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Course Credit for CESA and VT
Faculty-Led Programs
If you
participate in a Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA)
program or a Virginia Tech faculty-led program, you do not need
to make special arrangements to have credits transferred back. These programs provide direct
Virginia Tech credit with grades.
Course Credit for All Other
Programs
Course Approval
For any other
program, you must arrange to have the courses transferred back to receive
credit. Obtain pre-approval before you depart for
credits you wish to take abroad by following these steps:
1
Print course descriptions for the courses you would like to take
abroad, usually from the school's website.
2 Get the
"Permission to Take Courses Elsewhere Form" from your college
Dean's Office or from one of the websites listed on the
contacts page.
3 Fill
out the "Permission to Take Courses Elsewhere Form" with your
academic advisor by matching the study abroad courses to
Virginia Tech courses. Include one or two courses more than the
normal load at the institution where you plan to study in case
you find that a course has been cancelled at your host
institution. Before meeting with your faculty advisor,
please review the
credit
approval guidelines set forth for faculty
by our office. Because your advisor may not be familiar
with these guidelines, take a copy of the guidelines with you,
or kindly suggest that the faculty member read through them beforehand.
4 Return
the form to the contact person for your college listed on the
next page.
*Although we recommend approving
courses before you depart, approval can also be obtained upon
returning. You should bring back relevant course
information including a broken down syllabus.
Credit Transfer
Credits transfer
from study abroad, but grades do not. Your Virginia Tech GPA
will not be affected by your time abroad, but if you apply to
graduate school, your transcripts from your study abroad
experience may be examined during the application process. To
receive transfer credit (T), undergraduate students must receive
the equivalent of a final grade of C or better, and graduate
students must receive the equivalent of a final grade of B or
better. Check our
grade
equivalency chart to determine what grade
you need to achieve in your host country to get academic credit.
Transfer
Students
Check with your
department and academic advisor about the maximum number of
credits that may be transferred into Virginia Tech from other
schools to be sure you are not exceeding any existing credit
transfer limitations. The 2004-2005 Undergraduate Course Catalog
states, "
All students earning degrees from Virginia Tech
must have earned a minimum of one-fourth of the credit for their
respective degrees from this institution. The senior year, with
a minimum of 27 hours, must be completed in residence, or 27 of
the last 45 hours must be completed in residence, provided that
only approved courses taken in absentia are transferred to
complete requirements."
Transcripts
You must arrange
for your final transcript from your host institution to
be sent back to the Education Abroad Office. When we receive
your transcript, you will be asked to come to the office to
review it before it is sent to the Registrar's Office for
recording on your VT transcript.
Enrollment
Students
applying to study abroad through a non-Virginia Tech program
will be considered to be on a leave of absence during the period
they are not registered at Tech, and they will not pay any
tuition or fees to Virginia Tech. Do not sign up for classes
for the semester that you will be abroad. If you do, you must
submit a withdrawal form to the Registrar's Office.
Students may be absent from Virginia Tech for three semesters
without having to reapply to the school.
Suggestions
If you are struggling to find
courses that will transfer back, consider the following types of
credit. Our office cannot help you obtain credit for courses.
You must work with faculty, and credit assignments are at their
discretion.
1
Each country has its own credit
system, so the same number of credits at VT may not match the
number of credits designated for a foreign course without
further consideration. For
example, 2 credit courses in Australia have more hours per
semester in the classroom than a 3 credit course at Virginia
Tech. Instead, use the following guidelines to assign credit.
You may need to show your faculty advisor evidence as to the
amount of time and effort required to complete a course. This
can usually be done with an academic calendar and weekly course
schedule or with a daily course syllabus.
2
In-major courses will be matched
by content. No courses will match Virginia Tech
courses exactly. If a majority of subjects are covered in both
courses, you should get credit. Credit may not be assigned if
the courses differ in key areas, because you may struggle in subsequent
courses.
3 Core Credit - Courses will
often be transferred in if they meet the objectives of a Core area
even if they do not match the description of a current VT
course. For the Virginia Tech computer system to count
credits as Core credits, courses must be transferred in as an
existing Core course. Consider transferring in the foreign
course as the next closest course carrying Core credit. For
example, Aboriginal Studies may be transferred in as
Introduction to African Studies. A British course called The
History of Rock Music may transfer as Music In America.
4 Upper-Level In-Major
Electives - High level courses at the host institution that
directly relate to a your major can often be transferred to
VT and designated as upper-level in-major electives. This allows
you to add uniqueness to your degree by taking courses not
offered at Virginia Tech. Many departments have a list of
in-major electives to choose from, and foreign courses may
satisfy the intent of this list without being offered at
Virginia Tech. These courses may transfer in with a general code
as follows. Grassland Science may transfer as CSES 3XXX
Elective, and Sensors and Actuators may transfer as ME 4XXX
Technical Elective.
5 Combining Courses - Because
courses are transferred by content, the content of two
foreign courses combined may match the combined content of two
VT courses even if neither course is a one-to-one match.
In this case, you should get credit for two VT courses if
you pass both foreign courses.
6 Honors Credit - Research
and/or independent study credit is often arranged for field
studies programs. You can complete independent studies
while abroad by maintaining email contact with the faculty
advisor for the independent studies.
7
Credit By Exam/Independent Study - This option is good for
students with strong academic backgrounds and a need to
complete a certain course while abroad that are not offered at
the host school. With this option, you obtain the texts for the
course and learns independently on their own time. Frequent
contact with the Virginia Tech faculty member who teaches the
course is necessary to ensure that you focus on the right
subjects. After learning the material, you take an exam
administered by the Virginia Tech faculty member. If the
professor deems your knowledge adequate, then you will receive
credit for the course. Independent learning can also supplement
a foreign course that does not quite cover enough topics from a
Virginia Tech course to count for transfer. Forms for credit by
exam can be picked up at the Registrar's Office. |
