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Transfer Credits

To receive transfer credit for study abroad, you must:

  1. Attend an approved study abroad program.
  2. Do not duplicate coursework (especially language levels) already completed at GW.
  3. Obtain a course approval for each course from a GW faculty member.
  4. Submit forms from the Predeparture Orientation to the Office for Study Abroad (OSA) prior to departure.
  5. Take a course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of C or higher in each course.
  6. Arrange to have an official transcript sent to the OSA.

Please note that GW courses taught at GW Madrid, the GW Paris Business Studies program, and through GW Short Term Faculty-Led programs receive letter grades for their courses and do not need to complete course approvals.

FAQs about transfer credit:

  1. How do study abroad courses affect my GW GPA?
  2. Where do I go to get course approvals signed?
  3. What do I bring to the professor who will be signing my Course Approval Form?
  4. What if I do not know what courses I will be taking while abroad?
  5. Once I have completed my Course Approval Forms and professors sign them, where do I bring the form(s)?
  6. What if I do not wish to receive credit for a study abroad course?
  7. How long does it take to transfer my study abroad credit to my GW transcript?
  8. What should I know if I am planning to study a foreign language while abroad?

1. How do study abroad courses affect my GW GPA?

As long as you complete the steps listed above, your study abroad credit will transfer but will not affect your GW GPA. Please remember that if you plan to apply for graduate study, you may be asked to submit your study abroad transcripts and grades.

If you are taking GW courses through GW Madrid, the GW Paris Business Studies program, or through GW Short Term Faculty-Led programs, your course grades will affect your GW GPA.

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2. Where do I go to get course approvals signed?

A list of the appropriate people in each department who can sign course approvals is located in the OSA Resource Room.

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3. What do I bring to the professor who will be signing my Course Approval Form?

Be sure to bring a description of the course, syllabus, and/or coursework to the department so they can determine an appropriate GW course equivalent.

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4. What if I do not know what courses I will be taking while abroad?

Some programs may not have a list of courses available before the program begins. These approvals can be obtained over email while students are abroad or when students return to campus. To obtain course approvals while abroad, email the relevant department on campus and forward their response to our office. This email needs to contain the exact course title, the course number, and the GW course equivalent.

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5. Once I have completed my Course Approval Forms and professors sign them, where do I bring the form(s)?

Your completed course approvals can be submitted to the course approval bin in the OSA Resource Room.

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6. What if I do not wish to receive credit for a study abroad course?

If you do not wish to receive credit for a course taken while abroad, complete a Declining Credit Form and submit the form to the Course Approval Bin in the OSA Resource Room.

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7. How long does it take to transfer my study abroad credit to my GW transcript?

Once the OSA has received your official transcript from your study abroad program and a course approval for each of the courses you took while abroad, it will take approximately three weeks to transfer the courses to your GW transcript.

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8. What should I know if I am planning to study a foreign language while abroad?

You will want to consult with the relevant language department about what they require to sign off on transfer credit. If you are taking a language not taught at GW, such as Xhosa, the Language Center (Phillips Hall, suite 216) can sign off on credit.

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