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Study Abroad

Course Approvals

ยป Course Approvals

Students request courses abroad to count for Chapman credit through the Global Course Request (GCR) form. Access to the GCR form is granted to accepted students' Global Gateway applications on the scheduled release date. Students will receive a separate email with instructions to access the Global Course Request form and the deadline to complete the form.


Submitting a GCR Form

  • Review the courses your program offers.
  • Identify how you would like them to count for Chapman credit* (equivalent, elective, GE, etc.)
  • Gather syllabi for courses abroad through the course catalog on your program's website.
  • Review the Sample Pre-Approved Courses list for your program via the Global Gateway.
  • Submit 6-10 courses through the GCR to have backup options.
  • Ensure you have all courses pre-approved by Chapman before you depart or within your first few weeks abroad at the latest.

For any additional questions about course and credit requirements while abroad, contact your Global Education Advisor.

*To receive Chapman major or minor credit for a course abroad that has prerequisites at Chapman, you must take those prerequisite courses at Chapman before your semester abroad.


Evaluation of Courses

Courses may not be taken on a pass-fail basis. Internships may be awarded pass/no pass credit if they have been pre-approved by the CGE before departure.

If you are looking for your university's grade/credit equivalencies information, please view the Academics tab on the Global Gateway brochure for your program.

Curriculum under disciplines not offered at Chapman may be excluded from approval depending on the nature of the course, its academic content, and its relevance to Chapman degree requirements. 


Understanding Your GCR Approvals

If you want to take a course abroad for a major/minor/themed inquiry requirement that is not closely similar to an existing Chapman course, you may request the course to count as an elective for the requirement.

194 and 394 Course Designations

  • 194: Chapman does not have an equivalent course in the catalog, and the course will count as lower division credit
  • 394: Chapman does not have an equivalent course in the catalog, and the course will count as upper-division credit
  • Other designations may be possible if a course is listed on the Global Gateway as 194 or 394.

Themed Inquiry

  • Courses used in the themed inquiry cannot be shared in any other areas such as major or minor requirements.
  • Themed inquiry course approvals will only be reviewed if student has officially declared the themed inquiry
  • One course substitution is allowed per themed inquiry with the approval of the themed inquiry coordinator.
  • A second substitution must be approved by the themed inquiry coordinator as well as the GE committee per petition request

Credit Amounts

  • If a course abroad is worth more credits than your degree requirement at Chapman, the Registrar will not split the credits unless indicated in the course designation.
  • If a course abroad is worth 6 credits at Chapman, all 6 credits go into the requirement.
  • If the requirement is defined by the minimum number of credits, then all 6 count.
  • If the requirement is defined by the number of courses only, then it counts as one unless the Registrar receives approval to count as two.