Exchange course approvals

One important task in preparing for your exchange is the selection of courses and approval of transfer credits. Please carefully read about the process below.

Step One - Determine your course needs

After you’ve been matched for an exchange, book an appointment with your academic advisor(s) to determine your course needs and learn about any possible restrictions.

Step Two – Determine your required course load

Please review the Destinations you will be studying in to determine how many courses you will need to take on exchange. It is very important you understand the credit system of the partner institution as you should complete a full-term course load, the equivalent of 5 UW courses at the exchange university, while away.

After, you can begin to browse the exchange university’s course offerings online and determine courses of interest.

Step Three - Submit your course requests

For GBDA Students: Please see the GBDA Go Abroad website - Course Selection for your course approval process. Do not follow the instructions below.

For all other Arts Students: One you have determined your course needs, required course load and determined courses of interest at the exchange university; please formally submit your course approval requests by e-mail to artsinternationalexchange@uwaterloo.ca. Make sure to include as much of the following information as possible:

• your name and student ID
• the name of the exchange university
• the course title(s)
• the course description(s), and URL link(s) or syllabi
• the course weight(s)
• confirm if you are looking to receive approval as a generic or specific transfer credit (see Commonly Asked Questions below).

You will receive a reply within 1-3 business days of sending your course approval email.

Commonly Asked Questions:

• How do I register in courses? The Global Learning Coordinators will provide you with more information about how to register in courses. 
• How to make course changes after you have arrived? If you need to make changes to your courses after your arrival please do so by submitting requests as per the process above. We will work as quickly as possible to review your requests, however do not wait until the last minute to request changes! 

• What is the difference between specific and generic course equivalents?  Most of the courses you will take on exchange will not be direct/specific to courses offered at UW and therefore will transfer back to your degree as a general/generic credit. Regardless of whether a course transferred back as specific or general, it will have exactly the same credit value here (0.5 units).

  • Specific Course Equivalents: This represents a course overseas that has content that is similar or close to a course offered here at UW. The course will be transferred back your record as a specific transfer credit (i.e. PSYCH 101, SOC 202, ECON 301).
  • General Course Equivalents: This represents a course overseas that has does not match courses or content offered at UW, but is still relevant to your studies. If this is the case and you are deemed eligible to take the course, the course will be transferred back your record as a generic transfer credit (i.e PSYCH 1XX, SOC 2XX, ECON 3XX). 

If you have any questions about course approvals, please contact artsinternationalexchange@uwaterloo.ca.