Academic Planning
Take courses that count. Do that internship. Make Study Abroad work for your Academics.
Find Your Major Advising Page (MAP):
Major Advising Pages (MAPS) are major-specific study abroad resource pages designed to help you find a program that fits within your academic major or area of interest. Major Advising Pages (MAPs) are listed below. Find and bookmark yours.
Tips on Searching for Courses:
- Review programs that students in your major and/or college have participated in by visiting the UCSD Programs Search.
- If considering a UCEAP program, use UCEAP's search tools to help you to find courses that students have previously taken on UCEAP.
- For a full list of your UCEAP course options, visit UCEAP's website, find your desired program's page and then select the Academics Tab. From there you will find links directing to all available courses, often through a university partner's website.
- Take time to research! In creating your list of possible UCEAP courses, try to select a few backup course options - to be used in case you need them.
- Don't forget to discuss your course plans with your advisors prior to departure - major/minor courses go to your departmental advisor/s, and any G.E. courses go to your college advisor/s.
- Your advisors will need a detailed description (like a syllabus) of each course, so don't just send them a list of courses.
Engineering Students
An advising resource guide to help engineering students study abroad.
Understanding Study Abroad Course Credit and Grades:
Courses taken abroad can be used to earn units and fulfill major, minor, college, or general education requirements. However, there are a few differences between course credits and grades depending on the type of program you choose
UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP)
UCEAP is a part of the UC system: all UCEAP courses are counted as UC credit.
You will receive the units and grades for your courses abroad, and those grades will be calculated into your UCSD GPA. However, courses taken abroad are not NOT automatically counted for your major, minor, or college G.E. requirements. For courses to count, you must file a Course Petition and gain official approval. (Certain departments allow for some pre-approved courses.)
Course Petitions: Your department/college will need to review your courses and make a determination before the class can counted towards your requirements. To better your chances of a successful petition, you should speak with your academic advisor from your department or college as part of your application process before you leave.
UCEAP's Campus Credit Database for UCSD: Helps you identify what types of credit (major, minor, general education, electives) UCSD students have received in the past for courses taken on UCEAP. Be sure to discuss all course options with your appropriate advisor.
UC San Diego Global Seminars
All courses taken on a Global Seminar program are accredited UC San Diego courses.
The courses may also fulfill major, minor, graduation, and general education requirements. Non-UC San Diego students should check with their academic advisor to determine how the units will apply towards major, minor, or graduation requirements. For classes that are not pre-approved to fulfill a requirement, you will be responsible for bringing back syllabi, tests, homework, etc. from abroad and filing a course petition with the corresponding department or college. Only after the petition has passed will the class be counted towards your requirements.
Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP)
When going abroad with OAP, classes that you take abroad are counted as transfer units.
You still receive the units and grades from your abroad courses, the only difference is that they will not factor into your GPA and will instead sit on a seperate transcript. This does NOT mean that classes taken abroad will automatically count for your major, minor, college, or general education requirements. You will be responsible for bringing back syllabi, tests, homework, etc. from abroad and filing a course petition with the corresponding department or college. Only after the petition has passed will the class be counted towards your requirements. To better your chances of a successful petition, speak with your academic advisor from your department or college before applying to a program.
