Students are expected to meet certain minimum requirements to study abroad in a semester program. The eligibility requirements below must be met before SEAS students can officially apply for a study abroad experience.  One must:

• Be in good academic and disciplinary standing at Penn (i.e., no probationary or drop status).
• Have a minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA.
• Have a minimum of 3.0 GPA in the semester prior to departure.
• Have no failures or GRs on their transcript in the semester prior to departure.
• If there are incompletes or NR on the transcript, the student must provide documentation of a plan to complete the course for a grade prior to departure. 
• Have a minimum of 7.0 CUs left in their undergraduate curriculum for degree completion.

First-year students are not eligible to study abroad. The earliest permitted semester abroad is the summer after the first year.

Seniors are not eligible to study abroad. First-year students and seniors are encouraged to seek other global opportunities. Please visit Penn Abroad for a full selection of options: https://global.upenn.edu/pennabroad/

The first step is to determine whether or not study abroad is the appropriate experience for you. Once you have decided to study abroad, please follow the steps below.

Starting the process

First/Second Year: 

• Create a four-year academic plan assuming that you will not be able to take core requirements while studying abroad.
• Discuss the academic plan with your faculty advisor or departmental advisor to ensure the following:
  • You will not fall behind on your academic progress.
  • Required courses missed while abroad can be made up in an alternate semester.
  • You will not need a semester in which you are forced to overload your courses due to limited credit units (CUs) abroad.
  • You will graduate within 8 semesters.
• Meet with the Penn Engineering study abroad advisor to narrow down the choices for destinations.

Second/Third Year:

• Attend a study abroad advising session (https://global.upenn.edu/pennabroad/studyabroad/application-process/) to open an application.
• Make an appointment to meet with the Penn Engineering study abroad advisor to receive advisor sign off in Passport. 
• Follow all necessary steps as outlined by Penn Abroad to complete the application process.

When you have decided on a location

We expect that you make good academic progress while abroad. However, it is also important to note that you may not be able to take specific courses while you are abroad. Additionally, each abroad institution may have different rules on course selection and enrollment. Course selection while abroad is an iterative process to ensure you meet the requirements for both Penn and the abroad institution.

• Just like at Penn, not all courses are offered every semester or every year. Some courses may no longer be available or may have restrictions. Try to be as flexible as possible in terms of course selection while abroad. If you are unable to find a course you need, please discuss your course selection with the Penn Engineering study abroad advisor.
• During the enrollment period for your study abroad program, make an appointment with Penn Engineering study abroad advisor to discuss your course selection. Some courses may be approved by precedent. Other courses may require XCAT approval for a new course (See XCAT section). Please make sure to enter all courses you are taking on XCAT. A few things to keep in mind:
  • We strongly encourage students to take courses that have been approved by precedent.
  • Please limit your course review request to 10 or fewer (including the courses with set precedents). 
  • If the department that should review your course request is not clear, please discuss your options with the Penn Engineering study abroad advisor.

While you are abroad

• If there are unexpected issues that arise regarding your course selection upon arrival, make an appointment with the Penn Engineering study abroad advisor before the course selection deadline.
• The maximum course units you are permitted to take while abroad is an equivalent Penn course load of 4.5 CUs. The only exceptions are:
  • Dual degree students who require at least 46 CUs to earn their bachelor’s degrees
  • Abroad institution requires are higher minimum course load

Please note that credit equivalency is not uniform across different institutions. To ensure that you are taking the appropriate number of credits abroad, please make sure to discuss your course selection with the Penn Engineering study abroad advisor.

• Once you have a final roster of courses, complete the Study Abroad Final Course List Form (https://forms.gle/UCc2SpdA89RXCyXZ7). This will help us expedite the review of your courses, where appropriate, and ensure that the appropriate courses are transferred to your Penn transcript upon receipt of your return transcript. Completing this form will also assist with advance registration at Penn for the next semester.
• Students may elect to take courses for a Pass/Fail grade type while studying abroad. Please be aware that courses must comply with all Penn Engineering policies (https://academics.engineering.upenn.edu/ugrad/student-handbook/undergraduate-policies/pass-fail/):
  • Students must notify the study abroad advisor by email no later than 5PM ET on the Friday of the 9th week of the abroad program. No late requests will be considered. More information can be found here (https://global.upenn.edu/pennabroad/studyabroad/academic-information/). 
  • A note will be made in XCAT to reflect the decision. 
• Participate in Advance Registration. If your plan is to take 6.0 CUs in the first semester back from studying abroad, the overload request will be reviewed based on the academic record of your last semester at Penn.

After your study abroad program ends

• Make sure all courses are approved in XCAT.
• Once your grades are posted to the Penn transcript, double-check to make sure grades and grade type are accurate. Your abroad grades will be calculated into the cumulative GPA at Penn.
• Contact your department to discuss any petitions for action forms (https://academics.engineering.upenn.edu/ugrad/student-handbook/academic-policies/petition-for-action/) you must submit to ensure that courses taken abroad are slotted in appropriately.
  • If any/all your courses are numbered 2980, you will be required to submit a core sub request for each course.

All return transcripts must first be sent to Penn Abroad who will then post the transcripts on the Penn Abroad portal. Please note that it can take several weeks and even months for return transcripts to be made available. 

All students studying abroad are required to have all courses taken while abroad posted as Penn credit on their official Penn Engineering transcript. To ensure timely posting on the Penn transcript, please follow the steps below:

• Make sure all courses taken abroad are in XCAT.
• Withdraw from all courses that will not appear on your return transcript even if you were approved for the course.
• If there are courses that still require approval, please contact the Penn Engineering study abroad advisor immediately to discuss the issue.

Please note that we reserve the right to adjust CUs when posting the return transcript to ensure that we do not fall below or exceed the limits of study abroad credits allowed.

All courses taken abroad must be requested through XCAT (https://xcat.at.upenn.edu/) for review, approval, and posting to the Penn transcript. 

Single degree students should expect to take no less than 4.0 CUs and no more than 4.5 CUs while abroad, except when the abroad institution expects students to enroll in 5.0 CUs.

Dual degree students should expect to take no less than 4.0C Us and no more than 5.5 CUs while abroad. 

Courses are counted in different increments in abroad institutions and credit conversions can be tricky. Please note that we reserve the right to adjust CUs when reviewing the return transcript to ensure that we do not fall below or exceed the limits of study abroad credits allowed.

XCAT is used to update your Penn transcript upon receipt of your return transcript. Therefore, it is important that you keep it as uncluttered as possible. Limiting simultaneous multiple review requests, following up on requests for more information, withdrawing from courses you are not taking, and providing real syllabi when making new course reviews can greatly expedite the approval process.

Best practices 

• Take advantage of academic advising to narrow down your course selections and determine the most appropriate department to review any new requests. This will improve your chances of getting to yes.
• You can search courses by precedent, i.e., preapproved courses on XCAT. Taking courses that are approved by precedent is the easiest way to select courses while abroad.
• When requesting a review of a new course, be sure to upload a syllabus in English. Please include any supporting documentation that outlines all relevant information that would provide the reviewer with a full picture of the course. A mere course description is not sufficient to determine course equivalency.
• If you are unable to find a course you need, please discuss your course selection with the Penn Engineering study abroad advisor.