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Outgoing Students - Study Abroad Courses and Transfer Credit

With proper planning, study abroad should not interfere with your time to graduate. It is important to work closely with your academic advisor and Study Abroad Advisor to determine which courses to take abroad, how the courses will transfer to UMaine, and how they will fit with your degree progress to graduation. Be aware that:

  • Grades earned abroad are listed on theUMaine transcript but are not computed in the G.P.A.
  • A grade of C- or better is required for undergraduate credits to transfer.    
  • A grade of B is required for graduate credits to transfer.

 

On this page:

 Course Pre-approval and Registration

When preparing to study abroad, students need to go through two parallel processes, which are independent of each other:

UMaine: Students will complete the International Study Away Registration Form (see instructions below) during the pre-departure process. This form is crucial in determining transfer credits and confirming financial aid as applicable at UMaine. This form is an internal UMaine form and is not sent to the partner university or to the recommended program.

Host Institution: Register for classes at the direct exchange university or through the recommended program. This process may happen during the application process or right before departure. The Study Abroad Advisor’s signature is usually required.

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Instructions for students 

1. Make an appointment with your academic advisor to review courses you will need to take during the period abroad in your major also. Find out how many credits of general electives you may take and what general education requirements you still need to fulfil.

2. When selecting the program and institution abroad, determine the courses you need for your major during the period you will be studying there. Pay attention to the academic calendar; for example, in Australia, Semester 1 is in our spring, while Semester 2 is in the fall.

3. Complete the International Study Away Registration form and register for classes at the host institution. It is critical that you follow the order of signatures required on the form: (1) Study Abroad Advisor, (2) Academic Advisor, (3) Dean of College  and (4) Office of Financial Aid.

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 International Study Away Registration form

This form is distributed during the first pre-departure session in late February or late October. This form is crucial for determining transfer credits and confirming applicable financial aid.

1. Complete the Student Section of the form, list all possible classes to be taken abroad, and attach course descriptions for any course where an exact course equivalency is desired.

2. The Study Abroad Advisor reviews courses, assigns UMaine credit equivalencies, and signs the form to indicate approval of program.

3.  The student meets with the Academic Advisor to review course selections.  Academic advisor signs form indicating approval of any equivalencies in the major.

4. The Dean of the College reviews and signs the form indicating approval of the student’s  proposed course of study.

5. The student meets with a Financial Aid Advisor to discuss process for transfer of financial aid to approved study abroad program.  The Financial Aid Advisor signs form.

6. The student submits the completed form to the Office of International Programs (OIP) in Winslow Hall, room 100.

7. The Office of International Programs keeps the original form and forwards a copy of the completed form to the College and the Office of Financial Aid. 

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 Categories of Study Abroad Courses

Exact Equivalency: Credits for a specific UMaine course are recommended only when it is clear from the course description provided that the content of the study abroad course is equivalent to a course taught at UMaine. Study abroad courses that appear with a course code and name found in the Undergraduate Catalog are courses for which you will be granted exact credit. For example, ”POS 102 Introduction to International Relations” at the American University in Bulgaria will be pre-approved as “POS 273 International Relations” on the International Study Away Registration form.

Same Subject Elective: Study abroad courses for which UMaine has a comparable subject area, but not an exact course equivalent will appear as ”POS 200X Political Science Elective”. For example, if a course in Costa Rica titled “POS 300 Politics of Latin America” is pre-approved on the International Study Away Registration form as “POS 300X Political Science Elective”, it indicates that the subject area was Political Science, the “300″ means that it is a 300-level course at UMaine, and the “X” designates it as an elective.

General Elective: Study abroad courses for which the University of Maine does not offer courses in the specific subject area are listed as “GEL 200X General Elective”.

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Study Abroad Course Equivalency Search

The Office of International Programs has posted in MaineStreet the transfer course equivalencies for some institutions abroad. Students can now view established equivalencies by  going to the login screen for MaineStreet. You can access  Transfer Course Equivalencies  either by selecting it as the third link on the left side of the screen BEFORE you login into MaineStreet or you can also access it through the Self Service options once you login into MaineStreet.  Go to http://studentrecords.umaine.edu  and click on “MaineStreet Portal” in the  right-hand ribbon; click on “Transfer Course Equivalencies” (at left); select the button “Transfer Courses or Test Credits to the University of Maine System”; select the “University of Maine” and use the alpha list to select your institution abroad. Please be aware that the names of some universities have been abbreviated.

The Transfer Equivalency Search database displays the course equivalencies but not the credit hours. Credit hour equivalency will be listed in the International Study Away Registration form. Students going on direct exchange programs can find credit equivalency information in the Study Abroad Programs section of this website.

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USAC Course Equivalencies

USAC offers two kinds of programs. The first kind is called USAC Partner Programs where the student direct enrolls at the host university. At the end of the program, students receive a transcript issued directly from the host university, such as Griffith University in Australia, University College Cork in Ireland, etc. Students can refer to the section above under Study Abroad Course Equivalency Search to see if course equivalencies for their host school are listed in MaineStreet.

The second kind of USAC prorgams is called USAC Specialty Programs where courses are offered in USAC Centers on location. At the end of the program, students receive a transcript issued by a U.S. School of Record. For UMaine students participating in USAC Specialty Programs the transcript will be issued by the University of Idaho. Students can refer to the handouts below which list the following information: First column – USAC course, Second column - University of Idaho equivalency (how the course will be listed on the transcript), Third column - UMaine equivalency (academic advisors may suggest a different equivalency during the academic pre-approval process), and Fourth column - Credits (the number of credits remains the same from USAC to University of Idaho to UMaine):

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Last Modified On April 4, 2012


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