Academic instructions

Overview

Overview

You can find an updated PDF version of the Academic Instructions for 2020/21 here: Academic Instructions - Year Abroad 2020/21 (PDF , 238kb)

Requirements

In order to pass the year abroad and proceed into the final year of a 4-year degree you have to:

• Register at the chosen university/universities and follow a full programme of courses (30 ECTS per semester or 60 ECTS per year) including examinations and assessment
  OR
  Take up the allocated post as an English Language Assistant or any other approved work placement and complete your duties satisfactorily

• Sign the Learning Agreement for Studies (study placements. Note that by signing the Learning Agreement for Studies you formally commit yourself to attending these modules and to taking ALL the related assessments and exams. Please be aware that the Learning Agreement for Studies must match the transcript issued by your host university and the Semester Attendance Form.
  OR
  Sign the Learning agreement for Traineeships or a Tripartite Agreement/Training Agreement (convention de stage) as a contract between you, the Department and your host institution(s)/organisation(s) setting out your duties and responsibilities.
• Submit at the end of each semester evidence showing that you have completed your placement successfully. Depending on your type of placement this will be
• a Semester Attendance Form (for study placements)
• a Certificate of Service (for BC Assistantships)
• a Traineeship Certificate (for work placements)

• Submit 2 essays to York according to the regulations detailed below and receive a pass mark for BOTH essays.
  (Note for French and History students: one essay is submitted for French, and the other, written in English, is submitted for History.)

Contact details and progress

Make sure you send us your address, phone number and email address as soon as you arrive, as well as give these details to your school mentor, with emergency contact details. Furthermore, you should contact us throughout the year to inform us of your progress.

Your York supervisor will usually be unchanged and you should stay in contact with them throughout the year.

If exceptional circumstances occur which might affect your ability to complete the year abroad the assessment, you will have to follow the same procedures as in York. You will have to inform your supervisor in York and submit an Exceptional Circumstances Claim Form and supporting documents such as doctor’s letters etc.

Programme and credits (study placements)

‌Programme and credits

Programme

Your programme comprises two parts:

• Language Assistants: The completion of your contractual duties (eg 12 hours of teaching per week) as an English language assistant
• Exchange Students: The registration for the necessary ECTS credits and completion of your modules at your host university, including all exams and assignments
• Work Placements: The completion of your contractual duties in your host company

1. The two essays you submit to York, which need to be passed in order to get the necessary credits for York. The marks that you obtain in your essays will not be averaged into your degree.

Credits

Your year abroad counts for 120 York credits out of a 480 credit degree, which means the first and second semester count for 60 credits each.

Exchange Students

If you study at university you must register for at least 30 ECTS per semester (60 ECTS for the year).

The modules you take at your host institution will be divided into three roughly equal  components.

Two Languages:

a) At least 30 ECTS per year (20/semester): modules taught in the language of the host country

b) At least 5 ECTS in your second language (if available at the host institution)

c) At least 10 ECTS per year modules (5 ECTS/semester) in linguistics if you plan to choose linguistics modules in your final year.

One Language and Linguistics:

a) Approx. 40 ECTS per year (20/semester) modules taught in the target language

b) Approx. 20 ECTS per year (10/semester) modules in linguistics

History and French:

If you are taking the History dissertation module in final year, you are permitted to take a slightly reduced credit load in order to allow you to allocate time to your History dissertation research in France.

If you are studying at university for a year:

• You will take between 48-52 ECTS over the year.
• We recommend you take 30 ECTS in Semester 1 and 18-22 ECTS in Semester 2

If you are combining university study with a work placement:

• You will take 18-22 ECTS at university. Your work placement is worth 30 ECTS

If you are not doing the History dissertation module in final year, you have to take 60 ECTS (30 ECTS per semester).

At university, we recommend that at least two-thirds of your selected modules are History ones.

For Philosophy students, the Philosophy Department recommends that you take some Philosophy modules but it does not impose any number of credits.

Semester Attendance Form

All students must also take a Semester Attendance Form (provided by the Year Abroad Coordination) to every module convenor/tutor towards the end of the module, and have it filled in confirming you have attended the module and handed in all assessments and exams. You have then to submit the completed form back to your year abroad coordinator by uploading it to your corresponding placement folder and to upload a copy to Mobility Online for the Centre for Global Programmes. Please be aware that the Semester Attendance Form and the Learning Agreement for Studies must match the transcript of records issues by your host university. It is your responsibility to arrange with the host institution for your marks to be forwarded to York.

Essays

Essays

Guidelines

Year abroad essays must be:

• Typed
• Submitted by exam number
• Including the academic misconduct declaration
• Submit electronically on the 'Language and Linguistic Science Assignment Submissions' area, available on the main page of your university VLE.
• Post-marked no later than the deadline

Please keep a copy of your essays.

Essay 1: Towards the end of the first semester you must submit a 2000-word essay in the target language of the country in which you are studying/working.

Essay 2: Towards the end of the academic year you must submit a second 2000-word essay, in the target language of the country in which you are studying/working.

Content

The essays must

Investigate some facet of the society and culture (current affairs, history, institutions eg Presidential elections) of the country in which you are studying/working.

Note for History and French Students: for the essay for the History Department, please contact the History Department for details.

It is your responsibility to determine whether your topic falls under the rubric concerned. If you are unsure as to whether your chosen topic falls within the guidelines, you may consult York staff for advice. The topics you choose must not substantially overlap with any work already submitted for assessment for any module studied in York.

Referencing

The normal departmental requirements regarding referencing etc. apply to this essay as much as to any other. You must reference all your sources (see the Department handbook), including internet sources, and you must mark direct quotations with appropriate punctuation, number examples etc. Plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct will, as always, be treated very seriously.

Collusion

You may not employ the help of a native speaker if that involves checking and correcting your work. You may however discuss the topic with native speakers and gather ideas. You may also have a native speaker read the essay and give a general comment, but no specific discussion of mistakes is allowed.

Calendar

Calendar for submission

*(In some cases, the Semester Attendance Form or Traineeship Certificate can be submitted later (for example if semester finishes after that date, or the work placement is not finished).