| Course Credit | Registering While Abroad |
| Major, Minor and Distribution Credit | Honors and Scholarships |
| Language Proficiency | Graduation Issues |
Here you’ll find important rules, policies, procedures, and advice for Weinberg College students considering foreign study. You should read this carefully both before you leave and after you return; if you have questions, contact your WCAS Adviser. The Study Abroad Office also maintains information about programs, rules, applications, and policies for study abroad.
Approval for foreign study applies to the general program you have chosen and does not constitute advance approval of any individual course. When you have completed your studies, an official transcript should be sent to the Study Abroad Office.
In planning for your work abroad and for your return to Northwestern, you should be aware of some important considerations that govern study abroad.
Residence Requirements. All Northwestern University students are subject to the Undergraduate Residence Requirement (URR) and are responsible for ensuring that they meet this requirement. Study abroad credits may reduce the URR, so the URR may place constraints on the timing and duration of your study abroad. The URR is explained in the Northwestern Undergraduate Catalog. If you have questions, contact your College Adviser and your degree auditor in the Office of the Registrar.
Course Credit. Credit in WCAS will not be given for courses that are not appropriate to the College’s curriculum or that do not meet the usual standards for credit in the College. For example, credit is not given for repetition of work that has already received Northwestern credit or for internships and independent studies not specifically approved and supervised by WCAS faculty.
See the Study Abroad Office for information on the maximum number of credits you earn through specific programs, on how semester credits can translate into quarter credits, and about grade requirements for credit.
Petitioning for major, minor, distribution, or foreign language requirement credit. Credits from study abroad count as electives unless they are specifically authorized to count toward major or minor credits by the department or as distribution requirements by the Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising. Although students should consult their advisers during the application stage to determine whether it would be reasonable to petition for major, minor, or distribution credit, the petition itself can only go forward after the courses have been completed and an official transcript has been issued by the program sponsor. The Petition for Credit from Study Abroad is available online. Students are advised to complete the petition process as soon as possible after their transcript has been released by the Study Abroad Office to the Registrar’s Office. This will happen upon students’ completion of a program evaluation for the Study Abroad Office.
In order to be eligible for distribution credit, courses must be substantially similar to courses on the College’s approved list and conform to the defining language of the distribution requirements. Students who study abroad for a full academic year normally receive a maximum of two units of distribution credit, and these two units may not both be in the same distribution area. Students who study abroad for shorter periods normally receive a maximum of one unit of distribution credit.
Students may use coursework in a foreign language taken abroad to help complete the foreign language proficiency requirement, but you should be aware that simply completing the courses may not complete the requirement. As with any student taking foreign language courses away from Northwestern, you may need to obtain approval from the department that the requirement is satisfied or to complete a proficiency exam. Contact the department for more information.
Each department or program offering a major or minor is responsible for decisions about how study abroad credits may be applied toward its requirements. Students should have at least one major declared prior to applying to study abroad; if this is not possible, you should contact your WCAS Adviser.
Retain all class descriptions, syllabi, papers, readings, and other course materials from your classes abroad; they may be needed as part of the petition process. Students can consult our checklist for transferring credit from study abroad for more information.
NOTE: If you participated in any of the following programs, you DO NOT need to go through the credit transfer process since you took Northwestern courses abroad which will appear on your Northwestern transcript: EU Studies in Paris; Public Health in Paris; Croatia Summer; Prague Summer; Turkey Summer; Global Engagement Summer Institute in Argentina (2009 program), Bolivia, India, Nicaragua or Uganda.
Be aware that these courses are subject to the rules and restrictions as the same numbered courses taught in Evanston. If the particular course, when taught at NU, is a distribution course, it automatically will be so when taught abroad. If the course has not been approved by the department as a distro, it will not count as one, though you may apply to use such a course as part of a 2-for-1 distribution requirement substitution. Contact your WCAS Adviser. Any courses you wish to count toward a major or minor which do not appear properly on your Degree Progress on CAESAR can be slotted there when you apply for graduation.
Language Proficiency. It is important that you be aware of language proficiency requirements for both Northwestern and for the program to which you apply. You can find this information through the Study Abroad Office. If you want to continue taking a foreign language upon returning to Northwestern, you should consult the relevant department for information about course placement.
E-mail. E-mail is a very useful tool for students studying abroad. If you plan to use a different e-mail address while abroad, be sure to check your Northwestern account too, as the Study Abroad Office and your advisers will be contacting you via that address. Or, you may forward your Northwestern e-mail to an address that you will be regularly checking.
Registering for Courses While Abroad. If you study abroad, you will likely be away during Advanced Registration for the quarter in which you’ll return. If you have been approved for study abroad through Northwestern, you will still be registered as an Northwestern student while abroad, and you should be able to register normally through CAESAR (although you should be wary of time differences when you get your registration time!). If a course you wish to enroll in requires a permission number, you can contact the department office directly by email for assistance. If you have trouble registering while abroad, you can contact the Study Abroad Office.
If you study abroad without Northwestern’s approval you are considered to be on a leave of absence. You must complete an Application for Former Student to Re-Enter and submit it to the Registrar’s Office approximately six weeks before advanced registration for the quarter you’ll return.
Honors and Scholarships. If you are interested in pursuing honors work in your major upon returning from study abroad, you should be sure to discuss this with your departmental and WCAS advisers before departing, especially if you plan to be gone for your entire junior year. Many honors programs require application at the end of junior year or the beginning of senior year, so it will be vital to remain in touch via email with faculty members you want to work with. The same is true if you want to apply for certain fellowships or scholarships whose deadlines are early in fall quarter. If this is case, you should stay in touch with the Office of Fellowships while away.
Graduation Issues. Studying abroad can impact a student’s ability to graduate early and the number of courses required to be taken at Northwestern. Contact your WCAS Adviser for more information. If you are abroad during spring of your junior year and plan to graduate in spring of senior year, be sure to complete and submit a Petition to Graduate soon after your return to campus. Students normally submit this form a calendar year in advance of their expected date of graduation; there won’t be a penalty for submitting it late, but be sure to do so as soon as you return to campus. You do not need to wait for your study abroad credits to be posted on your Northwestern transcript; those credits that will count toward requirements will be spelled out for the Registrar’s Office when you petition for credit.
