GYA Accredited Program

In July 2020 Irish Gap Year was delighted to become an accredited gap year program provider with the Gap Year Association (GYA).

We are the first gap year program provider in Ireland to achieve this accreditation and we are honoured to be a full accredited member of the GYA family. Our policies and procedures have from our inception been based on the standards and framework set by the GYA. These have now been recognised and accredited officially. We look forward to continuing to evolve and develop under the mentorship of the GYA.

The following is an extract from the GYA’s own website describing in their own words what they do.

“Founded in 2012, the Gap Year Association is the only national non-profit working to coordinate the growing Gap Year Movement. As a public benefit not-for-profit Association with members, we believe that all intentional gap years have significant and positive practical outcomes, whether independent or as part of a formal program.

The GYA focuses on four core areas: Research, Equity & Access, Resources, and finally Standards and Accreditation. Each year we advance gap year research with member-initiatives, an annual State of the Field Survey, and regularly direct larger research efforts such as the 2015 and 2020 National Alumni Survey. We also believe strongly that young adults of all walks of life benefit from an intentional gap year and thus work to promote scholarships, as well as inclusivity efforts within our membership and the broader community.

In fact, it is our aspiration that all gap year students should have access to a semester worth of transferable college credit that is supported with access to FAFSA dollars – college may not be right for everyone, but a quality gap year will profoundly impact many more than just the student who takes one. Finally, the GYA is the Standards Development Organization for Gap Year Education in the US, as recognized by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.”