Credits Outside of GU Economics

Economics majors may receive credit for a maximum of two courses in a semester abroad, and three courses in a full year. Economics minors may receive credit for a maximum of one course in a semester abroad. Additionally, please note that, once matriculated, students may transfer a maximum of three courses into the major or two courses into the minor, inclusive of study abroad and all summer study away from Georgetown.

Courses taken abroad may be substituted for Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 2101), Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECON 2102), Economic Statistics (ECON 2110), Econometrics (ECON 2120), or as electives (including at the 4000-level), but only if the substitution has been approved by the Economics Department prior to enrollment. Students seeking approval for one of these courses need to follow the procedure outlined on the Economics department website.

• For a score of 5 on the Microeconomics exam, the student will receive three credits for ECON 1001 (Principles of Microeconomics). For a score of 5 on the Macroeconomics exam, the student will receive three credits for ECON 1002 (Principles of Macroeconomics). Students with a score of 5 on both of the AP exams may proceed to upper-level courses and cannot take any of the principles courses (ECON 1001, 1002 and 1003). Students with a score of 5 on only one of the AP exams normally take the other principles course. If the student takes ECON 1003 (Principles of Economics: Macro and Micro), they will forfeit the AP credit in economics. COL students with a strong high school background in micro and macro economics and/or who have taken both AP economics but did not score a 5 on either of the AP exams are encouraged to take ECON 1003.
• AP math scores of 4 or 5 on the AB or BC calculus tests are accepted in place of MATH-1350 – Calculus I (formerly MATH-035).
• The Statistics AP exam does not cover all of the topics that are included in ECON-2110 – Economic Statistics (formerly ECON-121). Therefore, students cannot place out of ECON-2110 with an AP exam.

Once students have matriculated into Georgetown University, they are expected to comply with the policies and procedures regarding the summer schools credits as established by their school. These rules available in the Undergraduate Bulletin for their school.

Non-Georgetown Summer School policies for CAS students are outlined here.

The Department of Economics maintains a list of reviewed courses  that have been previously evaluated. Courses marked in red have been reviewed, but not approved. Courses marked in yellow have been approved, but are subject to additional considerations.

Note: The list is subject to change and should be used as a reference guide. Students should still follow the summer school process defined by their school.

Economics Department Policy on Transfer Credits

1. All courses need to meet the minimum standard of instructor/student/class contact. Synchronous online and hybrid courses must require regular peer-to-peer interaction and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. For such courses, there must be evidence that the faculty will be an active and present instructor, delivering course material dynamically, interacting with students throughout the course, and providing regular feedback. Courses structured solely around PowerPoint presentations, or other passive media, with minimal faculty-to-student interaction, such as asynchronous online, self-paced courses or independent studies, will not be approved.
2. All courses must be taught by qualified instructors that meet the minimum educational criteria required. Courses taught by graduate students will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure proper faculty oversight.

Submission Procedure

To receive credit toward your economics major or minor for courses taken at another college or university, students should:

• At least two weeks before taking the course, the student should obtain a copy of the course syllabus that includes: the name of the university, course number, instructor, prerequisites, textbook and readings, topics covered, and assessment criteria.
  Note: the syllabus must be in English in order for the Department to review it.
• Submit the syllabus to the Undergraduate Coordinator for review.
• After completion, the student should submit a transcript for the course for review by their Dean.

The policies and procedures regarding the study abroad are established by each school and are available in the Undergraduate Bulletin.

Transfer Limits for Economics Majors and Minors

Students may apply a limited amount of courses taken aboard:

Majors may transfer up to 2 courses for a semester abroad and up to 3 courses for a year abroad. Minors may transfer up to 2 courses for either a semester or year abroad. If courses abroad are from below the 4000-level electives for the major, there is considerable flexibility. If courses abroad are from the requirements (e.g., ECON-2101, 2102, 2110, 2120) or the 4000-level electives, then the replacement course from overseas must be approved by the department.

Planning for your Study Abroad

In advance of submitting the study abroad preapproval form:

Students should obtain a Study Proposal form from the Office of Global Education. The blank proposal form should look like this.

The Department of Economics maintains a list of reviewed courses that have been previously evaluated. Courses marked in red have been reviewed, but not approved. Courses marked in yellow have been approved, but are subject to additional considerations.

Note: The list is subject to change and should be used as a reference guide. Student should still follow the study abroad process defined in the Undergraduate Bulletin of their school.

All intended economics courses must be listed on your study abroad preapproval form even if they appear on the Department’s list of reviewed courses. Please e-mail the completed form to the Undergraduate Coordinator for signature. The completed form should be sent as a fillable PDF file. Non-editable files (such as scans, cell phone photographs, etc…) will be returned without consideration. If the course in the study abroad preapproval form is listed in the Transfer Credits & Study Abroad table, you do not need to submit additional material; however, if the course is not listed:

• Submit the course syllabus in English to the Undergraduate Coordinator for review. The Department cannot pre-approve a course without reviewing a detailed syllabus.
• The syllabus should include: the name of the university, course number, instructor, prerequisites, textbook and readings, topics covered, and assessment criteria.
  Note: Course descriptions from a course catalog are not substitutes. All materials must be in English in order for the Department to review them.

If accepted, most Economics courses taken abroad will transfer as 2000-level electives equivalents. Approval is more restrictive for core courses above the Principles level, i.e. ECON-2101 – Intermediate Micro, ECON-2102 – Intermediate Macro, ECON-2110 – Economic Statistics, ECON-2120 – Intro to Econometrics (formerly ECON-101, ECON-102, ECON-121, and ECON-122/ECON-3001, respectively), and 4000-level electives.

Pre-Approval Process

Prior approval must be obtained from both the College Dean’s Office and the Economics Department. All intended economics courses must be listed on your study abroad preapproval form even if they appear on the Department’s list of reviewed courses.

Economics majors must take the six core courses, ECON-1001, 1002, 2101, 2102, 2110, and 2120 (formerly ECON-101, 102, 121, and 122/3001, respectively), before their senior year. To make normal progress towards the economics major with a full year of study abroad in the Junior year, we suggest the following plan:

• First-year Fall: ECON-1001 or 1002*
  (formerly ECON-001 or 002)
  * Alternatively, students can take ECON-1003 (formerly ECON-003). This completes the core courses sooner, but it requires an additional economics elective.
• First-year Spring: ECON-1001 or 1002
  (formerly ECON-001 or 002)
• Sophomore-year Fall: ECON-2101 or 2102, ECON-2110
  (formerly ECON-101 or 102, ECON-121, respectively)
• Sophomore-year Spring: ECON-2101 or 2102, ECON-2120
  (formerly ECON-101 or 102, ECON-122/ECON-3001, respectively)

During your Study Abroad

If during their study abroad students are unable to register for any of the economics courses listed in their signed preapproval form, they should e-mail the Undergraduate Coordinator to have the new courses approved in writing. Students should follow the same preapproval procedure as
outlined in the above paragraph titled, Planning for your Study Abroad.

Back at Georgetown

After returning from abroad, students must provide a transfer credit evaluation form — with approval signatures from their major and minor department overseas study advisors — to their dean. Once the deans receive an official transcript from the host university, they will post transfer credit to the student’s MyDegree audit and indicate any credits that may count toward majors, minors, or core requirements.

X-Listed courses: Some courses from other GU departments can be applied as below 4000-level electives towards an economics major or minor. Such cross-listed courses can be found as follows:

• Go to Schedule of classes (http://schedule.georgetown.edu)
• First box, Subject: Click inside and select all
• Last box, Attribute: click on X-List ECON

Other Potential Electives: Courses not already X-listed will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Email the Undergraduate Coordinator and provide the following:

• A copy of the syllabus for the course.
• The forms that you need signed for the GU Registrar.