Credit Transfer

If you are approved for study abroad, you will automatically receive elective credit toward your Mount Holyoke degree for liberal arts courses completed with grades of C- or better, according to policies and limitations noted below.  More information about credit transfer is available on the Academic Deans’ Leaves of Absence Web site.

General Credit Transfer Policies
Grades
Fulfilling Requirements Abroad

General Credit Transfer Policies

• Mount Holyoke awards credit only for liberal arts courses, meaning courses of the sort that we teach (humanities, sciences, and social sciences), not pre-professional courses such as business, marketing, nursing, etc., nor for on-line or distance-learning courses. Check with the Registrar’s Office if you are uncertain whether a particular course will transfer.
• Liberal arts courses transfer automatically as elective credit and do not require specific approval.  Computer Science and Music are exceptions: each course must be approved by the respective department even if you are not seeking credit toward the major, minor, or another requirement.  Note that the Music Department generally does not approve credit at all for music performance studied elsewhere.
• Mount Holyoke will award 16 credits for completion of a normal full-time courseload (as defined by the host institution) for a semester (or 32 credits for a year). Be aware that what counts as a normal full-time courseload varies significantly from one institution to another: it may be five three-credit courses, three five-credit courses, or some other combination. Check with the Registrar’s Office or the McCulloch Center if you are uncertain about what constitutes a full load for your program.
• You may not earn more than a full semester (16) or year (32) of credit while you are away, but you will earn less if you complete less than the standard courseload.
• Mount Holyoke generally does not give credit for orientation or preliminary sessions, even though your program may require and award credit for them.
• Credits on the quarter system generally transfer as two-thirds of semester credits.
• Mount Holyoke does not grant academic credit for any internships, including those that are offered in conjunction with a regular academic program of classes.  In the case of an internship that is similar to a CBL course (a practicum closely linked to a seminar or other course), credit will be awarded if the course is approved by the chair of the appropriate department here.  Students may choose to participate in other internships, provided that they understand that they will not receive credit here for the internship component of the program. You may petition for credit upon your return if the internship included a significant academic component, or use an internship as a springboard to independent work in the semester you return.  See your adviser or department chair for details.
• You must arrange for your program or host university to send an official transcript to the Registrar’s Office.  If the transcript is sent to you, you should submit it to the Registrar’s Office in its original sealed envelope; a transcript that has been opened is no longer official and cannot be accepted.

Grades

• Grades earned abroad do not transfer, but must be C- or better in order for the credit to transfer toward your Mount Holyoke degree. When you apply to graduate school or for employment, you will have to submit official copies of both your Mount Holyoke and study abroad transcripts.
• You may use the ungraded option off campus (if permitted) on the same basis as here, for electives only, with a career limit of four courses, and no more than one per semester.  You will need to provide documentation that you completed the course at the C- level or better in order to receive credit.

Fulfilling Requirements Abroad

• Courses taken elsewhere may be used to fulfill specific requirements (major, minor, distribution, etc.) if they are approved for this purpose by the appropriate department here. Complete the Permission form.
• The Dean of the College approves courses to fulfill the multicultural perspectives requirement and courses to fulfill other requirements (such as Distribution and language) in disciplines not represented at Mount Holyoke.
• It is critical to request such approvals in advance. If a department is unable to give you advance approval for a course, you should be able to obtain some guidance about the criteria that must be met, which will help you choose courses that will be most likely to transfer back in the way that you wish. Bring back with you all course syllabi, papers, exams, and other materials in case there are any questions about the work done away.
• You must complete an off-campus PE form (available at Kendall Hall) if you wish PE credit for courses taken off campus.