Academic Advising While Abroad
Take advantage of the resources that you have on site such as your Resident Director, your program coordinator, or your professors. In addition, stay in contact with your UW-Madison academic advisor(s) through email; they can offer advice about the courses you are taking abroad and the courses you may be taking upon your return, as well as keep you updated on policy changes, educational opportunities, or other departmental news. Keep your academic advisor appraised of significant changes to your course schedule if you think this could impact your plans for future semesters.
Determine UW-Madison Credit through the Course Equivalent Request (CER) Process
Every course you take abroad must be assigned an equivalent UW-Madison course in order for your grades and credits to be recorded on your UW-Madison transcript. A course equivalent is the course number and title currently in the UW-Madison course catalog that most closely matches the content of the course you took abroad.
You start this process by submitting a Course Equivalent Requests (CER) through your MyStudyAbroad (MySA) account. Your equivalent course title, credits and grades will be recorded on your UW Madison transcript after your program is complete. Detailed information on the equivalent process is available in your MySA account and the IAP Study Abroad Handbook.
Credit & Grade Conversion
After you have submitted your CERs, we will report each course that you complete abroad on your UW-Madison record with the equivalent, credit and grade that you earned.
Each study abroad program has its own credit and grade conversion scale, which you can find in MyStudyAbroad. Some programs will award numerical grades; in others, you will receive letter grades on the A-F scale. Each program’s grade conversion scale states how grades from abroad are reported, as well as how those grades equate to UW-Madison grades. All of our programs adhere to the campus-wide pass/fail privilege policy.
Students who participate on a semester or year-long study abroad program are required to enroll in courses abroad that are equivalent to 12-18 UW-Madison credits each semester.
Register for Future Semesters While Abroad
The UW-Madison Office of the Registrar will inform you by e-mail of registration dates and details. It is your responsibility to register for the semester following your study abroad program through MyUW.
Clear any holds on your record before registration, including holds used by some Schools or Colleges to ensure that students speak to their advisors. If a course you’d like to take has a pre-requisite that you are fulfilling while abroad, you should notify the respective department to get permission to register for it.