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Receiving credits post-program

Congratulations on your life-changing experience abroad! Let’s ensure your credits and grades are awarded properly and on time.

Credit conversion and grade reporting processes vary by program type. Refer to the sections below for specific instructions on obtaining your study abroad credits and grades.

University Exchanges and UW Partner Programs

University exchanges and UW partner programs

  1. Pre-departure requirements & enrollment
    You must complete all pre-departure requirements on the post-decision checklist and need to be enrolled in an FSTDY 300 or FSTDY 303 placeholder course during your term(s) abroad. For details, please visit our Pre-departure requirements and enrollment page.
  2. Complete all required academic work
    It is mandatory that students complete all required academic work for each course taken abroad.

  1. Have an electronic copy of your official transcript directly emailed to UW Study Abroad (studyabroad@uw.edu) after you complete the term(s) abroad. Official transcripts can also be electronically shared with UW Study Abroad.
    UW Study Abroad also accepts a physical copy of an official transcript. An official transcript must be mailed directly to the following mailing address.

    UW Study Abroad

    459 Schmitz Hall   1410 NE Campus Parkway
    Box 355815  Seattle, WA 98195-5815

  2. After receiving your transcript, our office will prepare an electronic Credit Evaluation Form, offering a preliminary evaluation of the number of credits and grades for each course, using country/university-specific grading scales. We will send you an email once this form is ready, usually within a week of receiving the foreign transcript. Refer to the section below for details on the Credit Evaluation Form.
  3. You will share your Credit Evaluation Form – along with course syllabi and coursework completed while abroad – to the appropriate UW departments in order to have UW equivalent courses assigned to each foreign course.
  4. Once all courses have been assigned UW course numbers, you will submit the Credit Evaluation Form online and we will add the credits to your UW transcript, usually within one week of receipt of the completed online form.

  • Complete early
    Complete the credit conversion process by the end of the quarter following your study abroad experience. If you will be receiving financial aid for the year after your study abroad program, it will be put on hold if your credits are not converted in a timely manner.
  • FSTDY and graduation
    You will not be able to graduate with a placeholder credit such as FSTDY 300 or FSTDY 303.
  • XX credit
    Because credits from study abroad programs are not considered transfer credit, your adviser may not award courses with XX in the course number (e.g. BIOL 2XX).
  • Credit amount
    UW Study Abroad suggests the number of credits earned based on our credit conversion tables for each foreign institution (1 semester credit = 1.5 UW quarter credits, 1 ECTS credit = 0.75 UW quarter credits). However, departmental advisers ultimately decide the number of credits earned.
  • Type of credit
    Although credit is guaranteed, the type of UW credit awarded is not determined until after the exchange or program has ended and the appropriate UW department has evaluated the coursework completed abroad.
  • Interdisciplinary course credit
    Some interdisciplinary courses may be eligible for multiple UW credits. For instance, if you enroll in an art, media, and communication-related course, it might qualify for credits in art, media studies, or communication. You can explore UW’s course catalogs and choose the department to which you’d like to assign the credit. If the chosen department doesn’t have a suitable UW equivalent, you can consider a different department.
  • All courses are reported
    All credits and grades for courses completed abroad will be reported to your UW transcript regardless of the final grade or need for credit.
  • Writing credit
    If you wish to earn Writing credit for courses you took abroad, please work with the adviser who is assigning a UW credit to the course.
  • Syllabus
    Although you will still have access to the syllabi for the courses you took abroad, some universities limit access to those who have completed their program. It is important to retain your syllabi and documents related to your coursework for future credit evaluations.
  • Consider General Studies credit
    If you can’t find a department with equivalent credits, you can ask Undergraduate Advising and they can assign General Studies credit.

  1. The Credit Evaluation Form is created by the Study Abroad office upon receiving your official transcript.
  2. Your official transcript is uploaded onto MyGlobal and can be viewed or downloaded.
  3. You will receive an email containing a link to access it along with instructions.
  4. The Credit Evaluation Form is a Google sheet accessible exclusively through your UW NetID. If your UW NetID is inactive, contact studyabroad@uw.edu for alternative instructions.
  5. Activate your UW Google account in MyUW to access your Credit Evaluation Form if your UW Google is not active.
  6. Upload your course documents to your Credit Evaluation Form.
  7. Utilize the provided customized email template within your Credit Evaluation Form to request evaluations for foreign courses from the appropriate departmental adviser.
  8. The contact list for advisers/departments can be found within your Credit Evaluation Form.
  9. Once all courses are assigned UW credits, click the “FORM IS COMPLETE – Submit Now”  button. This process is important because our office won’t know if your Credit Evaluation Form is completed unless you click this button.
  10. Upon submission to our office, we will forward your credits and grades to Graduation and Academic Records within 1-3 business days.
  11. Graduation and Academic Records will post your credits and grades to your UW transcript within 1-4 business days.
  12. It typically takes around 2 to 6 business days from the time of your submission until your credits and grades are recorded. Depending on the time of the year, it may take longer.

UW Faculty-led Programs

UW Faculty-led programs

  1. Pre-departure requirements & enrollment
    You must complete all pre-departure requirements on the post-decision checklist and need to be enrolled in an FSTDY 300 or FSTDY 303 placeholder course during your term(s) abroad. For details, please visit our Pre-departure requirements and enrollment page.
  2. Complete all required academic work
    It is mandatory that students attend and participate in all courses abroad and entirely complete the coursework included in the program. Students are not eligible to drop courses on UW faculty-led programs.

Once your program has ended and all coursework has been evaluated by your program director, the courses and grades will be reported to UW Study Abroad. Our office will submit your credits and grades to Graduation and Academic Records, and these credits will be posted to your UW transcript, usually within a week or two of receipt of the grade report.

  • Summer-A course work is reported at the end of summer quarter.
  • Early Fall coursework is reported at the end of autumn quarter.

  • All credits and grades are reported
    Students on UW Faculty-led Programs earn UW credit for academic work completed abroad. All grades and credits for courses completed abroad will be reported, regardless of the final grade or need for credit.
  • Writing credit
    If you wish to earn Writing credit for courses you took abroad, please work with the adviser who is assigning a UW credit to the course.

FRILA – Independent Learning Abroad

FRILA - Independent Learning Abroad

  1. Pre-departure requirements & enrollment
    You must complete all pre-departure requirements on the post-decision checklist and need to be enrolled in an FSTDY 300 placeholder course for FRILA – For Credit during your term(s) abroad. For details, please visit our Pre-departure requirements and enrollment page.
  2. Pre-approval
    FRILA – For Credit students must receive credit pre-approval from the sponsoring UW academic department(s) and submit your Credit Verification Form filled out and signed by your sponsoring faculty. Some FRILA students do not need credit pre-approval. Those students will need to follow the credit conversion process through the Credit Evaluation Form.

  1. Upon your return from abroad, you will work with your sponsoring faculty and departments to have your academic performance evaluated on your independent study. The sponsor will then complete the “upon return” section of the Credit Verification Form.
  2. Some FRILA students do not need credit pre-approval, but need an official transcript sent to UW Study Abroad and complete the credit conversion process through the Credit Evaluation Form. Please follow the instructions found in the University Exchanges and UW Partner Programs section on this page.
  3. Return the completed Credit Verification Form to UW Study Abroad, and your credits and grades will be posted to your transcript.
  4. It is important to note that all grades for courses completed abroad will be reported, regardless of the final grade or need for credit.

Frequently Asked Questions

University Exchanges and UW Partner Programs questions

FAQs - University Exchanges and UW Partner Programs questions

Emailing us at studyabroad@uw.edu is the best way to get your credit-related questions. UW Study Abroad office does not provide UW course equivalencies. For specific UW credit equivalents for foreign courses, please contact a departmental adviser in the relevant department and provide them with the syllabi. Syllabi are available on the host institutions’ websites.

Your next step is to arrange for your official transcript to be sent to UW Study Abroad. Electronic copy of your transcript can be emailed to (or shared with) studyabroad@uw.edu. Once our office receives your official transcript, we will create your Credit Evaluation Form and send you an email with instructions for next steps. Please visit our How to receive credits and grades page.

  • If you have completed all the steps outlined on the top page of the Credit Evaluation Form (including Step #4 for form submission), your credits and grades should appear on your transcript within 2-5 business days after your submission.
  • If it has been more than 6 business days since the day you submitted your Credit Evaluation Form, please email us at studyabroad@uw.edu.

Possible reasons for delay in posting credits and grades to UW Transcript:

  • We may not have received your official transcript from your study abroad institution. To ensure proper credit conversion, please have the official transcript sent directly to studyabroad@uw.edu. Upon receipt, we initiate the credit conversion process.
  • Ensure you have completed and submitted your Credit Evaluation Form. All courses must be evaluated, and the form should be submitted by clicking the “FORM IS COMPLETE – Submit Now” button. Upon submission, we can forward your credits and grades to Graduation and Academic Records.

Credit Evaluation Form questions

Credit Evaluation Form questions

UW Study Abroad is required by the University of Washington to report all courses listed in the official foreign transcript. Therefore, the only way to officially omit a course from being reported is by contacting the foreign institution or partner to update your foreign transcript. You will need to follow the foreign institution regulations on how to have an updated foreign transcript.

  • Make sure you are using your UW email to view the document. We will not give access to non-UW emails.
  • If you are still getting denied access, even after using you UW email, make sure that your UW Google is active. You can check by going into MyUW.
  • Try using the link given to you into an incognito window.
  • If you are still having access issues, please email us at studyabroad@uw.edu.

Possible reasons for advisers not having access:

  • For data privacy reasons, Credit Evaluation Forms can’t be accessed with departmental NetIDs. They can only be viewed with personal NetIDs.
  • The form has been reviewed and completed. Once a form is complete and submitted, students and advisers no longer have access to the form. If you request access via Google, we will let you know if the form is completed or not.
  • Advisers don’t have the correct ASTRA permission to view the form. Permission to access the Credit Evaluation Form is regulated by the same permission group that regulates EARS/MyPlan. In order for advisers to consistently have access to the forms for every student who requests credit evaluation, advisers will need to get EARS/MyPlan permission by contacting the Undergraduate Advising at advice@uw.edu to request access. Please ask your adviser to email studyabroad@uw.edu for the details and questions.

Email studyabroad@uw.edu the following information:

  • For which course have you uploaded the document(s)?
  • For which course would you like the document to be uploaded?

There is a 5 document uploading limit, so if you have reached that, let us know that in the email as well.

UW Faculty-led Program questions

UW Faculty-led Program questions

You do not have to do anything. Your program director will submit your grades.

Your credits and grades are reported to UW Study Abroad by your study abroad program’s director upon program completion. Graduation and Academic Records manually enters your credits and grades after the quarterly deadline. Therefore, it may take up to a week for your transcript to reflect these credits and grades. If you participated in an Early Fall program, your credits and grades will be posted AFTER the autumn quarter.