Office of International Education

All things related to international education - from study abroad to international and exchange students visiting our campus.

Office of International Education / Transfer Credit

Transfer Credit

How will credits taken abroad transfer back to SMCM?

Transfer Policies

  • Only grades of C- or above are accepted for transfer.
  • In order to receive credit for study abroad/exchange courses, the student must receive a numeric or letter grade from the institution. (Note: Pass/Fail might be accepted if it is the only grading option for this course and it is documented in writing by the institution that the student earned a grade equivalent of C- or better.) If a course is only offered pass/fail, it is important to discuss this with the Registrar’s Office before you register for the course.
  • Although transfer credits are not included in the SMCM GPA computation, the course grades and credits will appear on your official SMCM transcript.
  • Courses that have not been pre-approved may not transfer.
  • Courses taken C/NC cannot be used to fulfill major, minor or Core requirements.
  • For non-SMCM programs, only courses taken on programs approved by the IE Office and the IE Faculty Advisory Committee can be submitted for transfer.

The Pre-Approval Process

The pre-approval of coursework process is designed so that the student will know before he/she registers how each course will transfer to SMCM upon successful completion and receipt of the official transcript.

The pre-approval is done by the Registrar’s Office in consultation with the appropriate department chair. However, to be sure that the International Education office is kept current on each student’s progress, please initiate all course work inquiries/additions/up-dates/etc. through the International Education (IE) office. The IE office will forward this information to the Registrar’s Office.

Please note that it is the Registrar’s Office in consultation with the department chair, and not the student’s advisor and/or an instructor that determines the official SMCM course equivalency.

SMCM Course Equivalencies

As part of the pre-approval process, you are asked to complete the Pre-approval of Transfer Credit form. Among other questions, this form asks for a list of courses you plan to take, course descriptions, and the SMCM equivalency you are requesting. The SMCM equivalency can be as broad as requesting general college credit or as narrow as requesting a specific SMCM equivalent course.

For example, one student taking INT/II Renaissance to Enlightenment at the Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (CMRS), a SMCM program in Oxford England, might request HIST upper division credits, another might just need upper division credits, and still another may need a more specific equivalency, e.g. ENGL380.

We understand that in some instances, you may not know which courses are offered until you actually arrive at the institution. If this is the case, please list some representative courses for pre-approval. (Please see Change of Courses below.)

It is important to understand that it is the course equivalency that is pre-approved, not the number of credits received. The number of credits awarded will be determined by the information on your final official transcript.

Upper Division/Lower Division Courses
Course numbering systems for international institutions may be different than those of St. Mary’s. The determination of the level of the international course (upper or lower) is made by the SMCM department chair. This is based on the course description and/or syllabus that is available at the time of course pre-approval. For a list of all previously approved SMCM course equivalencies, please click here.
Major/Minor Policies
For transfer students at least half of the credits applied towards the student’s major must be completed at the College. For a minor, all 300-and 400-level courses must be completed at the College, and no more than half of courses applied towards the minor at the 100-and 200-level can be transferred to the College from another institution. For St. Mary’s students, exceptions to this policy could be made on a departmental basis.
12.22 Credits
Unless you are taking SMCM courses during your study abroad semester, you will see 12.22 credits in your schedule of classes. This number is used for reporting purposes and does not reflect the number of credits you are currently taking and/or may earn for your courses.
Change of Courses
We understand that when you arrive at the institution you may not be able to register for the courses that have been pre-approved. If for any reason you need to register for a course that has not been pre-approved, please email the information to the International Education office as well as Registrar’s Office registrar@smcm.edu, right away. Please include the same information you did for the original pre-approval form—the course description and how you would like the course to transfer to St. Mary’s. When possible, please provide a web address for the course information.
Internships and Independent Study
Internships and Independent Study courses are more difficult, but not impossible, to be pre-approved for study abroad and require a more in-depth procedure for processing. If your study abroad program offers an internship and/or independent study and you are interested in pursuing pre-approval, please talk with the Registrar’s Office registrar@smcm.eduright away.
Foreign Language Courses
If you have to take a placement test at the study abroad institution before registering for a foreign language course, make sure you send the information on the course(es) in which you are placed to the International Education office and to the Registrar’s Office registrar@smcm.edu. If you take a course during your study abroad semester that is an equivalent to a SMCM course you have already taken, it would be considered a repeated course and the grade you earn in this course would replace the grade that is already on your transcript and you would not earn duplicate credits.

Transcripts

Transcripts from your study abroad institution or program provider are not automatically sent to St. Mary’s. You need to specifically make these arrangements with that institution or provider and follow their procedures. You are the only one who can request transcripts—we cannot do it for you. It is very important that you make all the arrangements to have official transcripts (or official documents if the school does not have transcripts) sent to St. Mary’s while you are there. Many students have found it difficult and time consuming to try to get this information once they have returned.

Have transcripts sent to:
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Office of the Registrar
47645 College Drive
St. Mary’s City, MD, 20686-3001
(240) 895-2000

We need OFFICIAL transcripts. These are transcripts that are officially sealed and are usually sent directly to St. Mary’s from the study abroad institution or program provider. If you happen to receive a sealed envelope from your study abroad institution or program provider, please do not open it. First check with the Registrar’s Office to see if we have received an official transcript. It may be that the institution has sent the official transcript directly to you. If you open the transcript, it is no longer official and we cannot use it to transfer your credits and grades.

For more information, contact the Office of the Registrar.