Transfer Credit & Study Abroad

Transfer Credit from Other Institutions and Programs

This page contains information for transfer students, students who plan to study abroad, and students interested in taking a course through the Washington Consortium of Universities.

Students may petition for up to four courses taken outside of the department to count toward the English major. These four courses will include all courses taken at other institutions, whether within the United States or outside the United States, as well as all courses taken before attending Georgetown or on leave from Georgetown.

The Ways of Reading course must be taken in Georgetown’s Department of English, and it is recommended that Histories and Identities requirements also be fulfilled at Georgetown. Transfer credits will be adjudicated by the Director of Undergraduate Studies individually for each student.

During the August orientation, transfer students meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the English department and determine which courses taken at the previous institution can count towards the English major at Georgetown. At that time and in subsequent meetings, students have the opportunity to discuss their individual programs. Students must fulfill all requirements for the English major and take at least six courses in this department.

The Department of English supports opportunities for English majors to study abroad and believes that such study can expand English majors’ appreciation of their discipline, and of the values, attitudes, and assumptions which inform it. The department allows 2 courses per semester, up to a maximum of 4 for students studying abroad for a full academic year, to count toward the major. Students are strongly encouraged to have their program of study approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies before they go abroad. In general, students can seek approval to have one study abroad course fulfill a specific requirement (though the Ways of Reading course must be taken at Georgetown); any other study abroad courses will count as electives.

When students return from abroad, transfer credits from foreign institutions are evaluated by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. In order to assist in the evaluation of the work done abroad, students may be asked for the syllabus for each course they wish to count toward the major, as well as any papers they have written in these courses.

Please contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies at Nathan.Hensley@georgetown.edu before you leave, for approval of study abroad proposals and when you return, for evaluation of study abroad courses.

If you are going abroad and are also interested in applying to the Honors Program or the AB/MA Program, visit the program page before you leave so that you are aware of the deadlines and application procedures for these programs.

English majors may be interested in the Shakespeare in Performance Program, offered by the Department of English and the Office of Global Education. For more information, please see London & Stratford-upon-Avon.

Students are invited to take advantage of the course offerings at the many highly-regarded institutions in the Washington, D.C., area. Please consult the Registrar’s website on Consortium Registration for additional information.