Grade Articulation
All grades earned while abroad will be posted to your UAB transcript and included in GPA calculations. Grades will be transferred back as letter grades, meaning they will impact your GPA. In all cases, you must participate fully in all course activities and meet all stated course requirements. Auditing of any course abroad is not permitted.
Credit Conversion
Foreign universities often use a different system of measuring course credits. As a result, foreign credits typically do not equal the same number of credits as the equivalent course at UAB. For example, most Western European countries use the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), while UAB uses the U.S. semester credit hour (SCH) system. To convert ECTS credits into UAB credits, multiply the ECTS credits by 0.5 (or divide by 2). Below is a guide to help convert common types of foreign credit into UAB credits.
| Foreign Credits | UAB Credits |
|---|---|
| 6 ECTS | 3 U.S. Credits |
| 45 Contact Hours | 3 U.S. Credits |
| 20 British Credits | 5 U.S. Credits |
| 4.5 Australian Credits | 3 U.S. Credits |
If the transcripts are received from a foreign university, UAB follows the guidelines set by World Education Services to convert the foreign grade to a US equivalent grade. World Education Services is an internationally-recognized credential evaluation agency.