Academic Planning

Credit Transfer Planning

If you intend to use coursework completed through study abroad to count toward major, minor, certificate or General Education degree requirements, you are advised to begin planning early. Seek out course matches at your host institution and discuss your plan for course substitutions with your Department Chair (for major, minor, or certificate requirements) or the Director of Undergraduate Advising (for General Education requirements). 
 

• Begin Early | As soon as you decide to study abroad, you should begin exploring the course options at your preferred host institution. This will give you a firm handle on what courses are and are not available, and time to switch programs if the coursework won't fulfil your degree requirements. Be sure that you also have a solid understanding of the requirements of your degree -- including any required course sequencing (study abroad can cause disruptions) and required seminar or practicum courses (which often cannot be substituted with study abroad courses). 

 

• Avoid Delays to Graduation Timeline | If you know which classes will be available through your study abroad program, you can plan ahead to take specific classes overseas rather than at CSUSB. Use PAWS to create an academic plan. Without planning, you may find that the only courses available through your study abroad program will fulfil degree requirements that you have already completed at CSUSB. While you will still receive free elective units for these classes, which count toward the CSUSB minimum unit and residency requirements, this scenario often adds to a student's graduation timeline. 

 

• Maximize Program Options | Not every study abroad opportunity is going to offer coursework that matches with your specific degree requirements (especially upper-division coursework, which tends to be more specialized). But, most study abroad programs will offer a variety of coursework that can be used to substitute for General Education requirements. Students who save General Education requirements to complete during their study abroad program will have more flexibility in program selection. Compare the list of all study abroad program options to those with coursework in your major to see the difference (scroll to the "area of study" option and select your department or major). 

 

Finding Courses

Finding information about courses available through your study abroad program depends on the program type:
 

• CSUIP | Select the program brochure for your program on the CSUIP website and head to the "Academics" tab. Select "Academic Bulletin" or "Course Catalog" for more information. Occasionally, these links are out of date. In this case, find the website of the host institution and look for their course catalog or schedule of classes. CSU IP additionally maintains a course substitution catalog (classes other CSU students have completed while abroad, and received credit for at their home campus), which you can search by subject, course area, general education area, CSU campus, and CSU IP program.

 

• Exchange Program | Select the program brochure for your program on the CSUSB Education Abroad website and head to the "Coursework" tab. You will find a link to a course catalog or course list at the host institution. 

 

• Direct Enroll Program | Select the program brochure for your program on the CSUSB Education Abroad website and head to the "Academics" tab. You will find a list of courses or a link to the course offerings for your program. 

 

• CSUSB-Led Program | Select the program brochure for your program on the CSUSB Education Abroad website and head to the "Academics" tab. A list of available courses is provided. Often, only one course is available. If you do not require the listed class(es) to meet degree requirements, you can speak to the Chair of your Department about a course substitution (using the study abroad course to receive credit for a course required for your major).

 

If you are unable to locate a list of course offerings for the term that you will study abroad, review past course schedules -- often, if a course was offered the previous spring it will be offered the next spring, and if it was offered the previous fall it will be offered the next fall. Also be sure to pay attention to:

• Language of instruction (only select courses taught in a language in which you are comfortable learning)
• Course prerequisites (these can sometimes be waived for international students, but not always)
• Course restrictions (some campuses will only open specific courses to international students)
• Required courses for all international students

Credit Units at International Universities

Just like at CSUSB, each course you take abroad will be worth a certain number of units (or, credit hours). The number of credits depends on the number of instruction hours and the amount of out of class work. Note that the US system for awarding credit units may be different from that used at your host institution. This means that the number of credits that you see listed for your courses at the host institution may not be the same number that you receive for the course at CSUSB. 

Many European universities, for example, use "ECTS" (European Credit Transfer System) units. Typically, 1 ECTS converts to 0.5 units at CSUSB and 5 ECTS converts to 3 units at CSUSB.

 

Credit Transfer Procedures

As a part of your application for all CSUSB-administered study abroad programs (except CSUIP *), you will use the Education Abroad Credit Transfer Agreement Form to provide a list of the courses that you intend to take at the host institution. This list will be approved and filed with the Office of the Registrar before your study abroad program begins in order to ensure that you have a solid academic plan. The document will also facilitate the credit transfer process once your study abroad program transcript is received. 

For each course that you intend to receive degree credit (not just elective units), you must list the degree requirement that you are seeking credit for:

• General Education | You will list the General Education category that you are seeking to fulfil with the host institution course. Note that G, WI, and DI requirements cannot be fulfilled through study abroad coursework. You are advised to meet with the Director of Undergraduate Advising to review your course substitution plan before you submit the Credit Transfer Agreement Form to the Education Abroad Office. 
• Major, Minor or Certificate | You will list the CSUSB course or requirement category that you are seeking to fulfil with the host institution course. You are advised to meet with your Department Chair to review your course substitution plan before you submit the Credit Transfer Agreement Form to the Education Abroad Office. 

* CSUIP programs | You will use a separate credit transfer agreement form provided by the Chancellor's Office. 

Direct Enroll programs | You will need to request and provide to the Registrar's Office an official transcript from the host institution in order to receive credit at CSUSB. Be prepared to also provide a course syllabus for each class completed, should this be requested.

Timeline | The time to process a credit transfer is typically eight weeks. If your host institution delays the issue of transcript, the credit transfer process will also be delayed. If you are a graduating senior completing the last units for your degree through a study abroad program, your graduation may be impacted by these delays.