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Rules and Policies for Study Abroad

If you are considering study abroad you should meet with your College Adviser to discuss your overall academic plan and how study abroad might fit into this. Since the application process requires a College Adviser signature, you should schedule this meeting well in advance of the application deadline. The information below can help students prepare for that meeting.

The Global Learning Office also maintains information about rules, policies, programs, and applications. 

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Undergraduate Registration Requirement 

All Northwestern students are subject to the Undergraduate Registration Requirement (URR) and are responsible for ensuring that they satisfy it. Non-Northwestern study abroad programs do not count toward the URR. Northwestern-run programs offer courses with Northwestern numbers and the -SA designation. Students can find their URR on their CAESAR degree progress and by meeting with their College Adviser.

Course Credit

For students who attend a Northwestern-run program and take Northwestern courses with the -SA designation, the grades will automatically appear on the NU transcript and be included in the NU GPA.

Approval for non-Northwestern study abroad programs applies to the general program chosen and does not constitute advance approval of any individual non-Northwestern course. After students complete a non-Northwestern program, an official transcript must be sent to the Global Learning Office to transfer the course credit back to Northwestern.

  • Credit in Weinberg will not be given for courses that are not appropriate to the College’s curriculum or that do not meet the usual standards for credit in the College.
  • For non-Northwestern programs, study abroad grades will not appear on the Northwestern University official transcript or figure into the cumulative GPA. 
  • Students must earn a C or better to receive credit for a non-Northwestern study abroad course. (Note: a grade of C-minus does not receive credit.)

Petitioning for Major, Minor, and Weinberg Degree Requirement Credit

Non-Northwestern courses from study abroad that are eligible for transfer are automatically posted as electives to the NU transcript until petitioned to count as specific requirements. Students must consult their department/program advisers in advance of application deadlines to learn if courses taken abroad may satisfy their major or minor requirements; and should consult with their College Adviser for requirements such as distributions, foundational disciplines, and/or perspectives courses.

Upon return from abroad, students must petition to have abroad courses applied to any of these specific requirements after first completing a study abroad program evaluation and after the abroad transcript has posted to their NU transcript. Students are advised to complete the Petition for Credit from Study Abroad as soon as possible after those steps are complete (see Transferring Credit From Abroad).

Students must retain all class descriptions, syllabi, papers, readings, weekly schedules, and other course materials from classes abroad; they may be needed as part of the petition process.

Language Requirement Credit

Students on a non-Northwestern program cannot use coursework in a language taken abroad to help complete the language proficiency requirement, but can take a placement exam upon return to potentially advance through or complete the requirement. Contact the relevant department for more information.

Credit for Foundational Disciplines and/or Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity (For students matriculating after spring quarter 2023)

Eligibility of study abroad credits towards requirement categories is evaluated based on the definition and learning objectives for the requirement.

A student who studies abroad for one term may, upon review and approval, apply a maximum of one course unit to:

  • A foundational discipline, or...
  • A perspectives on power, justice, and equity, or...
  • A foundational discipline and perspectives on power, justice and equity, if the single course is deemed applicable to both.

A student who studies abroad for more than one term may, upon review and approval, apply a maximum of two course units in one of the following ways:

  • Two different foundational discipline areas, or...
  • One to a foundational discipline, and one to perspectives on power, justice, and equity, or...
  • Two different foundational disciplines areas, with one of those also applied to perspectives on power, justice and equity, if the course is deemed applicable to both.

NOTE! Each foundational discipline area requires two courses and is governed by rules that affect what courses can be paired. Refer to Rules and Policies for Foundational Disciplines when considering applying a study abroad course towards a foundational discipline area.

Distribution Requirement Credit (Pre-2023 Degree Requirements)

To be eligible for distribution credit, courses must be substantially similar to courses on the College’s approved list and conform to the defining language of the distribution areas.  Students can receive a maximum of one unit of distribution credit for each study abroad term, up to a maximum of two units. The two units must be in different distribution requirement areas.

Note for Students on NU Programs

If you study abroad on a Northwestern-run program that regular (direct credit) NU classes, you do NOT go through a credit transfer process for those NU classes. These courses are subject to the same rules and restrictions as courses taught in Evanston. If a Northwestern course with an -SA suffix is eligible to be applied to a distribution, foundational discipline, or perspectives on power, justice and equity requirement it will automatically be reflected as such on the CAESAR degree progress report. Students must get department/program approval to apply these courses to a major or minor if they aren’t already approved for that purpose.

Graduation Issues 

Studying abroad may impact a student’s ability to graduate early and the number of courses required to be taken at NU. Contact your College Adviser for more information. Students studying abroad during the last quarter of your senior year, should be aware that the study abroad transcript may not arrive at NU in time for a June graduation. Students should consult their College Adviser for more details.

International Students

International students studying in their home country on a non-Northwestern program are exempt from applying to study abroad through the Global Learning Office. Refer to the Global Learning Office website for information about the "home country exemption" and to the Registrar's Office website for information about transfer credit processes. Students should consult their College Adviser about what kinds of courses they can transfer back to Northwestern.