Credit Approval

To get credit pre-approval for the courses you intend to take abroad, you will use the Credit Evaluation System. The system allows you to request specific credit (for example, minor credit) from specific academic departments at Swarthmore. You can also request credit, which is granted by the Global Engagement Office, and evaluated by the Global Engagement Executive Director. General instructions are below - more detailed information is available on the Global Engagement Moodle site to which you will be added once you have been accepted by your program. Before adding courses to the Credit Evaluation System, please wait to be instructed by Global Engagement to do so.

Please make sure to consult the department/program's website if you are requesting major, minor, distributional, or general departmental credit. 

The Psychology Department requests that you complete this form, prior to requesting credit through the online system. 

French has specific credit requirements depending on major/minor status and the location of the study abroad program. 

Instructions

Pre-estimation of credit:

1. Log in to the Student Off Campus Credit Evaluation through mySwarthmore. Please make sure you are connected to VPN and that your pop-up blocker is disabled (instructions are available on the ITS website).
2. Carefully read the “Important Tips” before entering courses.
3. Under the “Add/Manage Courses” tab you can enter as many courses as you wish. Carefully enter all the requested information. In the "# Credit Units at Host Institution" section, please list the number of credits in the study abroad program/institution's units, not the number of credits you wish to request from Swarthmore. 
4. Upload relevant course information (usually the course syllabus) under the “Upload Documents” tab and select the course that corresponds to the document. Please select the “PRE ESTIMATION” document type, and whenever possible try to combine all relevant documents into one single file.  Please do not upload zip files or links to a Google Drive folder. Do not use any “special characters" (including empty spaces, single quotes, double quotes, question marks, accent marks, etc.). Courses will be submitted to faculty unless you upload course information in this tab. 
5. Once you have uploaded the relevant documents, Global Engagement will first review the information, and then forward everything to the credit evaluator. This means that the courses are not viewable for the department immediately after you have uploaded them. Please allow for some processing time. You can review progress of the pre-estimation process on the “Add/Manage Courses” tab, by scrolling down to “Study Abroad Courses.”

Final credit:

1. Log in to the Student Off Campus Credit Evaluation through mySwarthmore. Please make sure you are connected to VPN and that your pop-up blocker is disabled (instructions are available on the ITS website).
2. Please check off which courses you actually took abroad in the “Please Check Course Taken” column. You must also check off the next column for the courses you took abroad, "All Materials Uploaded", even if the course was approved for auto-credit. 
3. Upload all the relevant final documents under the “Upload Documents” tab. Examples of relevant final documents are exams, papers, projects, lab reports, etc. (if you are unsure of what documents to upload, you can check with the department or program from which you are requesting credit). Please use the “Final” document types, and whenever possible try to combine all the documents into one single file. Please do not upload zip files or links to a Google Drive folder. Do not use any “special characters” (accent marks, etc).  Do not upload zip files, as credit evaluators cannot open those documents in this system. 
4. Once you have uploaded the relevant documents, Global Engagement will forward all the information to the credit evaluator for final credit review. You can review progress of the final credit process by clicking on the “Review Courses” tab.

Study Abroad Course Database

To see what courses students in your major or in your study abroad program have taken before, take a look at this study abroad course database. Please note that this only reflects courses that students have actually taken abroad, and is not an exhaustive list of your course options!

Auto Credit Course Database

To see what courses students in your major or in your study abroad program have taken before and were given auto credit, take a look at this auto course database. Please note that this only reflects courses that students have actually taken abroad, and is not an exhaustive list of your course options!

Changing Pre-Estimated Courses Once Abroad

Especially if you are doing a direct enroll program, it can sometimes be difficult to know what classes you will actually take until you are on site. Although not ideal, it is possible to change your courses from abroad. To do so, please follow the process outlined above. In addition, please send an email to the appropriate department(s) and copy your Global Engagement advisor, indicating that you are seeking pre-estimation for a new course. You should do this as soon as possible because if the course is not approved for credit, you will need to quickly enroll in another class!

Pre-Registration for Classes at Swarthmore

You should register from abroad for classes for the following semester at Swarthmore during the pre-enrollment period. Details are available on the Registrar’s Office website.