Study Abroad Student Resources
Course Approval and Transfer Credit
All UTC students must complete the course approval process to receive transfer credit for courses taken through a study abroad or exchange program.
Your study abroad credits cannot be processed until you complete the course pre-approval process.
Completing this process is also important because:
Some financial aid and scholarships, including the HOPE Scholarship, cannot be released until your credits are processed.
If you plan to graduate immediately after studying abroad, notify the Center for Global Education as early as possible. Transcript and credit transfer timelines may affect your graduation date.
Course Pre-Approval Process (pre-departure)
Before leaving for your program, you'll need approval for each course you plan to take abroad.
1. Identify the appropriate academic department.
Determine what credit your courses should count towards.
2. Gather all available course information.
- Course title and number (if available)
- Detailed course description
- Course syllabus
- Credit hours or contact hours
3. Contact the department head.
Email the available course information found to the department head responsible for approving the course along with a copy of the Course Approval Form in your UTC study abroad portal (Via).
4. Upload approval form.
Upload your completed and signed approval form to your UTC study abroad portal (Via).
Helpful Tips
If there is a beginning language class you’re planning to take, ex: Introduction to the French Language, contact the Modern Languages department head to discuss receiving Foreign Language elective credit.
If it seems like a course doesn’t fit well into any academic department at UTC, you can approach the Humanities Department to request a course pre-approval.
After You Return
- If all of your study abroad courses were pre-approved correctly before you left, no further action is required. The Office of Study Abroad will notify you when your study abroad transcript has been received. At that point, your transcript will be forwarded to the Registrar for posting if all approvals are complete.
- If your study abroad transcript includes courses that were not pre-approved, you must obtain approval for those courses after returning to campus before your grades can be processed. This includes courses intended to count as elective credit.
- Every course completed abroad must be evaluated and assigned a UTC equivalent, and all study abroad courses must transfer back as UTC-equivalent credit.