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Pam Hendrix Center for Education Abroad

Academic Coursework

Receiving Credits from Abroad

With a few exceptions, all courses on faculty-directed programs are Clemson courses and no transfer is necessary. Students’ grades in faculty-directed programs are included in their Clemson GPA.

For exchange, third-party and direct-enrollment programs, approved courses are transferred to Clemson upon receipt of the program’s official transcript. Students who will transfer their coursework to Clemson after their study abroad experience must have their courses approved before departure. Courses are approved by the academic department overseeing the Clemson equivalent.

Completing the Clemson course approval process does not guarantee your registration in chosen courses. Your program will facilitate your course registration. It is recommended that you get more courses approved than you will enroll in on-site. Aim to choose six to ten courses for a semester program or three to five courses for a summer program to give you flexibility in case your plans change.


Overview of the Course Approval Process

  • Step 1

    Identify the courses you wish to take through your program provider or host institution’s website.

  • Step 2

    Meet with your academic adviser to review and share the Course Planning Form indicating which courses you plan to take abroad.

  • Step 3

    Find general instructions and the course approval guides with screenshots at the top of the page under the Course Approval tab in your application. Read through the entire guide that applies to your program before requesting courses.

  • Step 4

    Request approval for the courses you selected by adding them to your course approval request form.

    • Pre-approved courses are listed at the top of the page under “Course Offerings” and must be selected from there.
    • If a class is not pre-approved, use the “Custom Course Request” following the instructions in your course approval guide closely.
    • The course status will be “draft” once added to the form. In this state, your courses will only be visible to you.
  • Step 5

    Submit your courses for approval by clicking the purple “Submit Courses” button. If you omit this step, your courses will not be reviewed!

  • Step 6

    Wait for approval and check which Clemson course was approved.

    • The status for pre-approved courses will change to “approved” immediately. They will transfer with the Clemson equivalent listed under “home course.”
    • The status for custom course requests will change to “pending.”
    • Our office will send a custom course request to the department you specified for approval. Department response times vary greatly and depend on the volume of submissions.
    • You will receive a confirmation email after each custom course has been evaluated, and the status will change to “approved” or “rejected.”
    • Log in to your application to determine which Clemson course was approved, checking under “home course.”
    • Find comments, if applicable, by clicking on the up/down arrows to the right of the course. Approvers determine the Clemson equivalent, and it may not be what you asked for!
    • Please note that if the course was approved for a course you already took at Clemson, it will likely not transfer as most courses are not repeatable.
  • Step 7

    Do not submit your Study Plan!

    Study plans can no longer be edited after they have been submitted.

    Our office, not you, will submit the study plan during the credit transfer process.

  • Step 8

    Add additional courses if applicable

    • If you have to change courses after your initial request or once abroad, request approval for the newly added courses following the same process.
    • Do not forget to click the purple “Submit Courses” button to start the approval process.
    • All coursework must officially be approved in order for our office to process your transcript.
    • Our system does not have a delete function for courses that have already been approved. Do not worry; we disregard extra courses when matching them to your transcript.

Credit Transfer Policy

For exchange, third-party, and direct enrollment programs, approved courses are transferred to Clemson upon receipt of the program’s official transcript. Please be aware that it typically takes 10-16 weeks after your program ends for your study abroad transcript to arrive.

  • Students must receive the equivalent of a “C” grade or higher to transfer credits.
  • Courses must be graded (no pass/fail courses will transfer).
  • Credit hours, not letter grades, transfer.
  • Grades from these programs do not affect the student’s Clemson University GPA.
    • However, if a student’s study abroad transcript is issued by a US institution, their grades from abroad may be evaluated by financial aid to determine scholarship eligibility. Please discuss this with the Student Financial Aid office.
    • Even though study abroad grades do not transfer, graduate and professional schools will request an official study abroad transcript and consider grades.
  • Clemson will only accept transfer credits for any upper-level undergraduate business courses (3000 and 4000-level courses with the rubrics of ACCT, BUS, ELE, FIN, LAW, MGT, and MKT) from AACSB International and/or EQUIS-accredited institutions. Check with The Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business for accredited institutions.
  • If you receive a transcript from a foreign host university, the academic credit system will differ from that used in the United States and, thus, at Clemson. The translation and articulation of the host university’s credits may affect the number of academic credits you can transfer back to Clemson. Please review the credit and transcript process for your program prior to departure so that you are aware of any academic credit implications.

Ordering your study abroad transcript

Clemson University requires an official transcript to accept transfer credit. If participating in a third-party provider program that issues grade reports, you must request a School of Record transcript. Please work with your third-party provider on School of Record transcript request instructions.

At the completion of your program:

  • Ensure an electronic official transcript is sent to our office directly at abroadcourses@clemson.edu by your program/host institution (NOT by you).
  • Our office may not appear in the drop-down box when ordering from a transcript service like Parchment or National Clearinghouse. In that case, type in our email address.
  • If an electronic transcript is not an option, paper transcripts must be sent to Pam Hendrix Center for Education Abroad, E-301 Martin Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634.

Processing your study abroad transcript

Once we receive your study abroad transcript, we will match the courses on your coursework approval form. We can only process your transcript if all courses are listed and approved on your coursework approval request form!

  • You will receive an email once we have processed your transcript and sent it to the Registrar.
  • Check your iROAR transcript within a few days of this email to verify credits have been transferred correctly. Please note transfer credits are listed before your semesters at Clemson.
  • Notify our office immediately if there are any discrepancies.