Study Abroad Credit Issues
Lehigh students may utilize credit earned through approved study abroad programs as
stated here. A minimum of 12 and maximum of 16 U.S. credit hours per semester,
up to a limit of 32 credit hours for two semesters abroad, and between 6 and 12credits per summer term depending on program length, applicable towards theLehigh University degree.
Approval to study abroad does not indicate that courses taken on a program areguaranteed to transfer. The conditions that govern transfer credit to Lehigh University
still apply. These include the following:
1. Lehigh University must receive an official transcript representing the student’s
work from an accredited institution of higher learning. Lehigh accepts grade
reports from a small number of non-accredited programs with which Lehigh has
affiliations: these include CIEE and IES.
2. All courses must be taken for a letter grade. Pass/fail courses will NOT receive
credit at Lehigh University.
3. The student must have earned a “C” (2.0) or better in a course for the hours forthat course to transfer (credit that bears a “C-“ grade or lower will not transfer).
4. No grades will transfer, and students GPA is not impacted.
5. The student cannot repeat a course that has substantially the same content as acourse already taken at Lehigh.
6. Courses must be liberal arts or major courses of a type that either are or might
be taught at Lehigh (i.e., credit will not transfer for orientation courses,
city/country tours, or courses in fashion, cuisine, or other vocationally orientedareas).
7. Courses must be of a similar workload to Lehigh courses.
8. The Registrar’s office will evaluate all foreign transcripts for appropriate credit
translation (i.e., 70 credits for a course taken in the UK will be translated into theLehigh credit system).
Students who do not follow these credit policies will NOT
get credit on their Lehigh transcript.
Furthermore, students MUST get course approvals by Lehigh faculty in order to getcredit for a study abroad course. Not all study abroad programs and /or courses meet theacademic standards of Lehigh University, thus Lehigh faculty must review course
descriptions and/or course syllabi from the study abroad program for course approval.
The student’s academic department determines the fulfillment of major, minor, anddistribution requirements. To fulfill and requirement a student must get the approval
from their advisor to fulfill a major, minor, or a Humanities, Social Science, Math, orScience distribution.

DATE:PRINT NAME:

Please initial below.
I understand the following:_____ The courses that I take abroad must be approved by
Lehigh University before I leave to study abroad to ensure thatthe credits will transfer. These courses are approved by getting
signatures by appropriate Department Chairs, as well as myacademic advisor, on the Study Abroad Credit Approval form.
The Course Approval form is due to the Study Abroad Office
May 1, 2009.
_____ If I want to get courses approved while I am abroad, I
must send a copy of the course syllabus to the appropriate
Department Chairs, as well as my academic advisor, throughe- mail requesting approval. Please consult your guidebook or
the Study Abroad website for a sample template. The studyabroad office must be copied on all correspondence about course
approval decisions. Once abroad, there is no guarantee that anyof my courses will be approved for Lehigh credit.
_____ I will register for Spring 2010 (if applicable) classes online
if studying abroad in Fall ‘09. If there are any special
arrangements that must be made for my admittance into thesecourses, I need to make such arrangements with my academic
advisor or appropriate Department Chair before I leave on mystudy abroad experience.
Signature:__________________________________________________