Students are enrolled in Texas A&M University courses for which students receive a letter grade, which factors into their Texas A&M GPR. Students can apply these faculty-led program semester credit hours to their residency and, usually, other degree plan requirements. Students are strongly encouraged to check in with their academic advisor for their major to make sure that these credits will apply to their degree plans.
Reciprocal Education Exchange Programs (REEP)
- Students register for 12-15 credit hours in a Texas A&M University “holding” course while they are enrolled as an exchange student at the partner university abroad. In consultation with their academic advisors, students pre-approve the foreign university’s coursework prior to departing via a course selection form. Students can access the Course Equivalency Database for a listing of Texas A&M equivalencies for courses previous students earned from their exchange program studies (other courses not listed in the data base are available and can be selected in consultation with the student’s academic advisor).
- After the student returns to Texas A&M from the exchange program, the coursework completed at the partner institution is converted to Texas A&M course equivalents. Again, in consultation with an academic advisor and/or professor, the student completes a Course Equivalency Form indicating the Texas A&M course equivalents for the corresponding courses completed during the exchange program at the partner institution.
- Students receive a letter grade for each course taken, which factors into their Texas A&M GPR. Students can apply these exchange program credit hours to their residency and/or to other degree plan requirements.
Independent Study Abroad – Transfer Credit
- Students studying through a program not sponsored by Texas A&M University (i.e. through another U.S. university or foreign university) and planning to transfer credit for courses taken must complete a Texas A&M Independent Study for Credit form prior to departing abroad to pre-approve any study abroad coursework to transfer back to Texas A&M University. This form is available on the Study Abroad Office’s online application portal. Students will receive transfer credit for their program, so pass/fail credit only, which will not factor into their Texas A&M GPR. Students can apply these transfer credit course credits to their residency and, usually, other degree plan requirements provided they complete the Independent Study for Credit form BEFORE departing abroad.
For returning independent study abroad students:
AFTER your program is over & if you have checked your TAMU record at
http://myrecord.tamu.edu and your transfer credit from your study abroad program does NOT appear, then please go through the following frequently asked questions:
- "Has my transcript been sent to TAMU?"
If you're not sure, contact your program provider (such as API, CEA, ISA, etc.) or if you didn't go through a program provider/U.S. university, contact the foreign university through which you studied. Please check that your transcript has been sent to TAMU Admissions. Their address is:
Texas A&M University Admissions Processing
Mailing: P.O. Box 40003
College Station, TX 77842-4003
Physical Address: General Services Complex, 750 Agronomy Road, Suite 1601
College Station, TX 77843
- "My transcript has been sent to TAMU, now what?"
Please confirm with
A&M Admissions Processing at 979-845- 1060 that your transcript has been received and the status of awarding you transfer credit. Note, transfer credit is PASS/FAIL only, so your TAMU GPA will not be affected.
- "I want to know whether my credit will count for a certain course or part of my degree plan."
Only until your transfer credit is posted to your TAMU transcript, can a department/academic advisor inform you about how the credit will count toward your degree plan and what the course 'translates as' to TAMU. This is done by completing a Course Substitution Request form, which your academic advisor can initiate and complete for you.
- "My academic advisor wants to know about 'IP' – ‘in progress’ on my record for the SABR course? Will this stay on my record?"
Please note that before you departed abroad, you were notified via e-mail, by your study abroad advisor, about the purpose of this SABR (study abroad placeholder course). It is not a course for a grade at Texas A&M University, nor is it to be replaced with anything. Your study abroad coursework will appear as "Transfer Credit" on your Texas A&M transcript. The SABR course won't appear on your official TAMU transcript, and it doesn't affect your standing at TAMU as an 'IP' - 'in progress'. It simply allowed TAMU to track your participation for enrollment and financial aid. If you have received a notice from your college that this SABR 'IP' will affect your record, please disregard or contact your Dean's Office for your college to ask them about this.
- "I really need my credit for graduation, Aggie Ring hours, etc., help!"
Be aware that if you just returned from a study abroad program within the past month or two, there is usually
at least a 1-2 month turnaround time before a transcript is processed. Unless you absolutely are in strict deadline situation, please be patient if you've done the first two steps. The
Aggie Ring Office requires that students have all their transfer coursework hours posted to their official TAMU transcript by the Aggie Ring application deadline in order to be considered eligible for an Aggie Ring. Therefore, we advise students to be diligent in following up with their independent study abroad program provider or host university to check on the status of the transcript. To check on the deadline for transfer credit to be submitted for graduation, please contact the
Degree Audit Office at 979-845-1089.
Details on graduation application deadlines
and more can be found here. If you are graduating
a semester or later after your study abroad
term has ended, you have more time, so you can check on this deadline with the Degree Audit Office later.
Other Independent/non-TAMU International Opportunities
Students participating on a research, internship, or volunteer abroad program independent of Texas A&M University for which they are not receiving any transfer credit, can arrange academic credit through a Texas A&M academic department. Examples of such courses are Directed Studies 285, 485 (undergraduate level), and 685 (graduate level) and Internship 284, 484 (undergraduate level), and 684 (graduate level). These courses must be set up through an on-campus academic department, not the Study Abroad Office. In order to ensure that Texas A&M University has a record of your participation for emergency contact purposes and also that any academic coursework arranged through Texas A&M counts for residency hours, students must complete a Texas A&M Other Program Abroad application located at http://studyabroad.tamu.edu/application.asp.
To access this application, login with your NetID and password and click on “Begin Program Application” and select from the drop-down list of the “Other” program type listing the program title that best matches your experience. (i.e. “Research Abroad”, if you are doing an independent project while abroad).
Complete the online application as instructed and you will be prompted to download, print and complete the Confirmation of Research/Volunteer/Experience Outside the U.S. form. This form must be turned in before you depart abroad, however this completed form MUST be turned in by the Int’l Education Fee Scholarship deadline to qualify for this scholarship.
For more information on how to obtain credit for independent study abroad programs, please contact the Study Abroad Programs Office.
