Academic Considerations

Official certification by an accredited academic institution that a student has successfully completed a course of study. All UVA study abroad courses must be taken for credit (they may not be audited).

• Direct credit is credit awarded by the University of Virginia. It works exactly the same way whether you earn it in Charlottesville or abroad. Direct credit factors into your GPA.
• Transfer credit is awarded by another institution, but can still be applied toward your UVA degree and your major/minor/language requirements. Transfer credit does not factor into your GPA and a grade does not show up on your UVA transcript.

Look at the "Credit Type" field in the Fact Sheet section of the program page (conduct a Program Search to access these pages). Note that some programs offer a combination of direct and transfer credit; review the rest of the content on the page for details. You can also narrow down your program search by credit type if, for example, you know that you need direct credit (see related question below).

There are a few differences in the uses of direct credit vs. transfer credit:

There are only a few reasons why you might benefit from direct credit when you study abroad:

• You have reached or are very close to reaching the 60 transfer credit maximum that the University allows you to use toward your degree.
• You are in the College and need to fulfill an area requirement which you will not be able to fill at any other time at UVA.
• You need to earn more credits toward your major/minor than the department will allow you to fill with transfer credit.
• You need to raise your GPA.

Otherwise, transfer credit will work every bit as well as direct credit for you.

• One of the main components of the application for transfer credit programs is the Transfer Credit Approval Form.
• Before your application can be reviewed, you must get transfer credit approval for the courses you expect to take abroad.
• CLAS students: For elective credit, look in the Study Abroad Transfer Credit Equivalency Database for prior approvals. If it is not in the database, include a course description or syllabus when you submit the Transfer Credit Approval form to Abigail Holeman. If your course is in this database, you do not need to include additional information when you submit the form.
• If you discover the courses you want to take abroad are not available upon arrival, or you change your mind, obtain approvals while abroad via email from the same individuals who approved your initial courses. Provide those email approvals to the appropriate person for your school and keep copies for yourself.
• All of the instructions for filling out and turning in the Transfer Credit Approval Form are located on the form, which is found within your application.