Exchange course approvals

While on exchange, you take courses at another university and get credit toward your degree at Waterloo.

How it works

To receive credit for courses completed on exchange, you need to achieve a passing grade as determined by the partner school’s grading system. Grade equivalent information is available under partner university profiles within the destinations webpages.

The grades you get in your exchange courses are not calculated in your average and will only show up on your UWaterloo transcript as credit (CR) or no credit (NCR).

Finding courses 

Most universities have information about their courses available online. We’ve provided you with useful links for finding courses at each university on our  destinations webpages.  

Determining course equivalents and the course approval process

Most of the courses you’ll take on exchange won’t be direct equivalents to courses offered at UWaterloo and therefore will transfer back to your degree as general credits (for example, PSYCH 2XX or ENGL 3XX).

You can review courses that past exchange students have taken and the equivalents they received by viewing our destinations webpages. Please note: this data is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guaranteed given that course equivalents must be approved by the arts exchange advisor.

After you've been nominated and placed at a partner institution, you will begin the Course Approval process. For more details, please see the Course Approval Process page. 

Registering in courses

Once you’ve been accepted by the partner university, the Student Success Office will provide you with more information about how to register in courses.