Academic Planning

No matter what global learning program you choose, academic planning is an important step in the process. We encourage you to research courses and determine how they will integrate into your academic plan.

UCSC Global Seminars Academic Planning

All courses taken on a UCSC Global Seminar program are accredited UC Santa Cruz courses. The courses may fulfill major, minor, graduation, and/or general education requirements as listed in the UC Santa Cruz Catalog. Non-UC Santa Cruz students should check with their home institution's academic advisor to determine how these courses will apply towards major, minor, and/or graduation requirements.

UCSC Partner Programs Academic Planning

Courses taken on a Partner Program are awarded UC credit, your courses will appear on your UCSC transcript, your grades will be calculated into your UCSC GPA, and the credits will be converted into quarter units and added to your total credits toward graduation. Courses on USA Exchanges are for transfer credit and units and grades will go on your UC transcript, but they will not be factored into the UC GPA. If you plan to enroll in a course that is not pre-approved for major, minor, or GE credit and you want the course to satisfy one of these requirements, you must file a petition.

 UCSC Global Internships Academic Planning

All courses taken on a UCSC Global Internship are accredited UC Santa Cruz courses. Since global internships are department-specific, courses taken on this program may fulfill major or minor requirements. 

 UCEAP Academic Planning

All courses taken on a UCEAP program are awarded UC credit. Courses will be listed on your transcript, grades will be calculated into your GPA, and units earned will be added to your total units. However, this does not mean that courses taken abroad will automatically count for major, minor, college, and/or general education requirements. If you plan to enroll in a course that is not pre-approved and you want the course to satisfy a program requirement, you can file a petition with the appropriate department or college. Speak with your department and college academic advisors prior to enrolling in courses that are not pre-approved to determine if the courses will satisfy the UC Santa Cruz requirement.

UCDC Academic Planning

All courses taken on UCDC are awarded UC credit. Both required courses (UCDC 194 A and 194B) will be listed on your transcript, grades will be calculated into your GPA, and units earned will be added to your total units. However, this does not mean that courses taken on UCDC will automatically count for major, minor, college, and/or general education requirements. If you want courses taken on UCDC to meet major or minor requirements, speak with your academic advisors to determine if the courses will satisfy the UC Santa Cruz requirement. UCDC 194 A meets the PR-S GE.

Other UC Study Abroad Programs Academic Planning

Independent Programs Academic Planning

Courses taken on an Independent Program may be awarded transfer credit. You must submit a Proposed Program Evaluation showing the courses you plan to take abroad, including the name of the institution that will issue your transcript. Not all courses are eligible for transfer credit. If you are unsure how to fill out this form, contact globallearning@ucsc.edu. If your courses are approved, grades will not be calculated into your UC or UCSC GPA, but your units will be counted as transfer units and applied toward your total units toward graduation. However, this does NOT mean that courses taken abroad will automatically count for major, minor, college, and/or general education requirements. If you plan to enroll in a course that is not pre-approved and you want the course to satisfy a program requirement, you can file a petition with the appropriate department or college. Speak with your department and college academic advisors prior to enrolling in courses that are not pre-approved to determine if the courses will satisfy the UC Santa Cruz requirement.