Taking a Leave of Absence
Graduating in four years is not a moral or practical imperative.
About 10% of A&S students take a leave of absence for one or more semesters during their undergraduate career. With the end of mandatory retirement ages, the delay of social security benefits, and increased longevity, you will all have ample opportunity for a long career even if you graduate five or six years after matriculation. Taking a leave does not forfeit your eligibility for eight semesters of financial aid.
Take a leave if you would like to obtain:
- Career experience in an internship or job
- Experience in community or political action (volunteer or paid)
- Time for a special project
- New academic direction or re-kindled faith in academic study
- Financial reserves
- Renewed self-confidence and health
How to Take a Leave of Absence
See your advising dean, who will discuss with you your reasons and plans for your leave and give you the appropriate form. You forfeit much tuition if you take a leave once the term has begun. Consult the tuition refund schedule in Courses of Study.
Your individual circumstances will determine the type of leave you may take:
Personal Leave
- You are in good academic standing.
- You take the leave for an upcoming semester before classes begin in the current semester.
- You may return within five years.
- You must contact your advising dean by August 1 if returning for a fall semester or January 1 if returning for a spring semester.
Conditional Leave
- You are experiencing difficulties or choose to take a leave after the semester has begun.
- You must (normally) remain on leave for at least two semesters.
- Your advising dean or the college faculty's Committee on Academic Records stipulates additional individually appropriate conditions for returning from leave. These conditions are intended to ensure that you are ready to return to and succeed in full-time study.
- You must meet these conditions in order to return to full-time study.
Health Leave
- You consult Gannett/University Health Services about this option; the college will grant and readmit you from a health leave only upon the recommendation of Gannett.
- If you are taking a leave for emotional or psychological reasons, your leave will usually be for at least six months and will stipulate therapy and activities to undertake while on leave.
- If you are in academic difficulty, the college may stipulate additional conditions for your leave.
- If you have incompletes on your record, you will not be allowed to return until these have been resolved.
Earning Credit While on Leave and Returning from Leave
On the back of the leave form you will find all the information you need about transferring credit earned at other institutions while you are on leave and returning from leave. The most important stipulations are:
- You may not use credits earned on leave to reduce the terms of residence in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell below eight.
- Transfer credits and courses, while counting toward the 120 and 34 required for the degree, do not count among the 100 credits required in Arts and Sciences at Cornell. Nor may they count toward breadth or distribution in the social sciences and humanities.
- You may not transfer credits from study abroad.
- You must satisfy any conditions for returning to the college and apply for readmission at least six weeks before the beginning of the term.
Enjoy your leave! Send your advising dean and academic advisors postcards.
