Study Away Classes

Taking a class at another U.S. school

Once you’ve begun your first quarter at SPU, you should never enroll in a course at another institution without consulting your undergraduate academic counselor and completing an Application for Studying Away (PDF). Without prior approval, courses in the equivalency guide are not guaranteed to transfer.

To receive approval, the Application for Studying Away should be completed by the student and signed by the faculty advisor (if the class applies to a major or minor) before being submitted to Office of Academic Counseling. Any questions about this can be directed to your academic counselor. If your request follows the policy guidelines outlined in the academic Undergraduate Catalog for the year of your admission, your academic counselor will coordinate with the Evaluator team in the Office of the Registrar to review your request and provide confirmation of approval via email

Study away process

• Complete the Application for Studying Away (PDF), which your faculty advisor must sign, if the courses will be counting toward a major or minor requirement.
• Submit the application to your Academic Counselor in Demaray 151. You don’t need your academic counselor's signature before submitting the form.
• Your academic counselor will review the application to ensure transfer policies are being met and consult with the evaluator team to determine if transfer equivalencies are accurate.
• Upon approval of the application, you will receive a Study Away Approval email from your academic counselor.
• You can then enroll in the approved course.
• Once registered, you must send SPU a verification of enrollment to the Office of the Registrar. Acceptable forms of verifications of enrollment may include:
  • enrollment verification/letter including the courses you are registered for and the number of credits, from an official in the Registrar’s Office at the other college/university.
  • unofficial transcript from the college or university showing your enrollment in courses.  A print to PDF document is acceptable with URL visible.  
  • screenshot of the class schedule, including the courses and credits, from the college or university’s official student information system (example: Banner).  The screenshot must clearly show the URL (web address).
  This can be faxed to the Office of the Registrar at 206-281-2669, emailed as an attachment to registrar@spu.edu, or mailed to the address below. 
  
  
• If you plan to use financial aid to cover the cost of the course, contact your Student Financial Services (SFS) counselor.
• Once the course is complete, mail an official transcript to:
  
  Seattle Pacific University
  Office of the Registrar
  3307 Third Avenue West, Suite 113
  Seattle, Washington 98119-1922

Additionally, the Undergraduate Catalog has important transfer policies you need to know. Note: You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with the policies concerning studying away.

Transfer equivalency guide

The SPU Transfer Equivalency Guide can show you how credit from other institutions and approved testing programs generally transfers to SPU.

While this resource can provide you with an estimation of how your coursework may transfer, it is not an exhaustive list and does not guarantee the transferability of your coursework.

Specific schools or classes that are not currently listed in the Transfer Course Equivalency Guide may still be eligible for transfer. You must submit a completed Application for Studying Away in the U.S. to confirm the possible transferability of your courses.