting students. Consult this list of restricted academic areas for details: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/international/applying/study-abroad-exchange-restrictions

Program Options

Program Name Early Start Available Credits Notes
Full Curriculum
Early Start Available: No Credits: Up to 16

A 5-credit internship course (FHSS Internship) with a work-based project while on a voluntary placement is offered through the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Most courses are recommended for 4 or 5 semester credits. The maximum course load in a semester is 16 credits, equivalent to 3 or 4 courses depending on course combination. The minimum course load is 12 credits. 

Specialized Study Abroad Program: Students select at least 3 courses from a particular study area and receive recognition on their transcripts of this specialization.

No AIFS participant is permitted to take a course without receiving a grade. Pass/Fail options are not available. 

Anthropology

Architecture

Area Studies

Art History

Communications

Criminal Justice

Economics

English

Environmental Studies

Foreign Language

French Language

Geography

History

International Relations

Linguistics

Management

Philosophy

Physics

Political Science

Religious Studies

Travel and Tourism

Academic Credit & Transcripts

Credit Transfer

As a part of the AIFS application for semester programs, you will complete a Course Approval Form, which will be signed off by your study abroad office staff and/or faculty at your university.

For J Term/Summer programs, no such approval form is needed; however, students are still responsible for ensuring credit can be brought back from their overseas program.
In any case, we recommend getting additional courses approved in case you need to change courses while abroad.

Overseas universities do not use the credit system employed by American institutions. AIFS students must make special arrangements to transfer credits, but since AIFS courses are given at recognized universities or the AIFS Centers (which are transcripted by Fairfield University), there usually is no difficulty in arranging transfer credit toward U.S. degrees provided the proper procedure is followed.

European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)

Many of the European institutions that AIFS works with award credits under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). ECTS enables cooperating institutions to measure and compare a student’s performance and facilitates the transfer of credits from the European institution to the U.S institution.

Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)

Language levels are defined according to the CEFR and will be listed on your transcript on completion of the program. CEFR organizes language proficiency into six levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) which can be regrouped into three broad levels according to the needs of the local institution: Beginner: A1, A2/U.S. Level 100; Intermediate: B1, B2/U.S. Level 200-300; Advanced: C1, C2/U.S. Level 400

Transcripts

When you complete your program, an official transcript is sent to your home institution directly from AIFS Abroad or the host university. Another official transcript may be retained by AIFS Abroad in Stamford, but this is not the case for all programs. Please contact transcripts@aifs.com to find out how to request additional transcripts. 
 
Generally, your school should receive your transcript 60 days after completion of the program. (Cannes Semester programs, Perth, Sydney, Dublin, Limerick, and Wellington Programs exception: Transcripts issued and retained by the host universities. Transcripts for the Cannes Semester programs are issued by Chapman University.)
 
Transcripts may come without an English-language translation, so participants will need to organize translations with their home university.

Academic Records

Credit assessment methods in overseas universities may not be comparable to those in U.S. universities. Grading may involve exams, papers, individual projects, class discussion or some combination of these. Although academic institutions abroad may grade on a variety of scales, admissions counselors and registrars at U.S. institutions are familiar with international grading systems and can convert grades.

Course Selection

AIFS Program Advisors are available to assist you in the process. The following procedure is recommended:

Read course descriptions for the selected program and select courses. Obtain approval from your academic or study abroad advisor for the preliminary courses selected. Final approval of credit transfer for completed courses is at the discretion of the Registrar or appropriate official at the home institution. Students must ascertain that courses taken meet their individual academic program requirements. Recommended credits in this catalog are based on 15 classroom hours per semester credit.

I would absolutely recommend this program. The trip has been such a positive experience. Wonderful program!

AIFS has a lot to offer. The more I talked to American students from other programs, the more I realized that AIFS was clearly the best choice

This program opened my eyes to a culture and society I knew very little about. I made great friends and had a fabulous time during the process. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

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