Academic Policies
Coursework      Course Designations      Course Credit Information

Coursework

Students are expected to turn in all course assignments on time; turning in assignments late will have a negative effect on their grades. All academic commitments must be completed before students leave the program site; no incompletes are permitted. Students who do not complete a course on time will earn an F (failing grade). All courses must be taken for credit; students are not permitted to audit courses or to take courses on a pass/fail basis. For students on internship programs, unsuccessful completion of any course preceding the internship period may make them ineligible for placement in an internship.

Students enrolled in an internship program must complete the internship and all the academic work related to it, regardless of the transfer credit policy of their home institutions. The internship is a serious academic endeavor, requiring the completion of all assignments. Students are expected to fulfill all the requirements of the program, including the internship and the academic component attached to it.

Students will be informed at the program site of additional academic policies, such as deadlines for adding or dropping a course.

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Course Designations
All courses offered by Boston University International Programs are fully approved by the appropriate curriculum and faculty committees at Boston University. The academic designation for each course is drawn from the following schools/colleges and departments on the Boston University Charles River Campus:

CAS - College of Arts and Sciences
COM - College of Communication
ENG -College of Engineering
SED - School of Education
CFA - College of Fine Arts
SHA - School for Hospitality
SMG - School of Management

Boston University applies the following numbers and subject designators to its courses offered overseas:

100-199 - Introductory or general undergraduate
200-299 - Intermediate undergraduate
300-399 - Advanced undergraduate
400-699 - Advanced undergraduate, graduate
AR - CAS-Archaeology; CFA-Art
AN - Anthropology
AH - Art History
BI - Biology
CM CAS - Chinese Language (Mandarin); COM - Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations
CO - Communication Studies
DR - Theatre Arts
EE - Environmental Studies
EK - Engineering
EN - English
FR - Francophone Studies
FT - Film and Television
GE - German Studies
HI - History
HL - Israeli Studies
IP - Interdisciplinary International Studies
IR - International Relations
IT - Italian Studies
JO - Journalism
LA - Hausa Language
LD - Zarma Language
LF - French Language
LG - German Language
LH - Hebrew Language
LI - Italian Language
LS - Spanish Language
MA - Mathematics
MG - Management Policy
MK - Marketing
MU - Music
NG - Nigerien Studies
PH - Philosophy
PO - Political Science
PY - Physics
QU - Ecuadorian Studies
RU - Russian Studies
SO - Sociology
SP - Spanish Studies

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Course Credit Information
Upon successful completion of courses taken through our programs, students earn 16-20 Boston University credits per semester, depending on the program. No work can be left outstanding, to be finished after a semester has ended. Thus, no award of "incomplete" is allowed for a course taken on a Boston University international program. Additionally, coursework may not be audited; every student must complete his/her courses for a letter grade.

The unit of credit at Boston University is the semester–hour. Each four-credit course represents a minimum of 40 contact hours. Colleges and universities generally accept Boston University courses for transfer credit in their degree programs, provided the student passes each course with a grade of C or C-, or better. Students should check with their home institutions to determine all credit transfer policies.

To make certain students get credit at their home school for their courses abroad, we require the completion of an "Approval of Participation Form" as part of the application process. In this form, we ask the study abroad advisor, dean, or registrar (whoever is responsible for approving transfer credit) to indicate whether the student received approval to study off-campus and whether he/she will be permitted to transfer credit for courses taken on our program.

While transfer credit is generally assured, we urge students to obtain approval from their advisors for the courses they intend to take—especially if they want these courses to fulfill specific requirements (divisional, major, minor, concentration, elective). Students should obtain approval in advance for more courses than they will actually take because in rare instances we have had to cancel classes due to faculty illness or lack of demand by students. Syllabi for most courses are available to be downloaded from the website.

Consultation with their advisor beforehand will help students make informed choices should they deviate from their original plan. Students should provide their academic advisor with full information about the course offerings on the program in which they will be enrolled. Students will want to confirm which courses they may take to fulfill major, minor, and departmental requirements and which courses they may take for elective credit. Therefore, should they need to change their course enrollment, they will know which alternate courses they may take. Boston University students should also use this advising session to obtain approval for the courses they will take the semester following their time abroad.

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