What Counts For Course Credit when Studying Abroad?

I’ve been on a lot of study abroad forums over the past few years and one question that is constantly coming up is whether or not courses taken abroad count for credit at home colleges and universities. This will differ from school to school and program to program so your best bet is to research what classes your school will award credit for, and get written approval of the classes you plan on taking.

Step 1: Check with both the study abroad office and the registrar’s office at your home college or university to see if they will award you credit from the school you plan on attending while you’re abroad.

Step 2: When you definitively know where you’ll be going abroad, start looking at your abroad school’s course catalogue. Make a list of classes that you think you’ll want to take and gather every bit of info you can about them.  Look for the course number and title, number of credits assigned by the host school, course description, evaluation (quizzes, tests, exams, papers, etc.), syllabus and a reading list.  The more information you have on the course, the more likely you will get it approved for credit.

Step 3: Bring your course summaries to both your academic dean and your academic advisor and if possible, get their written approval so you don’t get rejected when they tell you a course doesn’t count after you’ve already finished your final exams.

Final Notes:

Take a look at your transcript to make sure you have a grip on your progress toward your major/ minor and common or general requirements.  Lastly, confirm that you’ll be allowed to enroll in classes at your home college or university for the semester you return.