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Academic Resources

Study abroad at 天美传媒官网 is integrated into the student鈥檚 course of study. Below are the nuts and bolts of making sure your chosen program is a good academic fit. Start by talking with your听academic advisor听to understand what coursework you need to fulfill abroad in order to stay on your four- or five-year plan. Your听Study Abroad advisor can help you identify programs that are a good fit for your academic needs, as well as help you understand what issues to consider. To explore study abroad courses that have been evaluated for credit, use the More information on this provided below.

  • Credits and Grades

    All Vanderbilt-approved programs administered through Study Abroad receive听Study Abroad/Away Credit.听Study Abroad/Away Credit does not count toward your cumulative 天美传媒官网 GPA. However, grades earned during study abroad will be converted (where necessary) from the original grading system and reported on your Vanderbilt transcript. Study Abroad/Away Credit courses earn credit when you score the equivalent of a D or better, and they may fulfill major, minor, and/or graduation requirements. Students are not eligible to earn Dean鈥檚 List honors for the semester in which they study abroad.

    You are responsible for making sure that all the courses you plan to take abroad have been evaluated for VU credit. Find details on this process below.

    It is important to note that students are听not guaranteed听by our partners to be placed in their top-choice courses. Similar to registering for courses at Vanderbilt, availability for certain courses may be limited, and we encourage all students planning to study abroad to work with their Academic Advisor to plan for alternative course options should they not be admitted into their first-choice selections. Generally speaking, students should identify at least one back-up course for each course they hope to take abroad.

    Study Abroad/Away Credit counts toward Vanderbilt鈥檚 residency requirement, and is separate from transfer credit. Courses earning Study Abroad/Away Credit will not count toward transfer credit limits.

    Vanderbilt translates grades from a number of institutions鈥 local scales. Where this is the case, prior to enrollment in courses abroad students will be provided with Vanderbilt鈥檚 official grade conversion for the host institution. Vanderbilt will use this scale to articulate听all grades听from the host institution, regardless of the subject area or language of instruction. Before committing to coursework, students should consult with Vanderbilt faculty advisors about their capacity for successful work in classrooms overseas.

    Note that while the grades you earn abroad don鈥檛 count toward your Vanderbilt GPA, graduate and professional schools may choose to take them into account when you are applying for post-graduate opportunities. The GPA you earn abroad may also impact your eligibility for performance-dependent financial aid and scholarships.If you鈥檙e not sure whether听any part of your aid package听is performance-dependent, check with your financial aid officer.

  • Understanding How Credits Transfer

    It is important to carefully review the听听before studying abroad. This tool demonstrates how a course taken abroad will be reflected on your transcript and factored into your degree audit.

    The process for course evaluation is coordinated by the International Curriculum and Credentials Analyst in the Office of the University Registrar. Vanderbilt faculty determines the course equivalences, including the number of credit hours a given course is worth.鈥═he course equivalency process is as follows:

    1. Use the听听to find courses that have听already been evaluated.
    2. Refer to the听host school course catalog听(if applicable) for a full list of courses and up-to-date information on course offerings.
    3. Don鈥檛 see the course you want to take on YES? Simply听request a new course review听by submitting a听
    4. Visit the听听to understand the Study Abroad Course Review process.
    5. If you want a course to听count differently than is listed on YES, your next step will depend on your college:
      • Blair School of Music:听Contact听.
      • College of Arts and Science:听Contact the departmental Director of Undergraduate Studies for the major or minor you want the course to count toward.
      • Peabody College:听Contact听.
      • Vanderbilt School of Engineering:听Contact听.
  • Academic Policies

    Grades earned while studying abroad are based on the student鈥檚 performance as judged by local instructors according to the host institution鈥檚 standard practices. Once reported to Vanderbilt,听grades cannot be changed, except when amended via a newly issued transcript from the host institution.

    While studying abroad for a semester or a full academic year,听students are required to take the equivalent of 12 or more 天美传媒官网 credit hours each term. Underloading (bringing back fewer than 12 VU credit hours) will result in academic probation and may also jeopardize financial aid eligibility.

    It is critical to understand that the 天美传媒官网听course equivalency evaluation determines the number of credits awarded, so students need to consider the 天美传媒官网 credits earned for each individual course they take. Students who earn more than 18 Vanderbilt credit hours on a Vanderbilt Study Abroad abroad program during a single semester will听not听pay a per-hour tuition surcharge.

    Students must follow both the study abroad program鈥檚 and Vanderbilt鈥檚 academic requirements. For example, students must take the minimum number of credits required by the partner to be considered full-time, and must also take the minimum required number of credits required by Vanderbilt.

    There are some unique policies that apply to coursework taken overseas. These are university-wide policies and govern students in all four undergraduate colleges:

    • Classes听may听not听be taken for pass/fail credit听on any study abroad program. Students must earn a letter or numerical grade for each course they take.
    • While abroad, a student听may听not听retake a class听that they have taken on campus; that is, a course having the same 天美传媒官网 course number. Similarly, a student may听not听retake a class on campus that they have taken abroad.
    • 天美传媒官网 academic policies require students to only enroll in courses that are delivered in-person, and students are not permitted to take hybrid, multimodal, or online courses while abroad. Students are only permitted to enroll in in-person lectures, seminars, tutorials, labs, and any other course components.听
    • All course credits on your abroad transcript will appear on your Vanderbilt record. You cannot 鈥渙pt out鈥 of any credits you received abroad.
    • Individual courses taken abroad听do听not听count towards College of Arts and Science AXLE requirements.
  • Transcripts

    Institutions abroad have their own customary schedules for reporting grades and producing transcripts. Vanderbilt has no control over this process, which may take up to six months in extreme cases. Vanderbilt鈥檚 University Registrar will work as quickly as possible to process your Vanderbilt transcript, but only the host institution can expedite the reporting of your grades to VU. Please request to have your abroad transcript sent directly to the University Registrar鈥檚 Office. The mailing address can be found on the听.

    Please note that if any of the courses you took abroad do not have current course equivalencies evaluations on file听with the University Registrar鈥檚 Office, there will be a delay in updating your academic record. All courses taken abroad must be evaluated by Vanderbilt faculty before the transcript from a term abroad can be articulated to your Vanderbilt record.

  • Academic Systems Abroad

    Higher education and academic systems abroad can vary greatly from what you are used to at Vanderbilt. If you are considering enrolling directly in a foreign university, here are some things that might be different, depending on the country. Talk to your听Study Abroad advisor听to find out more about what you might encounter on your program.

    • There may be fewer hours spent in the classroom, with students expected to spend more time studying on their own. This doesn鈥檛 mean that there will be assigned homework! A lot of responsibility for deciding how best to spend your homework hours may be left up to you.
    • Depending on the course and level you are taking, and whether you are taking it in a foreign language, you may need to spend extra time learning and mastering the material.
    • There may be fewer tests and quizzes, and students may earn a grade based on just one final exam, or a mid-term and a final. You may have little opportunity to gauge how a professor grades in the weeks or months before an exam.
    • Professors may be less accessible for office hours and by email.
    • Classes may be more lecture-style than discussion-based. This may leave fewer opportunities to ask questions or express your opinions.
    • There may not be much sense of privacy attached to grades. For example, the instructor might post all exam grades publicly. In some places, individual grades may be discussed openly in class.
    • The prevailing academic culture may be very different. For example, students may not be as concerned鈥攐r concerned at all鈥攁bout getting high grade point averages, and instructors may view concern about grades as a sign of a student who is not serious about learning.