Getting Academic Credit

With reasonable planning, any Purdue student can go abroad, take classes that fulfill major, minor or elective requirements, and still graduate on time.  To make sure this happens, students who have been accepted for study abroad must:

  • Begin planning the academic aspects of your study abroad experience well in advance of going abroad.
  • Determine which classes you need to complete your degree, and how study abroad fits into your bachelor's degree study plan.  You will do this in consultation with your academic advisor.
  • Determine which programs abroad would give you personal satisfaction as well as credits that meet your academic requirements.  Do this by speaking in depth with a Study Abroad Advisor in 105 Young Hall and researching courses and syllabi in course catalogs, most of which are online.  If you have difficulty finding course descriptions, ask for assistance from your study abroad advisor.
  • Have a Course Approval Form completed. As you prepare to go abroad, this document helps you plan the requirements you will fill while abroad; when you return from abroad, it serves as a record of how you accomplished this.  You do this form in consultation with the appropriate Study Abroad Liaison(s).  Look at the list of liaisons on this website and then email that advisor to ask how she would like to handle this step, either by email or in person.
  • Stay in touch with your academic advisor and the relevant Study Abroad Liaison(s) before, during and after your program abroad to make sure that your overseas courses are of maximum benefit to you.  This is especially important if your overseas class schedule changes for any reason (classes dropped, canceled, added etc), or if you need to change anything on your Course Approval Form.
  • Register for the equivalent of at least a full-time course load (at least twelve credits/semester or six credits/summer) at your host university or program.