Transfer Credits

API’s university partners in Argentina structure courses in terms of contact hours. The number of credits earned depends on the time spent in class with a professor.

At the Universidad de Belgrano, each contact hour is equivalent to 45 minutes, rather than the standard 50 minutes in the United States. API recommends the number of credit hours to be awarded per course by translating the total number of Argentine contact hours into U.S.
contact hours.

At the Universidad Torcuato di Tella (UTDT), each contact hour is 40 minutes. The majority of UTDT classes meet for a total of 68 Argentine contact hours. API generally recommends that these UTDT courses be transferred as the equivalent of 4 U.S. semester credits.

At the Universidad de Salvador, each contact hour is 60 minutes. The majority of courses meet three times per week, for eighteen weeks, for a total of 54 hours per course (generally equivalent to 3-4 U.S. semester credits). Some courses may have as few as 36 total hours (generally equivalent to 2-3 U.S. semester credits) or as many as 108 hours (7-8 U.S. semester credits).

Griffith University (Brisbane/the Gold Coast) in Australia operates on a credit ‘point’ system. A typical course at Griffith is equal to 10 credit points. Full-time status is 40 credits (typically 4 subjects). 1 subject at Griffith University is equivalent to 3-4 U.S. semester credits or 4-6 U.S. quarter credits.

Macquarie University (Sydney) operates on a credit ‘point’ system. Credit values per course at Macquarie may vary (generally, 3 credit points equals 4 U.S. semester credits), so students should be sure to check equivalencies with their home university in order to maintain their full-time enrollment. Students will select 3-4 courses for a total of 9-12 credit points, or approximately 12-16 U.S. semester credits.

While API’s standard credit conversion practice is to assign one U.S. semester credit for every 15 contact hours, most courses in Thimphu at Royal Thimphu College (RTC) are worth 12 RTC credits. These credits are calculated as follows: 1 RTC credit equals 10 hours of study (consisting equally of in-class contact hours and self-study hours). This equates to a total of 120 hours per course, and 60 in-class contact hours, or 4 U.S. semester credits. Students typically take 3 courses and one transcripted internship for a total of 16 U.S. semester credits.

API’s university partners in Chile operate according to the contact hour system; the number of credits earned depends on the time spent in class with a professor. To determine the conversion of contact hours to U.S. semester credits, similarly, divide the Chilean contact hours in a given course by 15.

The Global China Program at East China Normal University (ECNU) offers a credit structure which is identical to the majority of North American universities and colleges. Course contents are carefully designed to meet the requirements of North American universities and colleges, and courses are generally 3 U.S. semester credits each.

The Chinese Language Semester Program operates on the contact hour system, wherein the number of credits earned depends on the time spent in class. ECNU calculates contact hours differently than many of our other partners, and it is our recommendation that students in the Standard Track expect to transfer 12 U.S. semester credits, while students in the Intensive Track can expect to transfer up to 18 U.S. semester credits.

The International Center for Development Studies (ICDS) issues credit according to the American system; the majority of courses are equivalent to 3 U.S. semester credits. Some language courses meet for a total of 60 contact hours and are equivalent to 3-4 U.S. semester credits.

The Instituto San Joaquín de Flores and the Universidad Veritas both operate on the contact hour system; the number of credits earned depends on the time spent in class with a professor. To determine the conversion of Costa Rican contact hours to U.S. credits, divide the contact hours per course by 15. Almost all courses at the Instituto are the equivalent of 3 U.S. semester credits.

At the Universidad Veritas, elective courses vary between 3 and 4 U.S. semester credits and language courses can equate to 3-5 U.S. semester credits.

The University of Dubrovnik issues credit according to the American system, whereby most courses are worth 3 U.S. semester credits each.

The Universidad de La Habana operates on the contact hour system, wherein the number of credits earned depends on the time spent in class. To determine the conversion of contact hours to U.S. semester credits, divide the contact hours available by 15.

The University of Leeds operates on the British credit system. Two British credits are equal to 1 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credit, which in turn is worth 0.5 U.S. credits; in other words, to determine U.S. semester credit equivalency from British credits, divide by 4. A full-time workload at Leeds is generally around 60 British credits per semester, (or approximately 30 ECTS, or 15 U.S. semester credits). As modules (courses) at the University of Leeds can equate to varying amounts of U.S. credit hours, all students should verify that they will complete the required amount of credit for their home university upon their arrival. It is advised that students choose at least one alternate for every module selected for pre-approval from their home university, to ensure that they have a full course load should there be any cancellations, time conflicts, etc. Students usually complete 3-4 modules per term, each valued at 10–20 British credits.

Florida State University’s London Study Center is accredited by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, and issues credit according to the American system, whereby most courses are worth 3 U.S. semester credits each.

The colleges that make up the University of the Arts, London – or UAL – (including Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, London College of Communication, London College of Fashion, and Wimbledon College of Arts) has offered recommendations for converting its alpha grades to American grades. Students who have enrolled full-time receive 40 credits at UAL each term. API recommends a conversion of 3 U.S. semester credits for every 10 UAL credit hours (e.g., a course representing 20 UAL credits would be awarded 6 U.S. semester credits on the API translation.)

Students at University College London (UCL) take up to 16 U.S. credits per semester. Course credits at UCL are determined based on how many “units” they are worth. Most UCL courses are worth .5, 1, or 2 units, and a UCL unit is the equivalent of 8 U.S. semester credits – in other words, a .5 unit course is worth 4 U.S. semester credits; a 1 unit course is worth 8 U.S. semester credits.

Students at the University of Westminster who are enrolled full-time receive a total of 60 UK credits (the equivalent of 12 U.S. semester credits or 30 ECTS credits) in one semester. Students generally complete 3 modules per semester (with a 4th semester module available for an additional fee), or 1 module per summer, as the majority of modules are worth 20 UK credits (the equivalent of 4 U.S. semester credits or 10 ECTS credits) each.

Most API partner universities in France operate on the contact hour system, wherein the number of credits earned depends on the time spent in class. To determine the conversion of contact hours to U.S. semester credits, divide the contact hours available by 15.

Parsons Paris is the European campus of The New School, an innovative university based in New York City. The Registrar’s Office at Parsons (NY) issues credit according to the American system, whereby most courses are worth 3 U.S. semester credits each.

Corvinus University of Budapest operates on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). It is generally accepted that in order to convert from ECTS to U.S. semester credits, one should divide the ECTS total by 2, whereby most courses are worth 3 U.S. semester credits.

Reykjavík University operates on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). It is generally accepted that in order to convert from ECTS to U.S. semester credits, one should divide the ECTS total by 2, whereby most courses are worth 3 U.S. semester credits.

API partner universities in Ireland operate on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). It is generally accepted that in order to convert from ECTS to U.S. semester credits, one should divide the ECTS total by 2, whereby most courses are worth 3 U.S. semester credits.

API partner universities in Italy issue credit according to the American system, whereby most courses are worth 3-4 U.S. semester credits each.

API partner universities in New Zealand operate on a credit ‘point’ system. Courses in New Zealand are commonly referred to as “papers.” The credit point weight per paper varies from 15-20, depending on the course with 18 credit points most common. Generally speaking, one 18 point paper is generally equivalent to 3-4 U.S. semester credits. Most students take 3-4 papers per semester for 54-72 credit points per semester or 12-16 U.S. semester credits. Given that point values vary, the way in which credits completed abroad will transfer to a student’s home campus will be under the discretion of the student’s home institution, and should be verified in advance.

Jagiellonian University in Krakow operates on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). It is generally accepted that in order to convert from ECTS to U.S. semester credits, one should divide the ECTS total by 2.

Both the Instituto Universitario de Lisboa (ISCTE) and the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA) in Lisbon operate on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). It is generally accepted that in order to convert from ECTS to U.S. semester credits, one should divide the ECTS total by 2, whereby most courses are worth 3 U.S. semester credits.

Most API partner universities in Spain operate on the contact hour system, wherein the number of credits earned depends on the time spent in class. To determine the conversion of contact hours to U.S. semester credits, divide the contact hours available by 15.

Suffolk University (Madrid), which is a branch of the U.S. university by the same name located in Boston, MA, issues credit as U.S. university credits.

Florida State University (Valencia), which is a branch of the U.S. university by the same name located in Tallahassee, Florida, issues credit as U.S. university credits.

Universidad Nebrija (Madrid) and Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Seville) operate on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). It is generally accepted that in order to convert from ECTS to U.S. credits, one should divide the ECTS total by 2, whereby most courses are worth 3 U.S. credits.

The American University of Sharjah issues credit according to the American system, whereby most courses are worth 3-4 U.S. semester credits each.