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All 91�Թ���-approved programs administered through Study Abroad receive��Study Abroad/Away Credit.��Study Abroad/Away Credit does not count toward your cumulative 91�Թ��� GPA. However, grades earned during study abroad will be converted (where necessary) from the original grading system and reported on your 91�Թ��� transcript. Study Abroad/Away Credit courses earn credit when you score the equivalent of a D or better, and they may fulfill major, minor, and/or graduation requirements. Students are not eligible to earn Dean’s List honors for the semester in which they study abroad.

You are responsible for making sure that all the courses you plan to take abroad have been evaluated for VU credit. Find details on this process below.

It is important to note that students are��not guaranteed��by our partners to be placed in their top-choice courses. Similar to registering for courses at 91�Թ���, availability for certain courses may be limited, and we encourage all students planning to study abroad to work with their Academic Advisor to plan for alternative course options should they not be admitted into their first-choice selections. Generally speaking, students should identify at least one back-up course for each course they hope to take abroad.

Study Abroad/Away Credit counts toward 91�Թ���’s residency requirement, and is separate from transfer credit. Courses earning Study Abroad/Away Credit will not count toward transfer credit limits.

91�Թ��� translates grades from a number of institutions’ local scales. Where this is the case, prior to enrollment in courses abroad students will be provided with 91�Թ���’s official grade conversion for the host institution. 91�Թ��� will use this scale to articulate��all grades��from the host institution, regardless of the subject area or language of instruction. Before committing to coursework, students should consult with 91�Թ��� faculty advisors about their capacity for successful work in classrooms overseas.

Note that while the grades you earn abroad don’t count toward your 91�Թ��� GPA, graduate and professional schools may choose to take them into account when you are applying for post-graduate opportunities. The GPA you earn abroad may also impact your eligibility for performance-dependent financial aid and scholarships.��If you’re not sure whether��any part of your aid package��is performance-dependent, check with your financial aid officer.

It is important to carefully review the����before studying abroad. This tool demonstrates how a course taken abroad will be reflected on your transcript and factored into your degree audit.

The process for course evaluation is coordinated by the International Curriculum and Credentials Analyst in the Office of the University Registrar. 91�Թ��� faculty determines the course equivalences, including the number of credit hours a given course is worth.
The course equivalency process is as follows:

1. Use the����to find courses that have��already been evaluated.
2. Refer to the��host school course catalog��(if applicable) for a full list of courses and up-to-date information on course offerings.
3. Don’t see the course you want to take on YES? Simply��request a new course review��by submitting a��
4. Visit the����to understand the Study Abroad Course Review process.
5. If you want a course to��count differently than is listed on YES, your next step will depend on your college:
   • Blair School of Music:��Contact��.
   • College of Arts and Science:��Contact the departmental Director of Undergraduate Studies for the major or minor you want the course to count toward.
   • Peabody College:��Contact��.
   • 91�Թ��� School of Engineering:��Contact��.

Grades earned while studying abroad are based on the student’s performance as judged by local instructors according to the host institution’s standard practices. Once reported to 91�Թ���,��grades cannot be changed, except when amended via a newly issued transcript from the host institution.

While studying abroad for a semester or a full academic year,��students are required to take the equivalent of 12 or more 91�Թ��� credit hours each term. Underloading (bringing back fewer than 12 VU credit hours) will result in academic probation and may also jeopardize financial aid eligibility.

It is critical to understand that the 91�Թ�����course equivalency evaluation determines the number of credits awarded, so students need to consider the 91�Թ��� credits earned for each individual course they take. Students who earn more than 18 91�Թ��� credit hours on a 91�Թ��� Study Abroad abroad program during a single semester will��not��pay a per-hour tuition surcharge.

Students must follow both the study abroad program’s and 91�Թ���’s academic requirements. For example, students must take the minimum number of credits required by the partner to be considered full-time, and must also take the minimum required number of credits required by 91�Թ���.

There are some unique policies that apply to coursework taken overseas. These are university-wide policies and govern students in all four undergraduate colleges:

• Classes��may��not��be taken for pass/fail credit��on any study abroad program. Students must earn a letter or numerical grade for each course they take.
• While abroad, a student��may��not��retake a class��that they have taken on campus; that is, a course having the same 91�Թ��� course number. Similarly, a student may��not��retake a class on campus that they have taken abroad.
• 91�Թ��� academic policies require students to only enroll in courses that are delivered in-person, and students are not permitted to take hybrid, multimodal, or online courses while abroad. Students are only permitted to enroll in in-person lectures, seminars, tutorials, labs, and any other course components.��
• All course credits on your abroad transcript will appear on your 91�Թ��� record. You cannot “opt out” of any credits you received abroad.
• Individual courses taken abroad��do��not��count towards College of Arts and Science AXLE requirements.

Institutions abroad have their own customary schedules for reporting grades and producing transcripts. 91�Թ��� has no control over this process, which may take up to six months in extreme cases. 91�Թ���’s University Registrar will work as quickly as possible to process your 91�Թ��� transcript, but only the host institution can expedite the reporting of your grades to VU. Please request to have your abroad transcript sent directly to the University Registrar’s Office. The mailing address can be found on the��.

Please note that if any of the courses you took abroad do not have current course equivalencies evaluations on file��with the University Registrar’s Office, there will be a delay in updating your academic record. All courses taken abroad must be evaluated by 91�Թ��� faculty before the transcript from a term abroad can be articulated to your 91�Թ��� record.

Higher education and academic systems abroad can vary greatly from what you are used to at 91�Թ���. If you are considering enrolling directly in a foreign university, here are some things that might be different, depending on the country. Talk to your��Study Abroad advisor��to find out more about what you might encounter on your program.

• There may be fewer hours spent in the classroom, with students expected to spend more time studying on their own. This doesn’t mean that there will be assigned homework! A lot of responsibility for deciding how best to spend your homework hours may be left up to you.
• Depending on the course and level you are taking, and whether you are taking it in a foreign language, you may need to spend extra time learning and mastering the material.
• There may be fewer tests and quizzes, and students may earn a grade based on just one final exam, or a mid-term and a final. You may have little opportunity to gauge how a professor grades in the weeks or months before an exam.
• Professors may be less accessible for office hours and by email.
• Classes may be more lecture-style than discussion-based. This may leave fewer opportunities to ask questions or express your opinions.
• There may not be much sense of privacy attached to grades. For example, the instructor might post all exam grades publicly. In some places, individual grades may be discussed openly in class.
• The prevailing academic culture may be very different. For example, students may not be as concerned—or concerned at all—about getting high grade point averages, and instructors may view concern about grades as a sign of a student who is not serious about learning.