Step by Step: Course Approvals and Transfer Credit

• Students complete a Course Pre-Approval Form in order to:
  1. outline NC State course equivalencies
  2. determine how courses will fulfill degree requirements and fit into the degree audit
• Students must get at least the equivalent of 12 NC State credit hours approved for a semester abroad by their program application deadline. Approval of backup or alternate classes is highly recommended.
• As a contingency plan, students may enroll in on-campus courses to their study abroad experience until they receive an official acceptance letter from the host institution. Students should drop any on-campus backup courses upon formal acceptance to the program, confirmation of housing abroad, and well in advance of the term’s census date.
• The Study Abroad Office will enroll students in an SAO 300 or SAO 310 course placeholder to maintain their enrollment at NC State and to reflect their study abroad experience. Students should not drop this placeholder class or complete a university withdrawal while studying abroad.

• If you need to get additional courses approved, please complete the following steps:
  • Email your Department and College Approvers with a description of the new course or syllabus
  • Confirm which degree requirement(s) the new course(s) will fulfill
  • Forward the email to your Study Abroad Advisor, who will attach the new approvals to your original course approval form
• Students must ensure that their host university will send an official transcript to the Study Abroad Office at the end of the program.
• Grades/markings abroad might be different than what students are used to at NC State. For more information about grade equivalencies, click here.

• Students should ensure that the host university will send an official transcript to the Study Abroad Office at the end of the program. Electronic transcripts can be sent to study_abroad@ncsu.edu. Transcripts need to come directly from the host institution and we cannot accept transcripts provided by students.
• Study Abroad receives the international transcripts and forwards the transcripts to the College Coordinator for each students’ first major, along with the course approval forms.
  1. Study Abroad uploads the international transcript to the student’s document center in myPack
  2. For any courses not previously approved on the course approval form, students should submit a syllabus or equivalent to the appropriate college coordinator (along with any relevant email correspondence completed while abroad regarding the NC State equivalency)
• The College Coordinator submits transfer credit information to Registration and Records to enter completed coursework on each students’ NC State degree audit.
• Students meet with their academic advisor or department undergraduate coordinator to ensure that courses are applied appropriately to the degree audit.

Per NC State policy, credits taken abroad through any program external from NC State (exchange, direct enroll, affiliate/third-party, or partner program) are considered transfer credits and will not be included in the calculation of your GPA. Courses taken for transfer credit will not be listed on your NC State transcript, but your transcript will not your study abroad experience.

NC State courses taken through NC State Group Programs or NC State Prague will be included in the computation of students’ GPAs and be listed on their NC State transcripts.

Host university registration timelines will vary from school to school; some students will register for courses in advance while others may not complete course registration until arriving in country.

After you arrive on-site, if you need to get additional courses approved, please complete the following steps:

• Email your Department and College Approvers with a description of the new course or syllabus
• Confirm which degree requirement(s) the new course(s) will fulfill
• Forward the email to your Study Abroad Advisor, who will attach the new approvals to your original course approval form

The College Coordinators will review your transcript from abroad and determine the grade and credit hour equivalent. For issues or questions about how your courses abroad are showing on your degree audit, please contact your college coordinator or academic advisor.

Classes cannot be taken pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory.

Undergraduate students need to receive at least the equivalent of a C- in order for the credits to transfer. Graduate students must receive the equivalent of a B or better.

Students studying abroad for a semester should have at minimum twelve (12) credit hours approved. We highly encourage students to get additional courses approved in advance in order to have backups prepared for course registration at your host university.

While students may take an NC State online course while abroad, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Students need to ensure that the courses are fully online and that there is no need to be in-person for exams.
• Students should keep in mind that there will be a time difference while abroad and they must pay close attention to assignment deadlines. Additionally, if a class is not fully asynchronous and has live Zoom meetings, students should consider the time the class will occur based on their study abroad location.
• If you are participating on an exchange program, an online course will not carry any additional tuition costs. If you are participating on a direct enroll or affiliate/third-party program you will need to pay tuition for the online course to NC State in addition to your external program cost.
• Students’ host institutions may have their own credit minimum requirements that must still be met, and online NC State courses will not count towards that.