Most newly submitted courses will first be routed to and reviewed by UNC Academic Departments to determine if a UNC equivalency exists, or if the course can be awarded departmental elective credit (leveled or non-leveled).

When UNC Study Abroad receives a decision from a department for a new course, the decision will be loaded into the Study Abroad Credit Portal Pre-Approved List and onto the student My Course List. If a course is not awarded a UNC equivalency or departmental elective credit, it will be reviewed for general education or general elective credit.

Note: Programs administered through the UNC Study Abroad Office automatically fulfill the Experiential Education (EE) / Hi-Impact requirement!

If a course is not found to have a UNC equivalency and cannot receive departmental elective credit, it will be reviewed for general education credit. Some courses awarded a departmental elective credit decision may also fulfill general education requirements; you can view this in the course notes by clicking on the course within the Pre-Approved List or when you receive a credit decision in My Course List.

Courses in the IDEAs in Action curriculum may fulfill a maximum of two focus capacities. Students can only count a course fulfilling two focus capacities for one such requirement. Courses in the Making Connections curriculum can be approved for up to 2 General Education Requirements. This can include: 1 Approach + 1 Connection or 2 Connections. You can find full descriptions of each degree requirement in the UNC Catalog.

Criteria to Fulfill a Gen Ed Requirement (IDEAs in Action)

Course Content

• 2/3rds of the course must cover the specific Gen Ed content
  • e.g for Aesthetic & Interpretive Analysis, 2/3rds of the course must focus on literary and artistic expression

Writing Requirement

• The course must have 10 pages of writing or an equivalent amount of work
• This can include the final assessment
• An equivalent amount of work may include presentations, portfolios, or a well-documented project outside of class
• Please note: Work should be academic, graded coursework.

Presenting and Collaboration Requirement

• Courses must include presenting material in some manner
• Courses must include collaboration in pairs or groups to learn, design, solve, create, build or research

Final Exam

• Courses must include a final exam or assessment
• Further definition: final test, paper, presentation or project which signifies a cumulative assessment of gained knowledge from a course

At least 2 UNC credit hours

• The course must be the equivalent of at least 2 UNC credit hours at the host institution
• See the Credit and Grade Conversion Guide for credit hour equivalencies

Criteria to Fulfill a Gen Ed Requirement (Making Connections)

Course Content

• 2/3rds of the course must cover the specific Gen Ed content
  • e.g for World Before 1750, 2/3rds of the course must focus on history before 1750

Writing Requirement

• The course must have 2,000 words of writing or an equivalent amount of work
• This can include the final assessment, however the writing must be completed outside of class
• An equivalent amount of work may include presentations, portfolios, or a well-documented project outside of class
• Please note: class notes do not satisfy this requirement. Work should be academic, graded coursework.

Final Exam

• Courses must include a final exam or assessment
• Further definition: final test, paper, presentation or project which signifies a cumulative assessment of gained knowledge from a course

At least 2 UNC credit hours

• The course must be the equivalent of at least 2 UNC credit hours at the host institution
• See the Credit and Grade Conversion Guide for credit hour equivalencies

In the event a course is not awarded a UNC equivalency, departmental elective, or general education credit, it will be considered for general elective credit. Almost all courses offered through approved UNC Study Abroad programs can earn general elective credit.

Some courses may receive a UNC equivalency or departmental elective but may include additional hours of general elective (i.e. GENR —-) to ensure all credit hours from a course are awarded.

Login to the Study Abroad Student Credit Portal (link provided upon approval/acceptance) and review the list of pre-approved courses on the Request Pre-Approved Courses tab. You can filter by your program to help narrow the list. Note: this is not an exhaustive list of available courses or programs, and courses listed here are not guaranteed to be available at the host institution in the term you intend to study. This list will update as new courses are reviewed and approved.

1. These pre-approved courses have already been reviewed by the department and show the UNC credit that you would receive, provided you earn the equivalent of a UNC “C” or better.
2. If you see a course you wish to take, please click the green plus sign (+) for Add to My Course List. You will now see the course on the My Course List tab. Please allow time for the Study Abroad Office to process your request.

If your intended course(s) are not listed on the pre-approved course list, select the Request New Course Review tab and click the button to Request Course Review.

1. Follow the steps to enter your program name and course information. Please make sure to upload a syllabus and provide a weblink and/or any additional documentation, if available.
2. Your course will be routed to the appropriate department for review.

Review the status of your pre-approved courses and courses under review on the My Course List tab.

1. Pre-approved courses will show as ‘pre-approved’ and will update to the listed pre-approved credit after the Study Abroad Office processes your request.
2. New courses submitted for review will show as ‘pending’ and will update with UNC course credit once a department has issued a decision on the course.

Review the My Course List tab in the Study Abroad Student Credit Portal and ensure it only includes courses you completed.

1. You can use the Remove From Course List minus button (-) to request that a course is removed. Please allow time for the Study Abroad Office to process your removal requests.

Your host institution will issue an official transcript for the term you are enrolled. In some cases, you must request the transcript – check with your on-site contacts or your study abroad advisor for more information. Transcripts are required in order to process any credit for your term abroad (including elective hours!). Note that it can take anywhere from 1 to 4 months (or more) before a transcript arrives to the Study Abroad Office. You will receive an email notification when we have received your transcript. If you have NOT received a notification within 4 months of completing your program, please contact credit_abroad@unc.edu.

• Seniors can request re-evaluations for a study abroad course to meet general education credit criteria needed for graduation. 

• Requested General Education credit is not guaranteed; the Study Abroad Credit Team will evaluate credit for requested gen eds and for best content match. 

• If a student has received a credit decision that is a repeat credit (meaning their study abroad course was approved for a course that they have already taken at UNC/cannot repeat or earn credit from more than once) 
  • IF the decision was not granted until post-enrollment/completion of the course
  • Repeat policies do apply when selecting courses off the Pre-Approved table 

• If a course was requested without sufficient information to be fully evaluated
  • These courses can be considered for a re-evaluation if sufficient documentation is provided. 
  • These courses will appear as GENR—- with a note that states “insufficient documentation for full evaluation” in the pre-approved table course notes

• If course content falls into two different departments
  • Course can be re-evaluated by second department requested

• If an active UNC student did not request credit for their study abroad courses by end of the following term
  • Study Abroad Credit Team must enter credits as GENR —-
  • Students may request to have the course re-evaluated with proper documentation
  • NOTE: Requesting credit evaluations more than 6-months after the program end date will cause delays in the review process

Requested General Education credit is not guaranteed; the Study Abroad Credit Team will evaluate credit for requested gen eds and for best content match. 

• Courses that already have gen eds attached  
• Non-Seniors with outstanding degree requirements

Students with outstanding degree requirements that do not fall into a scenario above are not eligible for re-evals and should review the UNC Course Catalog and speak with Academic Advising to ensure they adjust plans accordingly to stay on track for graduation.