Office of Study Abroad

Brandeis will give credit for liberal arts classes only. You will not receive credit for non-liberal arts courses, which may include topics such as ceramics, crafting, jewelry-making and certain types of accounting and engineering courses.

Please refer to the guidelines below for specific rules on certain classes. If you have questions about the appropriateness of a course, please contact a study abroad staff member.

No credit will be given for audited courses. You will only receive credit for those courses for which you receive a grade on your transcript or tutor's report.

The Principle of Equivalent Course Load 

Brandeis does not measure progress towards the degree in terms of “semester hours” or “quarter hours.” Units such as these are converted to “semester courses” according to the formula below:

• We ascertain the number of hours or courses required for the receipt of a bachelor’s degree at the institution from which you are transferring courses, or for many study abroad programs, their School of Record. We total the number of credits acceptable to us for transfer credit, divide them by the requirement at your study abroad institution/School of Record and multiply by 32 (the degree standard at Brandeis). For example, if your study abroad institution/School of Record requires 128 credits and you attended one semester, completing 16 credits acceptable for transfer, the equation will be 16/128 x 32 = 4. Hence, one full semester at that institution will receive 16 credits at Brandeis.
• If you worked at a higher or lower rate, credit transferred will reflect that rate. For example, if you complete 12 credits acceptable for transfer at a program/institution that requires 120 credits for graduation, the equation is 12/120 x 32 = 3.  In this scenario, the student will receive three Brandeis courses (12 credits).
• Any equation that equals .5 and above will be rounded up to the nearest whole number. Any equation that equals .49 and below will be rounded down to the nearest whole number. For example, if you complete 10 credits acceptable for transfer at a program/institution that requires 120 credits for graduation, the equation is 10/120 x 32 = 2.66 which would be rounded up to receive three Brandeis courses (12 credits). 8 credits at an institution that requires 120 credits would be 8/120 x 32 =2.13 and would be rounded down to 2 classes (8 credits).

You must take at least one course each semester in the language of the country in which you are studying. This course may be either an academic subject course taught in the language of the country, or an appropriate language/grammar course. 

If you wish to use a course abroad to fulfill a CORE requirement, you will need to complete the Petition to Request Substitution for a Requirement form.

You may do this before you leave, while you are abroad, or after you return. Please note that we strongly encourage you to make these types of requests before the end of your add/drop period for your program as we can not guarantee credit to fulfill such requirements after you return.

Courses taken abroad during the semester or year are counted as transfer credit according to the following guidelines:

• You must receive a grade of C- or better in order to earn credit.

• No credit will be given for pass/fail work.

• Grades will not be figured into your GPA and will not appear on your Brandeis transcript.

• Subjects studied will appear on your Brandeis University transcript, although exact course titles will not appear.

Note: Students who receive a course grade below a C- (i.e. a D, F, or the equivalent) may be placed on advising alert or probation as dictated by the Committee on Academic Standing (COAS). These courses will be marked with an NC (no credit) on a student's Brandeis transcript.

Courses taken abroad during the summer on a non Brandeis-run program are counted as transfer credit according to the following guidelines:

• You must receive a grade of B- or better in order to earn credit.

• No credit will be given for pass/fail work.

• Grades will not be figured into your GPA and will not appear on your Brandeis transcript.

• Subjects studied will appear on your Brandeis University transcript, although exact course titles will not appear.

• If a student has already transferred in 16 transfer credits, they are only eligible to earn purpose credit during the summer.

Note: Students who receive a course grade below a C- (i.e. a D, F, or the equivalent) may be placed on advising alert or probation as dictated by the Committee on Academic Standing (COAS). These courses will be marked with an NC (no credit) on a student's Brandeis transcript.

Internships, independent study courses, practica, and fieldwork experience must have approval from the Office of Study Abroad in order to be accepted for credit. Not all internships offered by programs on the approved list meet the Brandeis criteria. Therefore, it is very important to discuss your proposed internship course with a member of the study abroad staff.

If you wish to have an internship or independent study course accepted for credit, there must be an academic component to the course and you are required to be on-site for at least 100 hours. To ensure an experiential learning experience is appropriate for credit, you should send a short email to the Office of Study Abroad describing the course and include a syllabus if available.

If you wish to receive major/minor credit for an independent study, internship, practicum or field research project while abroad, you must contact the Study Abroad Faculty Liaison in the appropriate department for their guidelines. It is wise to request guidance from the Study Abroad Faculty Liaison in advance since not all internships may be approved by a particular department.

If you wish to receive credit towards your major or minor for courses taken abroad, you should contact the appropriate department or program directly. Click here to obtain list of Study Abroad Faculty Liaisons in each department. The Office of Study Abroad can only transfer general course credit, not major or minor credit. Study Abroad Liaisons make final decisions about major/minor credit once students return from abroad.

To request major/minor credit upon returning from abroad, you should complete a Petition to Request Substitution for a Requirement form on the Registrar's website. After filling out the form and gathering the necessary paperwork, you may want to make an appointment to meet with the Liaison in each department where you are seeking credit. Since this form requires you to submit a syllabus from the course you are petitioning, be sure to save your syllabi and course descriptions.

If you have any questions about what may count for major/minor credit you should contact your department Study Abroad Faculty Liaison; provide a complete course description and a syllabus. Keep records of the written approval or permission by a professor or department for credit transfer to minimize confusion/conflict upon return to Brandeis. Some departments may require additional materials, such as copies of your assignments, so check with your department if you have questions. .

Questions about photography classes should be addressed to the Office of Study Abroad. Photography courses that have no creative or historic component are not appropriate for Brandeis course credit. An appropriate photography course will not rely solely on use of a smartphone for the course. Only a few photography courses are eligible to fulfill the School of Creative Arts requirement.

You may receive credit for PE while abroad if the course is at least 22 contact hours. Please contact Michael Matt, Assistant Athletic Director, with a detailed course description if you have further questions. Please note that club team participation, or attending a yoga studio on your own, will not count for PE credit.

You must carry a normal, full course load while abroad to earn 16 credits. A normal, full load of work abroad is defined individually by each program or university together with the Brandeis Office of Study Abroad. A four-course rate abroad may not be equivalent to a full load (four courses) at Brandeis. In some programs you must take five courses, in others three.
 
15 U.S. credits is the minimum course load for all Brandeis study abroad students in order to earn 16 credits. 12 U.S. credits is not considered a full load. Being a full-time student on an overseas program is not necessarily the same as taking a full course load. Please speak with Office of Study Abroad staff if you have questions about what constitutes a full course load on your program.

In most cases 1 and 2-credit courses are not appropriate for transfer credit and will not count as part of a normal full load abroad. There are certain exceptions to this rule; please reach out to the Office of Study Abroad with any questions. (Exception: Sarah Lawrence/ BADA)

If students take a full course load overseas (equivalent to 15-16 U.S. credits) and earn a C- or better in each class, they will receive credit for the equivalent of the normal load at Brandeis: 16 credit hours for the semester and 32 credit hours for the year. We do not transfer credit earned abroad on a course-for-course basis.
 
Additional Brandeis credit can be earned only if the student takes a substantial overload, as defined by the Committee on Academic Standing. Credit for an overload will only be given if a student enrolls in 150% of the normal full-time load. If you have any questions, please consult a member of the Study Abroad staff.

When selecting classes abroad, be careful not to repeat a class that you have already taken at Brandeis. You will not receive credit for a class you take twice. If you have any questions, please consult a member of the Study Abroad staff.

As part of the Brandeis philosophy of study abroad, students are expected to take courses abroad taught in-person by faculty instructors. This would preclude students from taking online courses while abroad. Please see a member of the study abroad staff if you have any questions.