Receiving Credit from Study Abroad

Study Abroad Coursework Approval Process

Students who will be transferring their coursework to Clemson after their study abroad experience are required to have their courses approved prior to departure. Courses are approved by the academic department overseeing the Clemson equivalent course(s). All course approvals are facilitated electronically. The process is outlined in detail within the Pam Hendrix Center application (within the Course Approval section and the Course Approval Guide).

Before starting the Clemson Course Approval process, review courses offered by your study abroad program and schedule an appointment with your academic advisor. During this meeting, you will want to discuss which coursework you should plan to enroll in while abroad. Using the course planning form, indicate which courses you will seek Clemson approval for and provide a copy of the form to your academic advisor. After choosing your courses, use the process outlined below to seek approval for each class.

Step 1: Have your courses approved by Clemson

Pre-Approved Courses

Pre-approved courses will appear in the "Course Offerings" box and must be requested from there.

  • To see a full list of courses, expand the number of entries shown on each page and scroll through all pages offered
  • Click the box to the left of each course you are planning to enroll in
  • Leave the "Credit Type" and "Preferred Approver" fields blank 
  • Click "Add to Course Approval Requests" button to add your course to the form. The course status will be “Draft.”
  • Do not request a Custom Course Request for a pre-approved course. If you are seeking an alternate CU equivalent, you must work with the relevant department on a course substitution after the credits have transferred. We recommend you reach out to the department in advance and in writing to determine if they are likely to approve a course substitution. 

Custom Course Approval Requests

If you plan to enroll in a course that is not pre-approved: 

  • gather detailed course syllabi and/or course descriptions 
  • Click the "Add a custom equivalent course" link at the bottom of the "Course Offerings" section.
  • Include the course name, course code, and a description URL, or syllabus attachment
  • Lorenzo de Medici (LdM) students please refer to special instructions, as you must request courses with the Marist course code and name adding the LdM course code and name in brackets
  • Do not add a home course (the department evaluating the course will determine the Clemson equivalent)
  • Specify which Clemson department should evaluate the course under “Search for Department” (Not specifying a department will delay the approval process.)
  • If you are trying to fulfill a specific requirement or hoping for a particular home course equivalent, please add this information to the “Description” box.
  • Click the "Add to Course Approval Request" button to add your course to the form. The course status will be “Draft.”

You must repeat this step for each custom course you would like to request.

Step 2: Click the purple "Submit Courses" button to request course evaluation. 

Step 3: Monitor Course Evaluation Progress

After your courses have been added to your "Course Approval Requests," you can monitor each course's approval status. The status for pre-approved courses should automatically update to "Approved," and custom course requests will show as "Pending." Once custom course evaluations are complete, the status of each course will be updated to "Approved" or "Rejected." Please note that departments evaluating the course determine the Clemson equivalents, and it may not be the course you were hoping to get. We will automatically send courses to a different department if a request was rejected and approval by a different department is likely. Be sure to check which Clemson course was approved when you receive the approval email. Click on the arrows to the far right of each course to find comments, if applicable. 

Step 4: Do NOT submit your study plan!

Once you submit the study plan, it is not editable. By not submitting the study plan, you (and we) will be able to edit your courses once you have arrived on-site. Once your program has ended, the Pam Hendrix Center will coordinate the submission during the credit transfer process.

Notes: 

  1. Completion of the Clemson course approval process does not guarantee your registration in chosen courses. Your course registration will be facilitated by your program. 
  2. It is recommended that you get more courses approved than you will enroll in on-site. Aim to choose 6-10 courses for a semester program or 3-5 courses for a summer program to give you flexibility in case your plans change.

* Please note, for 3000- and 4000-level courses within the departments of ACCT, BUS, ELE, FIN, LAW, MGT, and MKT, credits will only be accepted from AACSB International and/or EQUIS accredited institutions.  Please see The Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business Office of Career and Global Engagement website for more information.