Approval of Transfer Credit
Regular Courses: Students on non-Duke programs (and Duke in Berlin, Duke in France, and Duke in Glasgow) must verify that all the courses they plan to take while on study abroad leave are listed in the Database of Approved Courses. If courses are not contained in the Database of Approved Courses, students will need to provide the Global Education Office for Undergraduates with a transfer course approval form along with an official description of each course. This form is available on the Forms & Publications page. The GEO will consult the DUS of the appropriate department to determine the Duke equivalent of the course not approved. The DUS may assign 100 (888) (lower-level) or 300 (999) (upper-level) as an approved course number if there is no exact Duke equivalent. The DUS will also recommend a course credit value (cc) for the course and an Area of Knowledge equivalent where applicable. Transfer course credit from study abroad is not coded for the curriculum, except for Areas of Knowledge.
ARTSVIS/ARTHIST, Independent Study, Field Studies, and Academic Internship Approvals: For Art and Art History courses, Independent Study courses, Field Studies and Academic Internships, students must obtain not only tentative approval through the GEO before going, but also final approval from the DUS of the relevant department after they return. To receive final approval, students must bring back evidence of their written work in the course, namely a syllabus, papers, exams, portfolio. To facilitate receiving more than 100 (888) (lower-level) credit at Duke, it is recommended that students write a term paper for the course, even if the instructor does not require it. The required Final Approval of Study Abroad Courses form is available in the GEO.
Independent study courses may not be arranged in the first semester of the study abroad sojourn. Only students who study abroad for the full academic year in the same program are allowed to enroll in an independent study course at a foreign institution in their second semester. They will have to submit a proposal to the GEO to prove that the independent study course has academic merit and fits in their curriculum. They also have to submit the name and full address (with fax and e-mail) of the foreign faculty member who agrees to work with them. The GEO will then forward to the foreign faculty member the Duke guidelines for independent study as outlined in the most current undergraduate bulletin. If the foreign instructor agrees in writing to adhere to these guidelines, the student will be able to do the independent study project under the supervision of the foreign faculty member.
The independent study course must be one of the courses constituting the full study abroad course load and must be listed with a grade on the foreign transcript. The student should be aware that credit is not guaranteed for the independent study course until s/he has submitted all academic work (with substantive paper) completed in the course for retroactive credit approval by the appropriate department at Duke.
Any compensation for the instructor, if required by the foreign institution, has to be borne by the student.
The Maximum Number of Transfer Courses Permitted: To receive the maximum amount of transfer credit at Duke (generally four course credits for a full semester, eight for a full academic year, two for a summer), a student is expected to take a normal, full course load, as defined by the foreign institution. If the normal full course load at a foreign institution consists of more than four courses per semester, the student must take the full load; however, not more than four cc may be transferred to Duke per semester or may count towards graduation. Overloads are not transferable.
At certain British, Irish, and Japanese universities that are on the trimester system, only three course credits may be transferred for the single fall trimester. Students attending such universities in the spring are required to attend the two remaining trimesters and may transfer a maximum of five course credits.
All approved courses that a student takes abroad will appear on the Duke transcript as transfer credit and can be used to satisfy Area of Knowledge. At the DUS's discretion, courses taken abroad may be used to satisfy major and minor requirements. Upon special request, transfer credits taken abroad may be considered for modes of inquiry coding, including the FL code, after completion of the study abroad experience. Information and a request form can be found at http://www.aas.duke.edu/trinity/t-reqs/transfercredit.html. Note that specific materials are required and must accompany the request and that such coding is not guaranteed upon request.
