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ATTENTION STUDENTS WITH INTERNATIONAL COURSEWORK
International Credit Frequently Asked Questions
First of all, congratulations on your admission and welcome to the University of Maryland!
The following information is intended to help answer some questions you may have regarding the
evaluation of your transfer credits.
- How do I get my courses evaluated?
Before you arrive on campus at the University of Maryland, you may notice that many of your international
courses appear "blank". The Transfer Credit Center expects that they will transfer, but they have
not been equated to anything specific. In order to evaluate your credit completely, the University of
Maryland requires you to submit catalog descriptions or syllabi of your coursework.
If necessary, you may bring this information to campus with you when you arrive. A better solution, if possible, is to email course descriptions or syllabi to the Transfer Credit Center in advance. Please do not send huge files containing all of your coursework in one email; it will slow your evaluation. Instead, group your course information as far as possible by department (English, mathematics, chemistry, art, etc.) You may also fax your information to (301) 314-7915 at any time.
Course descriptions and/or syllabi must be translated into English. Be sure to include your name and student
ID number on any faxes.
If your institution has syllabi and/or a current catalog with course descriptions (in English) online,
you may send the URL to tccinfo@umd.edu to help us determine course equivalency. This option
is particularly useful for students coming from institutions on the semester system, in English-speaking
countries. Make a copy of everything you turn in for evaluation, keeping original documents for your
own records. The Transfer Credit Center cannot retain materials for you when your evaluation is finished.
- How long does the evaluation take once I submit course descriptions/syllabi? How may I check on the
status of my evaluations?
Since the Transfer Center must send your materials out to the various academic departments for evaluation,
it can sometimes take two to three weeks for us to hear back. If your advisor needs to hasten
your evaluation, you may note "time sensitive" on your materials and either hand-deliver (if you are on
campus already) or fax your information directly to the department in charge of evaluating your course.
Click here for a list of contact numbers of the various departments. If you wish to fax, use this list
to contact the department first in order to get the fax number. Be sure to include your name and student ID number on any faxes; it is useful to add also the institution name and country of origin.
You may check the status of any course evaluations you've requested online.
Remember, we are working with thousands of course descriptions, and we are proceeding as fast as
humanly possible. We want to ensure that your evaluation is as complete and precise as is necessary for
your Orientation and successful enrollment here.
- How may I appeal an evaluation on one of my courses?
If a course has already been evaluated once (meaning, it's not "blank" on your record), the only way
to appeal or change an evaluation is to submit a syllabus-or other additional documentation--to the
evaluating academic department. Be sure to mark "re-evaluation request" on the syllabi you are handing
in. See above for a list of departmental contact numbers.
- Who may I talk with to discuss my transfer credits and other questions?
You must direct all questions regarding your transfer credit to your
College academic advisor. The Transfer
Credit Center is merely the clearinghouse for transfer information and does not meet with students directly.
- Why do I have less credit after transferring my courses to University of Maryland? Will I
be able to use these classes for CORE or major requirements?
As you look at your transcript, you may find that certain credits have been reduced from what you were
originally given at your previous institution. This happens whenever the University of Maryland determines
that your previous institution awards more credit for the same amount of work than we do.
To adjust for the difference between your old institution's system of awarding credit and ours, we work under the assumption that one
full-time semester of study should roughly equal 14-16 credits worth of work in the U.S. So, for example,
if you earned "30 units" at your previous school for one semester of full-time study, each of your
courses will be reduced by half in order to bring your transcript in line with the U.S. system of granting about
15 credits per semester. If you earned 4 units per semester, you credits may be multiplied by a factor of 4. The most important factor in our determination of credit is the number of units required for the baccalaureate degree at your previous institution. We may need your help in determining this information.
Occassionally some courses will not qualify for CORE or major requirements if they
did not require the U.S. equivalent of 3 semester hours worth of work. In other cases, courses may be combined or equivalencies may be met despite the number of hours (depending on the level of achievement in the course). See your College advisor for
questions about this policy; we will work with him or her.
- I have a question that is not on this list. Is there additional information I can get?
For additional info, check out our complete list of frequently asked questions or contact your
College advisor.
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