Transfer Courses

In order to receive credit for courses taken at a university other than UCSD (including courses taken abroad through EAP or OAP), please follow these guidelines:

Planning

When planning your non-UCSD course of study, please understand that the Literature Department can only give credit for literature courses—generally not language, culture, history, or theater courses. They need to be the equivalent of at least 4 units per course, and you may petition the equivalent of up to 5 upper-division courses. However, you will not automatically receive unit-to-unit credit for courses. For example, a 6-unit semester course does not equal one and one-half Literature courses at UCSD.

Students petition to transfer course credit after returning from studying. Thus, hold on to all of your coursework, syllabi, course descriptions, book lists, exams, papers, etc. in order to document your work. While the Literature Department cannot give you a 100% guarantee before your departure that you will receive credit for a specific course, we can provide you with information and guidelines about the kinds of courses most likely to be accepted upon return. You are strongly encouraged to consult with a faculty or staff advisor and to refer to course descriptions available at the EAP/OAP office, the department office, and course catalogs.

When you return

Once you've returned, wait until the Registrar's Office receives your grades from your host university before petitioning. The Literature Department cannot approve any course until it becomes a matter of record on your transcript. Then pick up an Undergraduate Student Petition (available at the Registrar's Office, the Literature Department, or your College). Check the box for Department Exception. Please fill in the address information as completely as possible, especially a current phone number in case we have questions. PLEASE USE ONE PETITION FOR ALL OF YOUR COURSES IN A GIVEN LITERATURE—NOT A SEPARATE FORM FOR EACH COURSE. If all of the courses don't fit in the space provided, you may attach a list of the courses to the petition. Here's an example of what to write under the "Request" section: "To receive credit towards my French Literature major requirements for the following courses taken abroad through EAP at Grenoble: GF FR 105, 20th-Century French Literature (FA 05, 4 upper-division units); GF FR 180, Medieval French Literature (SP 06, 4 upper-division units); ...." The "Reason" could say something like, "The courses were equivalent to UCSD courses."

Meet with a faculty advisor

Next, take your petition and supporting documents (syllabi, etc.) to the faculty advisor for your major/minor or the section that you want to receive credit for. For example, if you are a Literature/Writing major and are petitioning for writing courses taken at Dartmouth, you would want to see the Literature/Writing advisor. However, if you are petitioning for French Literature courses taken through EAP to be used towards your secondary literature or elective requirements, see the French Literature advisor even though you are a Literature/Writing major. There is a list of faculty advisors on the bulletin board in the first floor foyer of the Literature Building; you may see an advisor during his/her office hours, and you do not need to make an appointment. If the advisor approves your courses, have him/her sign in the "Approval" box

Last Step

After the advisor has signed your petition, drop it off at the Literature Undergraduate Office. You do not need to turn in the supporting documents with the petition—they are simply for the faculty advisor to use when evaluating your transfer courses. The Program Representative will review your form and give it to the Director of Undergraduate Studies to sign. Once it is signed, we will send a copy to your College. If you want a copy, you need to pick it up in person—we do not mail them out.

Undergrad Advising

Current students must use the VAC (valid student PID required) or Zoom appointments for advising. We cannot advise students via email or over the phone (to preserve student privacy standards). If/when we are able to re-open in-person advising, we will update you. If you have academic-related forms or paperwork that require our review and signature, please email them to litug@ucsd.edu.

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Send us your questions via the VAC. We respond to questions Mondays - Fridays, 8:00am-4:30pm.

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Walk-in advising is currently unavailable, but we are happy to schedule a virtual appointment with you.

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