Fulfilling Credit Abroad
Fulfilling Credit Abroad
Education Abroad credit can look a little different depending on the class format and/or how the credit comes back to CU. You are responsible for knowing the Academic Policies and credit implications for all of the classes and credits you earn abroad. To determine how your coursework will count towards your CU degree requirements, review the following steps and resources:Step 1
With your academic advisor(s), determine what specific degree requirements you should plan to fulfill while abroad.
Step 2
Research the classes you can take abroad:
- Use your program's webpage to find program-specific academic info.
- Use the Course Approvals List to determine if the courses you are interested in are already approved for the credit you need/ want.
Step 3
Complete the appropriate course planning and evaluation forms linked below. Course evaluations can take 3-5 weeks, be sure to submit forms early!
Course Planning & Evaluation Forms by School / College
Course planning and evaluation procedures vary by school/college. To view the course planning and evaluation forms relevant to your school/college see below. Before completing the form, be sure to review the important considerations below and those outlined on the forms themselves.
Note: if you're completing an internship, use the Internship Credit Approval Form instead of the forms linked below.
Note that while most A&S departments will complete course evaluations based on a course description, the following departments require more robust documentation be submitted with an evaluation request:
- Art History: students must submit syllabi and the faculty credentials of all new course evaluation requests
- The following departments request syllabi for all new course evaluation requests:
- Art Practices
- Psychology & Neuroscience
- Sociology
- Major/Minor/Certificate Evaluation Form
- A&S Gen Ed Evaluation Form - use this form for A&S Gen Ed requests as well as any requests for new Non-Business Elective evaluations
Use the following course evaluation form for all engineering requests, as well as any Humanities & Social Sciences evaluation requests:
- CMCI Major, Minor, and Core Evaluation Form
- Note: CMCI students must provide syllabi for all new course evaluation requests. If you cannot find syllabi on your program's website, reach out to your program manager through your provider (e.g. CIEE, ISA, etc.) and/or contact your Ed Abroad Program Manager
Important Considerations when Submitting Course Evaluation Forms
-
Submit a different form for each major, minor, or certificate course evaluation, do not list course evaluation requests for different departmental approvals all on one form.
-
Major/Minor/Certificate evaluations should be sent to the appropriate academic advisor. If you are submitting courses to be evaluated for minor credit, be sure to list your minor advisor on the first step of the form.
-
Do not include any A&S Gen Ed classes on this form as your academic department cannot evaluate courses for this kind of credit.
-
When possible, try to have twice as many courses approved for the credit you need as you plan to take abroad. This will give you backup options in case courses are canceled, you have scheduling conflicts when registering, etc. Allow yourself as much flexibility with the degree requirements you’re trying to fulfill abroad as possible.
-
It can take several weeks for evaluation requests to be processed, so start on this early.
Understanding A&S Gen Ed Requirements
- A&S Gen Ed requirements are a required component of A&S, Business, Music, and Education students' degree requirements and include requirements such as Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, etc. Review the descriptions of A&S's General Education Requirements to gain a better understanding of the course content needed in order for a course to be approved for a specific Gen Ed area.
- Courses must be considered an Arts & Sciences course in order to fulfill and A&S General Education requirement. Subsequently, ed abroad courses traditionally taught in other schools/colleges at CU, such as Engineering, Business, CMCI, etc. are unlikely to be approved.
- The following A&S Gen Ed requirements are difficult to fulfill while abroad and cannot be fulfilled by taking a class that will come back to CU as less than 2.7 credits, even if they are listed as approved on the Course Approvals List:
- Written Communication - courses must be focused on the technical aspects of writing in order to be approved for Written Communication. Courses that focus on creative writing and/or travel journaling are unlikely to be approved.
- Diversity Requirements - courses must explore and focus on the ways in which marginalization has occurred and the reasons for this marginalization in order to be approved for a Diversity requirement.
- Courses already approved for A&S Gen Ed requirements can be found on the Course Approvals List
- When courses are evaluated for A&S Gen Ed, they are considered for all areas. If a course has been determined to either be not approved for any A&S Gen Ed, or approved for one or more specific areas already, it is not eligible for any other Gen Ed areas.
- Internships and independent study classes cannot fulfill any A&S Gen Ed requirements.
- If your program does not have courses already approved for the A&S Gen Ed requirements you're trying to fulfill while abroad, you can submit the A&S Gen Ed Evaluation Request Form.
Tips on submitting courses for evaluation
- If a course is on the Course Approvals List for A&S Gen Ed, it has been evaluated for all areas, and is not eligible for any other areas.
-
Courses already listed as pre-approved for the credit you need on the Course Approvals List don't need to be submitted on this form. Let your advisor know that you're planning on completing some Gen Ed requirements while you're abroad, though, and they'll let you know if they have any concerns about your academic plan.
-
Courses approved for A&S Gen Ed Diversity and Written Communication requirements must be worth at least 2.7 credits at CU. Other A&S Gen Ed courses do not have a minimum credit requirement.
-
When possible, try to have twice as many courses approved for the credit you need as you plan to take abroad. This will give you backup options in case courses are canceled, you have scheduling conflicts when registering, etc. Allow yourself as much flexibility with the degree requirements you’re trying to fulfill abroad as possible.
The vast majority of courses on CU Boulder-approved programs are traditional academic subjects and will be accepted by CU Boulder as elective credit at the very least. However, a small number of courses on study abroad programs (e.g. cooking, recreation, tourism classes) are not eligible for CU credit. Review the full policy, the criteria for what designates a class as not-for-credit, and how you can determine if any classes you're interested in might be not-for-credit on the Academic Policies page.
Internships, Service-Learning & Independent Study Courses
Some classes that you take abroad may be customized to your interests and experiences. In these cases, courses usually will not receive a blanket approval from the campus because your experience and learning outcomes from the course could be very different from another student taking the same class. See below for what these kinds of classes are and how the credits may come back to CU if you take one of these classes.
See the Internships page for full details on all your internship options.
-
CU Boulder Global Internships: While you intern abroad you are enrolled in a CU Boulder course that complements the internship and a CU Boulder faculty member teaches the academic coursework remotely. You receive a letter grade for the course you complete and you can work with your academic advisor to determine what degree requirements the course can fulfill.
-
All other internships: An academic department at CU Boulder must approve your internship in order for you to earn CU Boulder academic credit for this course (some students decide to complete internships not-for-credit).
-
A&S students: by default, your internship course will apply towards your general/overall degree hours (towards graduation). It will not count towards your A&S total hours nor your major-specific hours unless you get additional approval from your major department by submitting the Internship Credit Approval Form.
-
All other majors/degrees: connect with your academic department or college regarding your internship plans and complete the Internship Credit Approval Form. If you do not complete and submit the Internship Credit Approval Form or the internship is not approved, you will not receive credit for your internship. Not receiving credit for your internship could mean you are under-enrolled as a full-time student while abroad, which could impact your financial aid and scholarships back at CU.
-
Credit earned on CU Boulder education abroad for service-learning and independent study courses are recorded as general elective credit only unless approved by your department for specific major credit. Note that some departments restrict the use of service-learning and independent study courses toward meeting major requirements. Use the Major, Minor, Certification Evaluation Form if you'd like your department to evaluate one of these kinds of courses.
Last Updated: August 2024
Photo - Bolivia by Abby McConnell