While on leave, you may choose to enroll in a college course or courses. You may be motivated to rectify a course deficiency, regain academic momentum, and/or explore a new course of study. Princeton AB students have the opportunity to have three such courses transfer to Princeton for credit and BSE students are allowed four such transfer courses.

In order for outside courses to be approved for Princeton credit, you should seek approval from the appropriate academic department and your residential college director of studies or dean. The process for getting courses approved is fairly simple, but it does require that you pay attention to details. If you are planning to take courses abroad you should submit your materials to Dr. Gisella Gisolo in the Office of International Programs (Louis A. Simpson International Building), not to your residential college.

What's the process?

1. Do some web research and find a class that looks promising (see below for details about eligible courses, and review the approval form very carefully before you start looking). Then save all of the course information, the syllabus, and the summer session calendar stating the first and last days of class. You will need to identify the following information to upload within the e-form: 

• A detailed description of the course that includes a syllabus that outlines (a) description, frequency, and duration of the course instruction sessions and (b) assignments, texts, articles, to be used 
• A screenshot of the course listing in the institution catalog that shows it is a regularly offered course normally offered in a semester time frame. Courses normally offered in a trimester or quarter time frame will not be approved unless they meet the threshhold for instructional hours and are comparable to a semester course in material and coverage.

2. Go to TigerHub and click on "Summer Course Pre-Approval" (under the Academic Tasks tile). Use a separate form for each course you want approved, unless they are in sequence (e.g. CHM 201-202). Fill the form out carefully; if it is rejected at any step of the review process, you'll have to start over. Note that the form asks you to specify the following:

• Are you applying for a 2-credit course sequence (e.g. CHM 201, CHM 202)?
• Is there a direct equivalent course being offered at Princeton (this is not essential for credit to be approved but it is an important piece of information for appropriate approval)
• Are you requesting to satisfy a specific requirement through the course?

You must have approval to take the course BEFORE the first class meeting in order to be eligible for Princeton University transfer credit.