College of ACES
Important information:
• Completion of the Course Approval Summary Form is not required before departure.
• Grading options do not need to be decided by mid-term.
• Submit the Course Approval Summary Form to: aces-studyabroad@illinois.edu
This webpage is for students in the College of ACES during the semester they are studying abroad. Study Abroad students shall be considered full-time for academic purposes at the University when they are enrolled in at least the minimum full-time academic load as defined by the international institution. However, federal regulations require that students must complete the equivalent of 12 or more University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hours to be considered full-time for financial aid purposes. Students who receive the Monetary Award Program (MAP Grant) from the State of Illinois, are required to complete the equivalent of 15 credits.
Course Approval Instructions
Pre-Departure
Complete a Tentative Course Plan. For this form, you will research and plan for potential courses and determine the appropriate approval process.
- All courses taken while on a pre-approved study abroad program will transfer back and default to elective, graded credit at the ACES 1--level (this means a 100-level elective course which will factor into your GPA).
- If you want to use a course for any of the following you will need to go through the Course Approval Process, either before you go or after your return, as outlined below:
- To satisfy a requirement for a major or minor
- For a level other than 100 level
- To take a course for credit/no credit (C/NC)
- If you would like a rubric other than "ACES" to appear on your transcript
- You must complete the Course Approval Summary Form even if all the courses you plan to take are in the Course Approval Database.
- You may start the course approval process prior to your departure, with the understanding that for many programs, the courses that you are choosing may not be available to you. The more you do ahead of time, the easier your course selection process will be once you are on-site.
While Abroad
Collect as much information on your courses as you can. This includes bringing back syllabi, homework assignments, tests, textbooks, etc. These will be used in the Course Approval Process.
Upon Return to Campus
Consult with your advisor to determine which of your completed courses requires approval. For those courses, follow the instructions for the course approval process outlined below. Remember that you must complete the Course Approval Summary Form even if all the courses you plan to take are in the Course Approval Database. All other courses will default to ACES 1--.
Complete and submit the Course Approval Summary Form to ACES Study Abroad (aces-studyabroad@illinois.edu) by the Friday of the first week of October (for Spring, Summer and Academic Year term(s) abroad) or March (for Fall term abroad). If you do not complete the course approval process upon your return, your courses will appear as "ACES 388" on your transcript.
Course Approval Process
Using the Course Approval Summary Form, complete one row for each course using the instructions below.
You should submit the completed Course Approval Summary Form to ACES Study Abroad at aces-studyabroad@illinois.edu.
Notes for Study Abroad Course (299) Advisors
Updated: by MB-02.28.17, JB-10.06.17, JB-8.16.19