Study Abroad and Major Credit
The decision whether to count courses abroad toward the major is the prerogative of the major department and not the OSA. In order for a course to count toward the major, students must obtain preliminary approval from their advisor or another member of the department prior to their departure from Wesleyan, as indicated on the online application. Permission to count courses toward the major is not granted retroactively. Prior approval generally requires students to present course syllabus and/or description to departmental advisor or chair, as noted, before beginning program. Some departments make approval contingent upon a portfolio review, that is, the submission of the course syllabus, course description, and written coursework to departmental advisor or chair upon returning to Wesleyan.
Students may understandably need to modify their selection during the on-site registration period abroad. They are therefore expected to seek their advisor’s guidance and approval by email and must notify the OSA of any modifications (studyabroad@wesleyan.edu). Failure to do so may result in the student making inadequate progress toward the completion of the major.
In general, departments follow the guidelines listed below when approving courses. This list has been prepared by the Office of Study Abroad based on information supplied by the individual departments and is update periodically. Student should nonetheless confirm this information with the corresponding departmental representative.
Departmental Regulations for Major Credit
African American Studies |
One credit taken away from Wesleyan may be counted toward the major. Prior approval is required by your major advisor. |
American Studies |
Up to 2 courses taken abroad may count toward the major. AMST 200, junior colloquium, and senior requirements (essay, thesis, or seminar) must be completed at Wesleyan. Prior approval and portfolio review are not required for American Studies electives, although consultation with major advisor is recommended. Major advisor may sign for Approved Programs or petition programs. |
Anthropology |
Up to 3 courses abroad may count toward the major for concentration or elective credit. Prior approval by major advisor and a course grade of B or better are required. Core theory and methods courses (Crafting Ethnography and Theory 1 & 2) cannot be substituted.
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Archaeological Studies |
Up to 3 courses abroad may count toward the major. Prior approval, portfolio review, and grade of B or better are required. Approved by department chair. |
Art (Studio) |
Up to 3 courses abroad may count toward the major. Prior approval and portfolio review (including work produced and/or documentation thereof) are required. Approved by instructor in relevant medium and/or major advisor. |
Art History |
No more than two courses taken abroad (or at US institutions) may be counted toward the major, with preapproval. These can be used to satisfy the two 200-level electives but may not count toward the geographical and/or chronological distributional requirements. In order to obtain prior approval, submit a copy of the syllabus for the course to the Art History Program Director, who will consult as necessary with the Wesleyan professor in the nearest area of specialization. In the case of Art Studio majors seeking credit toward the four art history courses required for the Studio major, these courses must be approved by the Studio major advisor or by the Studio Program Director. |
Astronomy |
No limit but prior approval from the department chair is required. |
Biology |
With prior permission of the departmental undergraduate liaison Professor Mike Singer (msinger@wesleyan.edu), up to two life science courses from outside the Biology Department or from another institution may be counted toward the major. |
Chemistry |
No limit on major credits. Prior approval and portfolio review are required. Approval by department chair. |
Classical Studies & Classics |
Students attending study abroad programs approved by the Office of International Study may apply up to four courses toward completion of their major in Classics or Classical Civilization. The courses must be on subjects relevant to the Classical world and require departmental pre-approval. Majors are expected to take at least one course in the department upon their return to campus.
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College of East Asian Studies |
Majors in the College of East Asian Studies are expected (but not required) to undertake at least one semester of study abroad in East Asia. There is no limit on the number of courses that may count towards the major. Prior approval must be obtained from a faculty advisor in order to apply courses to the major, towards a particular concentration, and/or towards core requirements. CEAS 201 must be taken at Wesleyan. |
College of Letters |
Study abroad is required in the second semester of JUNIOR year. Wesleyan-administered programs are preferred. STUDY IN ANY COUNTRY WHERE STUDENT'S TARGET LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN IS ALSO AN OPTION. Approval by department chair or major advisor. Courses taken abroad cannot be used to satisfy major course requirements in the College of Letters. |
College of Social Studies |
Study abroad is encouraged for the Fall semester of Junior year. No major credit is granted for study abroad. Prior approval is required. Approval by major advisor. |
Computer Science |
Up to 2.0 credits per semester may count toward the major, with a maximum of one course counting toward a core course. We prefer that at most one course be used toward the elective requirement---in other words, one core and one elective. Alternatives will be considered on a case-by-case basis. COMP 211 and 212 must be taken at Wesleyan. Prior approval by the departmental CADCOM committee is required. |
Dance |
Up to 2 dance technique courses abroad may count toward the major. In addition, one additional one credit course may be counted toward the elective requirement in the dance major. Standard based on contact hours: 24 hrs=0.25, 42-50 hrs=0.5, 84-100 hrs=1.0 credit. Core requirements, advanced research, and composition must be taken on campus. Prior approval is required. Approval by major advisor, then department chair. |
Earth and Environmental Science |
No more than 2 upper-level courses from study abroad may be counted towards the major. Upper-level courses may count as “Earth and Planets,” “Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Atmosphere,” or “Methods” courses. Prior approval and portfolio review by the department chair is required. |
Economics |
A maximum of 2 courses taken abroad may be counted as lower-tier (200-level) electives toward the major; provided that any such course have at least introductory economics as a prerequisite. ECON 110, 300, 301, and 302 must be taken at Wesleyan. Courses taken abroad may not substantially duplicate any courses taken before or afterwards at Wesleyan. The Department chair must approve all courses PRIOR to the student leaving Wesleyan for study abroad. Students must submit: (1) departmental transfer credit form (available on the ECON webpage) and (2) supporting documentation (syllabus and/or detailed course description) prior to departure. After completing their study abroad, students may petition for one or both courses to count toward the major requirement of 3 upper-tier (300-level) electives by submitting completed coursework to the Chair. Please note that all 300-level electives MUST have statistics (equivalent to ECON 300) PLUS either intermediate microeconomics (equivalent to ECON 301) or intermediate macroeconomics (equivalent to ECON 302) as prerequisites. In our experience, very few study abroad ECON courses qualify for upper-tied elective credit. |
English |
For full regulations please see the English department website. Up to 3 credits abroad may count toward the major. Only courses offered in the English departments of Wesleyan can count toward the departmental requirements in Theory, Literary History I and II, and Literatures of Difference. Prior approval is required for courses, which are arranged in consultation with an advisor at Wesleyan. Portfolio review may be required for other programs. Approval by major advisor or, for students who have not yet been assigned an English major advisor, by the Transfer of Credit Coordinator. |
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies |
Up to 2 courses abroad may count toward the major. Major requirement courses (gateway, Feminist Theories and Senior Seminar) must be taken at Wesleyan. Prior approval by major advisor is required. |
Film Studies |
Up to 1 credit may count toward the major. Prior approval and portfolio review (including syllabi, course work, papers, information on screenings, instructor) are required. Approval by Chair |
French Studies |
Up to 4 courses may count toward the major. Approval by department head. |
German Studies |
A maximum of four courses in one semester or six courses in two semesters taken in Germany, may be counted toward the major. For students who have not taken GRST213, one credit of intensive language instruction in Germany, may count toward the major. Before enrolling in courses in Germany, students must obtain approval from their major advisor. Students must take at least one 300-level German studies course at Wesleyan upon their return. |
Government |
Up to 2 courses abroad may count toward the major. Majors on full-year programs may count a third course with the approval of their major advisor. No credit toward the major will be approved for internships or introductory courses. No credit toward graduation will be approved for internships. A student seeking major credit must give the pre-approving faculty member a course title and written course description before the first day on which the course meets, either in person before departing (preferable) or by email from abroad (if the title and course description are unavailable before departure). |
Hispanic Literatures & Cultures |
Up to 4 courses taken abroad in Spanish may count toward the major. However, standard study abroad program language courses count for university credit, but not for the HISP major. See the HISP major website for more information about courses taken abroad and in related fields. If you have further questions after reviewing the HISP major website, please consult with your HISP major advisor. |
History |
Up to 2 courses abroad may count toward the 8 200-level requirements; other courses may count toward the 11-credit total over 150-level. All 3 seminars must be taken at Wesleyan. Prior approval is required. Approval by major advisor; chair for non-majors with history requirements. |
Italian Studies |
Up to 4 courses from the ECCO program in Bologna are accepted for the Italian Studies major; one of these may be on a topic that is not Italian in nature (i.e., Economy of Russia taken at the University of Bologna). Only the credit from the University of Bologna may be Cr/U instead of a letter grade. The course from the Lecce program is accepted for the Italian Studies major only for students who have completed only ITAL101&102 before study abroad. For programs other than ECCO, a review of the number of credits that will be accepted into the major will be required. Please consult with your Italian Studies major advisor. |
Latin American Studies |
In effect, at most three courses from a semester- or year-long study abroad program may count toward the Latin American Studies major, because 7 of the 10 courses required to complete the Latin American Studies major must be taken at Wesleyan. Prior approval of all courses is required. Up to 2 nation-specific courses taken abroad, from different curricular divisions, may count toward the major. Students should take at least one course in their concentration. Coursework taken in Latin America must be about Latin America and in Spanish or Portuguese. Internships are not approved for major credit. Approval by major advisor; if unavailable, department chair or other LAST professor. For more information, visit the Latin American Studies website. |
Mathematics |
Limit determined on a case by case basis by the Departmental Advisory Committee, depending on the student's past and proposed curricular program. Math 225 and 261 must be taken at Wesleyan. Prior approval is required. |
Medieval Studies |
Up to 5 courses abroad may count toward the major. Prior approval from the chair of MDST is required. |
Molecular Biology and Biochemistry |
No limit; 1-2 is usual. Prior approval (including grading criteria) is required. For requirements outside major, prior approval must be obtained from the relevant department (chem, math, physics). Major advisor (and sometimes department chair) for biology; DC or designee for required courses outside biology. |
Music |
No limit. Prior approval by directors of undergraduate studies. Any changes in the plan should also be approved by directors of undergraduate studies. Students may be asked to submit syllabi or other course material when they return. |
Neuroscience and Behavior |
Up to 4 courses may count toward the foundation course requirements, and 1 may count toward upper-level requirements for the major. Prior approval is required. Approval by department chair or major advisor. If a course replaces a non-departmental requirement (e.g., Chemistry), relevant department must approve. |
Philosophy |
No limit; usually no more than 2 credits may count toward the major, with the exception of students taking a year at Oxford or Cambridge. Prior approval (based on syllabi and course descriptions) is required. Approval by department chair. |
Physics |
No limit. Prior approval is required. Approval by major advisor and/or department chair. |
Psychology |
Starting with the class of 2028, study abroad courses will only count towards university credit and will no longer count towards the psychology major. For students in graduating classes 2027 and earlier, no more than 2 credits may be transferred from abroad programs. Students should consult the Psychology Majors Manual for more information. |
Religion |
Up to 2 (rarely 3) courses abroad may count toward Historical Traditions courses, and sometimes toward Thematic Approach courses. Method and Theory courses must be taken at Wesleyan. Prior approval is required. Approval by major advisor, then department chair. |
Romance Studies |
Up to 3 courses may count toward the major during one semester abroad, and up to 4 courses if going abroad twice (once in each of the two languages of study). These courses may be taken in one or both of the major languages. These courses should be approved by the student's major advisor. Email contact with faculty advisor encouraged while abroad. |
Russian Language and Literature; Russian and East European Studies |
2 credits per semester abroad (and 1 for summer study) may count toward the major. Coursework must be conducted in Russian. Prior approval is required. Courses deemed less demanding than Wesleyan courses may earn 0.5 credit toward the major rather than 1 full credit. Approval by Profs. Susanne Fusso or or Roman Utkin. |
SISP |
The Science in Society Program allows for majors to count one course from study abroad toward their major in SISP. Courses that count toward the six required courses in SISP must have a focus in science and technology studies, although students can also get credit for science courses or toward their area of concentration. Approval by department chair. |
Sociology |
Up to 3 credits taken off campus can be applied toward the major, including study abroad courses. Social Theory and Social Analysis must be taken on campus. Prior approval is required by the major advisor. |
Theater |
Theater Majors are expected to take THEA 105 Production Lab, and all credits for Technical Practice and Performance Practice at Wesleyan. Approval for all courses taken abroad is required prior to enrollment. Approval by department chair in consultation with faculty in area of relevant expertise for courses requested. |