Office for Education Abroad :: Enrollment Requirements

Your enrollment status will be checked by the Office for Education Abroad.

If you are not enrolled in the minimum number of credits required by your program, you may be dismissed from the program and/or billed and held responsible for paying an additional program fee. Once this additional fee is posted to your account, you cannot be retroactively enrolled in any courses.

If you are attending a host institution, you may be billed for additional credits if you chose to take more credits than you have indicated on your Course Approval Form.

UNDERGRADUATES

MSU Faculty-Directed

Students participating in short-term programs are required to enroll in the minimum number specified on the program’s webpage.

Exchange and Direct Enroll Programs

All students participating in a semester or academic year program must enroll in the equivalent of 12 MSU credits per semester, or the minimum number specified by the program.

Internships

All undergraduate students must enroll in the minimum number of required credits for their internship program.

PLEASE NOTE: Business majors (except accounting and hospitality business students) are allowed to complete a maximum of three internship credits during their undergraduate program. All business majors should meet with their adviser to discuss how these credits may impact their degree progress.

Independent Study/ Research

If you are doing directed education abroad (such as MSU independent study credits with the guidance of an on-campus faculty member), contact the Office for Education Abroad for clarification of policies and proper enrollment procedures.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

MSU Faculty-Directed

Graduate students must enroll in one of the regularly-offered program courses for the minimum number of credits. If the program is designed for undergraduate students, it may be possible to earn graduate credit by working with the program director.

Exchange and Direct Enroll Programs

Graduate students must enroll in the minimum number of credits required for the program. Graduate students are not eligible for a reduced course load in exchange or direct enroll programs.

Internships

Graduate students may enroll in fewer credits provided that they can obtain the appropriate visa for the host country. If a reduction in credits is possible, the program fee for graduate students will be increased to cover the academic program costs. The increased program fee amount will be determined during the semester prior to participation. Please contact your Education Abroad Program Coordinator for further details.

Independent Study/ Research

University policy does not allow off-campus sections of dissertation research, so these credits cannot be considered part of your program credits. If you are doing directed education abroad (such as MSU independent study), contact the Office for Education Abroad for clarification of policies and proper enrollment procedures.

NOTE: Not all programs are open to graduate students or offer graduate credit.

GRADUATING SENIORS

MSU policy states that no more than 10 of the last 30 total credits toward a degree may be transferred without approval by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Exceptions to this rule may be made up to a total of 18 credits.

Students who are final year seniors, will be within 30 credit hours of degree completion at the start of their education abroad program, and taking 10 or more credits abroad must select “Yes” in the drop-down box in the final section of the Course Approval Form (CAF) in the Education Abroad Student Portal to ensure that their request for an exception is routed to Undergraduate Education. For students making such a request, this is an additional routing step after college approval of the Course Approval Form.

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