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The College faculty, in concert with the Office of International Programs and academic advising in the College, closely monitor the academic quality of the programs in which Penn students enroll. Therefore, students are required to meet with a College study abroad advisor and their major department to discuss their choice of program and the courses they wish to take abroad, to ensure that they will receive credit upon their return.
Study Abroad Course Approval
Students applying to study abroad are required to meet with the College study abroad advisor who oversees the relevant abroad programs in order to discuss course choice. After consulting the course offerings in the program abroad, students should make a list of preferred course selections. Students must fill out the Proposed Course Plan Questionnaire and list this selection (which is part of the online application) prior to leaving for the abroad program.
Abroad courses are approved for Penn equivalency by Penn departments. Often this can be done before the student goes abroad. The College maintains a database of study abroad course equivalencies which indicates previous Penn course equivalency for certain courses abroad. A student may wish to enroll in courses that have not been previously evaluated by a department and are not found on the database. If so, the student should contact the appropriate person in the equivalent Penn department to confirm that those courses will be accepted for credit.
If a student wishes to get courses approved for his or her major, course choices must be confirmed with the major department. The College study abroad advisor may ask the student to have the paper Course Approval Form filled out and signed by the major advisor to indicate courses that have been approved for the major. This form should be returned to the College study abroad advisor responsible for the relevant program.
In some cases, the department may impose additional requirements for credit to be granted, or the department may wish to evaluate credits upon the student's return from study abroad. Whether pursuing a general course of study or course work for the major, students would be well advised to consult with the College study abroad advisor for their area and to bring back all papers, exams, bibliographies and syllabi from abroad.