Undergraduate Study Abroad

Study Abroad Transfer Credit Guidelines

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Study Abroad Transfer Credit Guidelines

Learn more about transferring credit from your study abroad program.

Your study abroad courses must meet the following conditions for credit transfer to Brown:

  • All abroad courses must be taken for a letter or numeric grade; credit will not be granted for any courses taken S/NC (pass/fail). On your Brown transcript, no grades will be recorded for the coursework you transfer from study abroad.

  • Students must earn a grade of C or better (a C- will not transfer) in order to transfer a course back to Brown. Satisfactorily completed credit (courses where a “C” or better is earned) will be reflected on the Brown transcript as unassigned transfer credit.  

  • Courses covering subject matter not taught in Brown’s undergraduate curriculum, courses where a “C-” or less is earned, failed courses, and Withdrawn credit (courses with a W or withdrawn grade) will not be transferred to Brown and will not be reflected on your Brown academic record. However, these courses and grades may be listed on your program or host university transcript. (While not exhaustive, the following are examples of coursework that is not transfer eligible: vocational or technical training courses (e.g. Excel, EMT training, CPR, physical education, practical military training, among others;) self-study or other self-directed courses. Additionally, Brown generally does not grant transfer credit for internships. If you have questions regarding the eligibility of credit for these experiences, please ask your study abroad advisor.) 
  • Courses worth less than .25 Brown credits (1 semester hour credit or 2 ECTS) are not transferable.
  • Courses that duplicate courses for which you have already received credit at Brown are not transferable. Conversely, upon return to campus, students must not take Brown courses similar to what they have transferred from their study abroad program.

Study Abroad Transfer Credit Conversion

Universities around the world use different systems for calculating credit hours and grades. While Brown’s credit system is usually based on “one course = one Brown course credit = 4 semester credit hours”, most study abroad programs and host universities offer courses with variable credit. 

Full-time enrollment in an academic semester at Brown is enrollment in three to five Brown course credits, and regardless of courses taken, no students may earn more than five course credits in a single semester. This five-course-credit maximum limit per semester includes courses taken abroad as well as courses taken remotely through Brown such as independent study projects or remote-accessible courses. Based on the credit system of your study abroad program, you may take more than five courses, however, you will not be able to transfer more than the equivalent of five Brown course credits (or the equivalent of four Brown courses, if you’re taking a Brown remote-accessible course). If you earn more than the equivalent of five course credits, your study abroad advisor will reach out to you to confirm which courses you’d like to transfer back to Brown.

Transfer Credit Equivalency Guide

Use the guide below to learn how your credit transfer is calculated for your program.

 

Brown Course Credit (CC) Equivalent

Semester Credit Hours (SCH)

Quarter Credit Hours (QCH) 

European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)

UK Credit Transfer & Accumulation System (CATS)*

0 CC 

< 1 SCH

< 2 QCH

<2 ECTS

< 4 CATS

0.25 CC

1 SCH

2 QCH

2 ECTS

4 CATS

5 CATS

0.5 CC

2 SCH

3 QCH

3 ECTS

4 ECTS

6 CATS

7 CATS

8 CATS

9 CATS

0.75 CC

3 SCH

4 QCH

5 QCH

5 ECTS

6 ECTS

10 CATS

11 CATS

12 CATS

13 CATS

1 CC

4 SCH

6 QCH

7 QCH

7 ECTS

8 ECTS

9 ECTS

14 CATS

15 CATS

16 CATS

17 CATS

18 CATS

19 CATS

1.25 CC

5 SCH

8 QCH

10 ECTS

20 CATS

21 CATS

1.5 CC

6 SCH

9 QCH

11 ECTS

12 ECTS

22 CATS

23 CATS

24 CATS

25 CATS

1.75 CC

7 SCH

10 QCH

11 QCH

13 ECTS

14 ECTS

26 CATS

27 CATS

28 CATS

29 CATS

2 CC

8 SCH

12 QCH

13 QCH

15 ECTS

16 ECTS

17 ECTS

30 CATS

31 CATS

32 CATS

33 CATS

34 CATS

35 CATS

Oxford - Credit for coursework at Oxford will transfer based on the number of tutorials completed. For each primary/full tutorial successfully completed 1.5 Brown credits will be awarded. For each secondary/half tutorial successfully completed 1 Brown course credit will be awarded. If you are unsure whether one of your tutorials is classified as primary/full or half/secondary, please reach out to your study abroad advisor to confirm.

Japan - Coursework earned at Japanese institutions will transfer as follows: 2 Japanese credits = .5 Brown course credits, 1 Japanese credit = .25 Brown credits. In recognition of the time and work put into language courses (despite being recorded as half the value of other courses in the Japanese system), we will recognize them as 2 Japanese credits and transfer as .5 Brown course credits.

*UK credit equivalencies outside of the CATS points system can vary due to the unique academic structure. To understand how your credits will transfer on other UK programs, such as Cambridge tutorial models, please reach out to your study abroad advisor. 

Only courses (and residual course remainders)** with credit values greater than 0.25 CCs are eligible for transfer credit recording to the nearest 0.25 equivalence value.

Courses with Brown credit equivalence greater than one (1) Brown course credit will be split into whole course credit units plus a residual remainder (e.g., 1.5 Brown course credit equivalence will be transferred as 1 Brown course credit + 0.5 Brown course credit)

Enrollment Credit from Study Abroad

In order to earn a Brown degree, students must accumulate eight semesters of enrollment credit, signifying the completion of eight semesters of full-time study. Students studying abroad receive one semester of enrollment credit for each fall or spring term they complete abroad.

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