Study Abroad
Study-Abroad Credit
We welcome transfer students to our majors, and also encourage our majors to study abroad.
Applying major credit from a non-UVA institution:
The following limits apply to credit from another institution that can be applied to your major.
- Up to 6 hours of PLxx transfer/study abroad (non-UVA) credit may count toward the Government or Foreign Affairs Elective requirement.
- Up to 6 hours of transfer/study abroad (non-UVA) credit may count toward the Related Courses requirement.
* Please note: no transfer or study abroad credit can be applied to the Politics minors (see Politics Minor Requirements).
Approval of study abroad credit
For study abroad programs, students should initiate the process of approvals well before the program begins. Refer to the College’s Study Abroad website for vital information. We recommend the Education Abroad Workshop” available there.
- If you will be attending a “UVa direct credit program,” you do not need to take any action. Courses taken in UVa programs are treated just like courses taken on Grounds. Courses that are designated as Politics (Plxx) will automatically count toward your major or minor.
- Study abroad courses through an external (non-UVA) institution, must be approved by the Politics Department’s Director of Undergraduate Programs (DUP) in order to count for major credit. To gain pre-approval for courses, prior to studying abroad, you must:
- List the Politics “Elective” or “Related” courses you want to take on the College Study Abroad Transfer Credit Pre-Approval Form (available through the Study Abroad office).
- See if your courses are listed in the international equivalency database. If the courses are listed, use the UVA course equivalencies provided to fill out your pre-approval form
- If the course is not listed or you are uncertain about the UVA course equivalency, leave that field blank. Then, email a copy of the syllabus or detailed course description to the Politics Department DUP, who will assess the course.
- The DUP will, upon approving the course, assign it a a UVA course equivalency that can be listed on your pre-approval form.
- The pre-approval form must be signed by the DUP and submitted to the Study Abroad office.
- If you need to change you pre-approved schedule once you are abroad, use the College Study Abroad Final Credit Approval Form to get approval for any new or updated courses you take abroad.