Getting Academic Credit

                                                                
Ideally, study abroad will be an integral part of your UConn experience!  If planned carefully it will enhance your education significantly without increasing the number of semesters required to graduate.  While studying abroad through UConn's Office of Study Abroad, you remain registered at UConn and thus receive UConn grades and credits.  As early as your first year in college, discuss study abroad with your academic advisors, specifically how it fits into your overall academic plan. 

General Information

Courses taken on an approved Study Abroad program receive UConn course numbers, UConn credits, and UConn grades, which appear on your transcript.  All grades are factored into your GPA.

Courses taken on all UConn study abroad programs need to receive UConn course numbers through a process called "Course Accreditation." Faculty Evaluators 3.25.13 in each department/school review course syllabi and other course material in order to approve and assign appropriate UConn numbers.  The process should be completed within two weeks of starting your courses.

You may submit a Pass/Fail Request Form for one course within the first two weeks of the class. Such a course still needs to be accredited, and you must receive a letter grade in the course from the foreign institution. Courses placed on Pass/Fail do not satisfy General Education Requirements, major and minor requirements or any school or college course requirements. Pass/Fail credits may not be acceptable when a student changes majors or schools within the University. Pass/Fail credits may not be transferable to another institution.

To receive credit for an internship, the internship experience has to be part of a graded course listed on the transcript from the foreign institution; and before you leave UConn, you must have approval for that internship credit from an academic department faculty evaluator.

The Office of Study Abroad maintains individual program lists of courses that have been previously accredited. Go to the specific program brochure on our website to find a link to the Course Equivalents under the Academics section of the brochure.

The Course Accreditation Process

Course accreditation is a joint effort by the Office of Study Abroad, faculty from the departments awarding credit and the individual student.  

Step 1:

After you have selected courses, either before you depart or when your course registration is completed in your study abroad location, check the list of previously accredited courses (go to your specific program brochure) to see if your courses have already been approved.  

Step 2:

If the courses you are taking are on the list, you don't need to do anything further. The accreditation process is already complete. If you are on a UConn-led program or on most third party programs, your grade reports will be automatically sent to the Office of Study Abroad at the end of the semester. If you are studying at a foreign university as an exchange or directly enrolled student, you will need to ask your host institution to send your study abroad transcript to the Office of Study Abroad. The Office of Study Abroad will then forward your processed grades to the Registrar where they will be entered on your UConn transcript. For more information, go to Grades on our website.

 If your courses do not appear on the accredited list, you must proceed to Steps 3 and 4.

Step 3:

Obtain a syllabus and course description for each course not on the approved list. The syllabus must contain a list of topics covered in the course, required readings (including page numbers or chapter headings), assignments (including papers), and exams (including information about the exam format). A course description alone will not suffice and if the instructor's syllabus does not include the above information, please ask him/her to help you append the specifics.  If the syllabus and the course description are in a foreign language and you want to get the course accredited by a department other than the foreign language department (e.g., history, political science), you must translate them into English, or have someone else translate them.

Please be very sure to retain all notes, exams, papers, handouts, and any other course materials until the course has been finally approved by the UConn Faculty Evaluator and accredited by the Office of Study Abroad.  The evaluator may wish to examine these items to assess the work you've done and the credit you received.

Download or print out the Course_Accreditation_Form (also found under "Downloadable Forms" on our website).

Submit the syllabus and form to the appropriate department evaluator for each course you plan to take (i.e. if you take a sociology course abroad, you must submit the course documentation to the sociology evaluator).  Click here for the list of Faculty Evaluators 3.25.13. You may email, mail, or fax all the information to the evaluator.

In your email, you should address faculty appropriately by introducing yourself, politely making your request and offering to meet with them and provide any additional materials they may need. Once the evaluators have approved your courses, you should ask them to email, mail or fax the completed form to the Office of Study Abroad and send a copy to you. For each course accredited, you will need a separate form. It is up to you to verify that the Office of Study Abroad has received all course accreditation approvals. 

You can begin this process as soon as you have a syllabus, either before you leave or after you're on site and registered for classes. It may be necessary for some students to get their courses accredited after the completion of their program.  Please note: the Registrar's Office requests that you accredit all the courses that appear on your foreign transcript before we (the Office of Study Abroad) can send them your grade report--from which they'll post your credits and grades on your UConn transcript.   

Contact Information: Office of Global Programs/Study Abroad
368 Fairfield Way, Unit 2207
Storrs, CT 06269
860/486-3609  
FAX: 860/486-2976
dorothea.hast@uconn.edu