Semester Abroad Academic Information

Eligibility
Academic Requirements   

• Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 

  • Please note that some partner institutions require a higher minimum GPA at the time of application.    

• Minimum semester GPA of 3.0 in the term prior to your term abroad.  

• Transcript free of grade notations of I, II, (incomplete), NR (no grade reported), or GR (course not attended) in any term, including the term prior to your term abroad.   

• Students may not be on a Leave of Absence from Penn the semester immediately before their term abroad. 

• Summer Abroad Only: Rising sophomore and transfer applicants must have a minimum number of 4.0 CUs earned in their 1st semester at Penn. 

• If applicable, successful completion of Penn’s program-specific prerequisites (language or area studies) or any other conditions set forth by your home school academic advisor for study abroad at the time of your application by the dates below.   

You are required to meet all eligibility requirements, including the resolution of any incomplete grades, by the following deadlines prior to your term abroad:   

• January 10: Spring Abroad*   

• June 10: Summer Abroad**  

• June 10: Fall/Academic Year Abroad 

*Spring Abroad programs commencing earlier than January 10 need to have all academic requirements met and incomplete grades resolved by the date that grades are due for each term (SRFS Student Grades Schedule).   

** Summer Abroad programs commencing earlier than June 10 require a meeting with your home school academic advisor if any academic requirements are not met, including the resolution of incomplete grades.   

If you do not meet all requirements by the deadlines above, you will be ineligible to study abroad. Your study abroad permission will be revoked, and you will be personally responsible for all unrecoverable expenses incurred by you or on your behalf.  

Additional Requirements  

• Be in good disciplinary standing at Penn and according to the Penn Abroad Universal Policy on Conduct & Academic Integrity. 

• No holds on your Penn student account by the time of registration for your abroad program. 

• Authorize the Office of the University Registrar at Penn to drop on-campus courses for the term you are abroad. Additionally, authorize the Registrar to add study abroad placeholder credits for the term you are abroad.   

• Study abroad application essays are your original work, meet the minimum word count, and successfully answer the prompts in a well-articulated, thorough, and reflective way.  

• Completion of all application and post-acceptance documents by their stated deadlines.   

• Attendance at the mandatory pre-departure orientation (held in the semester prior to your term abroad, annually).  

Attendance 
You are expected to follow host university guidelines regarding class attendance, including attending class regularly. Absence from classes or other scheduled activities due to travel or visitors, including family, is not tolerated under any circumstances and may lead to sanctions. Under no circumstances will absence from class be excused to attend job interviews at home. 

Pass/Fail Grades and Study Abroad Eligibility 
The undergraduate schools upheld COVID-19 alternate grading policies in the following years: 

• COVID-19 Alternate Grading Policy: 2019-2020 AY 

• COVID-19 Academic Grading Policy: 2020-2021 AY 

Some abroad institutions may require that applicants have taken specific pre-requisite courses for a letter grade. A student may receive academic approval from Penn but be denied admission by the abroad institution if pre-requisite courses were taken on a P/F basis. 

Studying abroad requires students to adapt quickly to a new set of social, cultural, and academic conditions and expectations all at once, sometimes without the benefit of familiar support structures. Though an imperfect guide, earned course grades – particularly those earned in foundational and core courses – are key indicators of a student’s capacity to meet the added challenge of studying in a new academic environment. Without the benefit of such grades for courses taken P/F, students contemplating study abroad are urged to discuss their academic preparation for the abroad experience with the academic advising office in their school. An honest assessment of their readiness to handle their proposed abroad courses as part of the application process will only benefit students in the long term. 

Credit and Credit Transfer 
In order to receive academic credit toward your Penn degree for your term abroad, you must have formal permission from your home school, and you must apply and register through Penn Abroad; there are no exceptions to this rule. Credit is not awarded retroactively after a return from a leave of absence during which you may have studied abroad independently.  

Individual academic departments at Penn are solely responsible for determining exactly which courses taken abroad will receive credit in particular disciplines. It is essential that you determine prior to going abroad whether your proposed courses are approved for credit by the relevant Penn departments by submitting the courses through the External Course Approval Tool (XCAT). Please refer to the XCAT guides on using XCAT and viewing your external credit requests provided by SRFS for assistance navigating XCAT. You are expected to have sought the advice of your major advisor in planning your studies abroad. Failure to request course approval in advance may result in the denial of credit upon your return to Penn. 

Under no circumstances can you expect to obtain credit for business, engineering, or nursing courses except in programs that have been pre-approved by the Wharton School, School of Engineering and Applied Science, or School of Nursing. 

Grades and Transcripts 
All grades earned during study abroad are converted, if necessary, from the original grading system to Penn letter grades, are reported on your Penn transcript, and are computed in your cumulative grade point average. You may not elect which courses from your abroad transcript you wish to have posted to your Penn transcript. 

Grades earned during study abroad are based on your academic performance as judged by individual instructors according to local practice. Once reported, grades are typically not changed. 

The academic standing policies of each undergraduate school at Penn (linked below) apply to credits and grades earned abroad just as they would at Penn.  

• College of Arts and Sciences  

• School of Nursing 

• Penn Engineering 

• Wharton School 

Study Abroad in Your Final Semester at Penn
If you are seeking to participate in a study abroad program in your final semester at Penn, you are required to submit a petition to your home school providing the academic rationale for completing a study abroad program in the final term, including the essential function that participation in the study abroad program plays towards your degree completion. Dual-degree students should submit their petition to their home school. Importantly, if you are completing a fall or spring term abroad program in your final semester at Penn, you should anticipate a delay in the conferral of your Penn degree by one to two semesters due to the timing of abroad transcripts reaching Penn. If you are considering a fall or spring term abroad in your final term at Penn, you should discuss this thoroughly with your home school to understand all associated implications, including a delayed graduation date, and the impact this may have on your individual goals post-graduation. You cannot participate in a summer term abroad following your expected graduation term date.  

Returning to Penn 
You will receive an automated email from Penn Abroad once we receive your study abroad transcript.  Transcripts often take six months or longer to reach Penn Abroad due to grading schemes in international educational systems. Please note, if you have any outstanding charges owed to your study abroad program, Penn Abroad will not receive your transcript until all charges are settled. 

Ensure that XCAT is up to date. All courses that you completed while abroad must be listed and approved in XCAT to earn Penn credit. You must also remove requests on XCAT for courses that you did not complete while abroad. 

We will forward your transcript to your home school academic advisor for study abroad. Once your transcript has been received and all your courses from abroad have been given departmental approval on XCAT it usually takes about two weeks for the grades to appear on your Penn transcript. Students with an approval issue or a department delay should send an email to the appropriate contact. 

If you have questions about getting your grades posted on your Penn transcript, contact your home school academic advisor for study abroad. 

Course Load 
You are required to carry a full-time course load while studying abroad.  

• Fall/Spring/Year Abroad: A full-time course load is defined as a minimum equivalent to four Penn course units. Importantly, at some institutions, the number of courses that constitute a full-time course load may be different than at Penn due to differences in academic calendar or course weighting. Therefore, you are required to observe local regulations, even if Penn's normal requirement is higher or lower. In cases where a full-time course load abroad is the equivalent of fewer than four Penn course units, you will still be charged regular Penn semester tuition and fee. Typically, the maximum amount of Penn-equivalent credit that may be awarded is five course units per semester. 

• Summer Abroad: A full-time course load is defined as equivalent to two Penn course units.  You may take no more and no fewer than two course units while abroad in a summer term. Summer programs are run on abbreviated course calendars, and therefore offer only intensive courses. Students should be prepared for a rigorous academic schedule while studying abroad in the summer.  

Taking Penn Courses While Abroad 
You are prohibited from being concurrently enrolled in courses at Penn (e.g. Penn online courses, Penn half-semester courses, or Penn-directed independent studies) while abroad.  

• Fall/Spring/Year Abroad: You may submit a written petition in an extenuating circumstance to complete an essential course, such as an independent study, needed for degree progression.   

• Summer Abroad: There are no exceptions to this rule for summer enrollment. You expressly may not be concurrently enrolled in an online summer course at Penn while participating in a summer study abroad experience through Penn Abroad. If program dates do not overlap, however, you may enroll in a Penn Summer Abroad program for academic credit during the summer.  

Online Courses Offered at Host Institution 
You are prohibited from enrolling in courses at your host institution that are taught entirely online. Penn Abroad will suspend programs at any host institution that moves all courses to a fully virtual format prior to the program start.  

If a course is partially taught online (i.e. online components with in-person lectures or discussion sections), it is at the discretion of your home school and the department granting equivalent academic credit at Penn to determine whether or not your course will be eligible for Penn credit.    

Courses & Internships Outside the Program
While participating in any Penn Abroad study abroad program, you are limited to taking courses for academic credit only within that program. You are not permitted to cross-register for courses (including online courses) at institutions not designated as part of the program (even if affiliated with Penn Abroad) or to register for courses at non-affiliated institutions under any circumstances.  

Summer term students are not permitted to have any overlapping commitments, including internships (in-person or remote), within their program dates.  

Registration/Drop-request and Withdrawal from a Course 
The rules for registering, dropping and requesting a new course, and withdrawal from a course abroad are different from the rules at Penn. You are responsible for being aware of the procedures specific to your host university, including whether registration takes place prior to arrival or on arrival at your host university. 

Permission for exceptions to your host university rules around course registration, add, drop, and withdrawal procedures are at the sole discretion of your host institution. The host institution is under no obligation to provide exceptions to their course procedure rules during your term abroad. 

Incomplete Work 
You are expected to complete all assigned work and exams before leaving the study abroad site at the end of your term abroad. In addition to obtaining permission from Penn Abroad, you must have written permission from your undergraduate home school academic advisor for study abroad to leave a site before completing all your academic obligations. 

Duration of Program 
You are required to remain at your host university for the full length of your program dates, from the start of orientation until the end of scheduled examinations. Under no circumstances will students be approved to arrive late, and students may not attempt to rearrange final exam schedules to suit travel plans or to begin summer employment. Should you depart from your program abroad before the completion of scheduled instruction and examinations, either by way of a formal withdraw from the program or a self-arranged early departure, there is no guarantee you will receive credit for your term abroad and/or your grades may be negatively impacted.   

Some selected universities abroad require participants to attend the program for a full academic year. If you apply and are admitted to one of these programs, you may not leave the program after the first semester, except for a medical reason documented through your home school. Credit and grades will be awarded only to students who complete the full academic year. Any student who leaves a full-year program early continues to be liable for all costs associated with the program. 

You are permitted to take a course pass/fail while studying abroad in accordance with the policy of your home school. If you are permitted to take a course pass/fail by Penn, your instructor abroad will not be informed. You will continue to be treated in exactly the same way as you would if you were taking the course for a grade and will be expected by your instructor abroad to fulfill all the requirements for the course, including regular class attendance. You will earn a grade on the transcript from your abroad institution; the pass/fail grade will only appear when reflected on your Penn transcript.   

Fall/Spring/Year Abroad: You must write to your home school academic advisor for study abroad and request permission for pass/fail by the end of the ninth calendar week of your term abroad.  Your notification to your home school academic advisor for study abroad must be received by email or voicemail by 5 PM ET on the Friday of the 9th calendar week of the host institution abroad.  

Please note:     

• Partial weeks, such as at the beginning of a term, count as a week.  

• Weeks shortened by a holiday in your host location count as a week.   

• If your teaching week is Sunday – Thursday, the deadline to declare pass/fail is still on Friday.  

For short courses offered during the fall or spring term, the deadline will be sooner and will be determined by your home school academic advisor for study abroad.   

Summer Abroad: The pass/fail deadline will follow the same proportion of class as the pass/fail deadlines for courses offered during the summer term on Penn’s campus. If interested in taking a course pass/fail, summer term students should email their home school academic advisor at the start of their term to confirm this date.