CREDIT TOWARD GRADUATION

Credit will be given towards graduation for all appropriate courses (courses in the liberal arts for which there is a department at Wesleyan) taken on Wesleyan-administered or -approved programs abroad. Students must, however, get approval for their proposed program from their major advisor or department chair, or, if they have not yet declared a major, from their faculty advisor. Special rules apply to internships, which must be pre-approved by a department for credit, even for credit outside the major. Four credits are allowed for each semester of study abroad. Permission for a fifth credit for any given semester may be granted by the program director in the case of Wesleyan programs, and by the Director of International Studies for Wesleyan-approved programs. 

Grades are reported on the Wesleyan transcript and count toward the student's overall GPA. All courses including internships must be taken A-F unless this option is not available, but credit for internships will appear on the Wesleyan transcript with CR only. COL majors should consult with the department for grading mode information. Some modifications in grading systems for study abroad have been found necessary, and A+ grades received abroad will be posted to the Wesleyan transcript as A grades.

Credit on approved programs may be measured differently than at Wesleyan, often in semester credits or, for students enrolling directly in foreign universities, in other units. One Wesleyan credit is the equivalent of 3.75-4.00 semester credits, and students are required to enroll in a minimum of 15 semester credits, which is equivalent to a full Wesleyan load of 4 credits. Students should be sure before they leave Wesleyan that they understand the credit system of the institution giving them credit abroad; the OIS can provide this information and explain how courses will be weighted. The OIS ensures that courses and grades are entered on the
Wesleyan transcript by the Registrar.

Upon completing their period of study abroad, students will be required to complete an evaluation for the program they attended, to ensure that current information about programs is always available to the Committee and to prospective participants. When the evaluation is returned to the OIS, credits will be transferred. 

Students who must make changes in their curricular plans after arriving because of alterations in academic schedules must consult the OIS immediately, preferably by e-mail (gwinter@wesleyan.edu) or fax (860-685-2551). They are expected to choose a replacement course or courses compatible with the plans previously approved by the major advisor. The Office can then check with the student's advisor about the change and seek approval where necessary.  Alternatively, the student can communicate through a faculty or departmental advisor, who is then asked to inform the Office. Credit for unapproved courses will not be transferred to the Wesleyan transcript, and there can be no retroactive approval after the student's return to campus. It is therefore particularly important that students communicate with the Office if in any doubt about their curriculum abroad.

Both before leaving and once abroad, students should contact the OIS with questions about major, GenEd, or graduation credit for courses taken abroad during the academic year.

CREDIT TOWARD COMPLETION OF A MAJOR

Students must discuss credit toward the major with a departmental advisor in advance, and their application must be endorsed by this advisor. Individual departments have specific regulations about the granting of major credit for work done abroad, which are posted to the OIS website at http://www.wesleyan.edu/ois/depregs.html. It is essential that students maintain communication with their major advisor and with the OIS while abroad. Students should bring syllabi, papers, and exams in courses they wish to count towards their major back to Wesleyan for review by their advisers who will determine equivalencies.