You are guaranteed to receive academic credit for all coursework taken on OU-approved study abroad programs. Your Academic Adviser can help you determine which courses make sense for you to take while abroad. Your Study Abroad Adviser will help you through the course equivalency and credit transfer process.
You can apply for course equivalencies before or after a study abroad program. We recommend applying before you go so you know how your courses will transfer back to OU. The deadline to apply for course equivalencies is one year after your program has ended.
All courses taken abroad will be posted to your OU transcript. Most OU courses taken abroad will show letter grades, see your Study Abroad Adviser for exceptions. For all other programs, passed courses will post as S (satisfactory) and failed courses will post as U (unsatisfactory).
You must be enrolled full-time on semester programs (12 hours for undergraduates). Summer programs do not have a minimum enrollment requirement, but some financial aid requires full-time enrollment for summer programs (6 hours for undergraduates).
All study abroad coursework for Partner University and Partner Provider programs is automatically equated upon return as upper- or lower-division elective credit, as deemed appropriate by the OU Academic Records Office. The only exception is courses that were pre-equated prior to your departure.
Before requesting course equations, please check the existing course equations for your program on the program brochure under “Academics.” Course equations expire after three years, and the expiration date is listed in the Course Equivalency Table.
To request specific academic credit for courses taken abroad, you must follow the below procedures to guarantee official course equations. Please follow the instructions according to which type of credit you are seeking for your coursework.
*Spanish and Japanese have separate processes. Please use the Spanish or Japanese Language Credit Approval Request Forms found on our Forms page.
*For languages not offered at OU (Korean, Czech, Dutch, etc.), the course(s) will post to your OU transcript as generic INTL or EAAP credit.
The easiest way to get Gen Ed credit is to get your course equated to an OU course already on the approved General Education list. Otherwise, you will need to petition the Provost's Action Committee for General Education Oversight (PACGEO) when you return.
We recommend talking to your Academic Advisor in Phase 2 to determine which courses are best to take while studying abroad.
Phase 3: You will complete the Study Abroad Course Plan to select preliminary courses. We also recommend starting the course equivalency process now.
Phase 4: You will complete the Enrollment Verification Form to confirm your final courses after enrollment. The form must be signed by a program official on-site. Before you leave, request your offical transcript be sent to Education Abroad.
Phase 5: Once your transcript arrives, we will notify you and Academic Records to post your courses and grades. Any courses not previously equated will post as lower-division electives. Once your courses have been posted, you have up to one year to complete the course equivalency process.