course equation
All students who participate on any study abroad program or exchange for any duration are required to complete the Study Abroad Transfer Credit Approval Form, available in the CIP and online at www.stmarys-ca.edu/studyabroad. .
Students are asked to find and print official descriptions of the courses that they intend to take at the institution overseas and ask the relevant department chair(s) to equate their course(s). Department chairs may request more detail concerning courses taken abroad. In these cases, students can try to get the course syllabi from the host institution or program provider. The CIP can assist them if necessary.
We recommend that students get more courses equated than they will need to take while abroad – when they arrive overseas they may find that some courses are not being offered, there may be schedule conflicts, or they may simply change their minds.
Note: Students are expected to maintain full-time status while studying abroad which means taking the equivalent of at least 12 U.S. credits. However, courses overseas are not always worth our standard 3 credits so don’t be surprised if a student plans to take more or less courses than they would normally schedule here at TU. For example, students in Australia generally take 4 classes per semester but each class is worth 4 U.S. credits so students will earn a total of 16 credits.
Once students have obtained course equivalencies from the department chairs they will bring the Study Abroad Transfer Credit Approval Form to their academic advisor for final consultation, review, and signature. Students then need to bring the form to the CIP where it will be reviewed and forwarded to the International Programs Coordinating Committee for final approval.
If students switch courses after they arrive they can get the new courses equated from overseas. Students can email the appropriate department chair their request together with the official course description(s) and ask the department chair to copy the CIP on his/her response. Students may also get in touch with their academic advisor at this point for guidance. In case students need to have courses equated after they get back, we remind them to bring any coursework and course syllabi home with them to make the process as easy as possible.
