Transfer credit

Please be aware that all credits and all grades that you earn on approved semester and yearlong programs abroad will transfer. There are no exceptions to this rule. Even if no specific department has “signed off on” or “approved” a course it will still be counted as a general credit towards graduation (although it will not fulfill any specific requirements such as those for a major, minor, or the Common Course of Study), and both the credit and the grade will appear on your Lafayette College transcript.

Please know that there is sometimes a time lag between the receipt of your grade report from your program and the appearance of those same credits and grades on your Lafayette transcript. In order to minimize this delay, students should request, in writing, that a copy of their transcript be sent from the host institution to the Office of the Registrar at Lafayette. Copies should be requested prior to completion of the abroad semester by following the guidelines established by the host institution. Transcripts should be sent directly to: Office of the Registrar, Lafayette College, 215 Markle Hall, Easton, PA 18042.


Course load and conversion of credit

The number of transfer credits you receive at Lafayette is calculated based on the system used by the affiliated U.S. institution that manages your study abroad program. If it is a course-based system, then one course abroad will be transferred as one full credit (one course) at Lafayette. If it is a semester credit hour system, a 4-credit course is equivalent to 1 full Lafyaette credit, and a 3-credit course would count as .75 Lafayette credits. Lafayette students are expected to carry a four course-credit load or a 15-16 semester credit hour load while abroad. If all or most of the courses a student plans on taking abroad are 3 (semester hour) credit courses, the student will have to take 5 courses to carry a full load. Any variations must be approved by the Director of International and Off-Campus Education and the Lafayette Registrar.