Earning credit is an important part of your study abroad experience. Here are some frequently asked questions about how to receive credit for your time abroad and ensure it will be applied to your degree program.
Direct credit programs are typically UA faculty-led summer programs, but there are exceptions. Direct credit courses show up as UA courses in UAccess during the term a student is abroad. Direct credit programs give students UA-specific course credit because the courses offered abroad are equivalent to UA courses. Grades earned in direct credit programs are calculated into the University of Arizona GPA. Internship and research credits earned abroad are also direct credit.
Transfer credit programs mean that you take courses at a foreign institution and then transfer the courses back to UA as transfer credit. In order for UA to give you credit, you must earn the equivalent of a "C" grade or higher. (If you are a graduate student, then you must earn the equivalent of a "B" grade or higher.) Grades earned are not calculated into the University of Arizona GPA.
If you don't know whether your program receives direct credit or transfer credit, ask your study abroad coordinator.
This depends on your program. Most programs require that you are full-time students, taking the equivalent of 12 units for semester programs or 6 units for summer programs. There are some programs which require that you take more than this minimum requirement.
If you are going on an exchange or Arizona Abroad program, it's important that you understand the equivalency of your study abroad credits. For example, if you study in Europe, 2 ECTS credits equals 1 UA unit; however, in Japan, 1 credit usually equals 1 UA unit. Understanding the credit equivalency for your program will help you know how many courses you need to take.
Review unit equivalency and course equivalencies for your program by visiting the Transfer Credit and Articulation Office pages.
You do not register for your study abroad courses in UAccess. 1-2 months prior to your program start date, Study Abroad will register you either directly in your courses (direct credit) or in SA units (transfer credit).
SA (study abroad) units are a transfer credit placeholder to keep you active in the UA system and allows financial aid and scholarships to be applied to your account. They do not indicate credit already earned nor the exact number of units you intend to take while abroad; it is simply a placeholder showing that you are registered as a full-time study abroad student. This is a non-unit bearing, non-gradeable holding category. After the UA receives your transcript, International Admissions or the Registrar will evaluate the credits for equivalent transfer credit.
Before you leave, double check that either your UA courses or SA units appear in your UAccess account and that you are not still registered for UA courses in Tucson!
When you study abroad through an Arizona Abroad Location or an Exchange program, you’ll earn transfer credit. Before you go, you must discuss course applicability with your academic advisor.
To find courses that can satisfy general education requirements, do the following:
- Go to your program’s webpage and look at the available courses under the “academics” tab and visit the course catalog for your host university.
- Identify courses that sound interesting to you based on the title and course description. You might see some courses are already pre-approved as lower division general education courses! You can choose from those options but you can also ask your academic advisor to evaluate additional courses. Academic advisors have full discretion to pre-approve transfer credit for your gen-ed requirements.
- Discuss courses you’ve identified with your academic advisor who can use this information to make a determination on how that course may or may not apply to your general education requirements.
To learn more about specific general education requirements, review these resources:
- If you were admitted Spring 2022 and beyond, you can review the Exploring Perspectives and Building Connections requirement descriptions on the General Education website with your academic advisor.
- If you were admitted before Spring 2022, you can find Tier 1 and Tier 2 study area descriptions on the old general education website with your academic advisor.
If any classes that you are registered into now, or wish to register for, are NOT on your signed Course Applicability to Degree Form, please be sure to email the Transfer Credit and Articulation Office at INTLarticulation@arizona.edu with the following information:
- Your Name and Student ID
- Name and Location of your Host Institution
- Course prefix, Course Number, and Title of all new courses
- Link to each Course Syllabus
Once you receive the course evaluation results from the Transfer Credit and Articulation Office, be sure to connect with your Academic Advisor to determine how your courses will apply to your degree.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your Study Abroad Coordinator. We’re here to help!
UA direct credit courses, as well as internships and research courses, will be under the UA grading system and will earn regular UA grades of A, B, C, D, or E. Some courses may also receive Alternative grades of S, P, F. See the UA course descriptions for exact course grading systems.
Exchange and Arizona Abroad programs will be graded according to the grading system of the country or university to which you are going. It is important that you understand your study abroad country or university's grading system. Remember that for these programs, you must earn the equivalency of a "C" grade or higher (or "B" grade or higher if you are a Graduate student). If you are unsure of your country or university's grading system, check with your study abroad coordinator.
It depends on the program, but for most exchange and Arizona Abroad programs, you will buy your books after you arrive in your study abroad country. If you are going on UA faculty-led, then you will most likely buy your books in the U.S. prior to your departure.