Attend Summer School
Non-Georgetown Summer School Policies
Prior to enrolling in summer courses at another school, you must submit the Application for Non-Georgetown Summer School. Do not pay for summer school until you hear back from our office that your courses have been approved. Non-Georgetown summer courses must be approved by the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office in order to be transferred to your degree.
SUBMISSION DEADLINES
Applications must be submitted at least two weeks before the start of the course. This deadline gives your dean the time to review your application carefully, requesting additional course information and/or discussing with you how the course fits into your academic program (if applicable). Your dean reserves the right to deny any application that is submitted less than two weeks before the start of the course.
No application may be submitted later than Friday, July 14. Courses cannot be submitted retroactively for approval.
LIMITS
A maximum of four non-Georgetown summer courses may be transferred to the Georgetown record. Transfer students may not transfer more than 60 credits total to the Georgetown degree.
Students may submit no more than four applications per summer. Students should pay close attention to the College’s policies, detailed below, for the transfer of non-Georgetown coursework and take care to only submit applications for courses that clearly adhere to these policies.
Students may enroll in no more than two classes which meet concurrently.
Overall, students may take no more than 4 courses in one summer.
COURSE FORMAT
Sessions shorter than three weeks will not be approved. Courses that overlap with Georgetown’s spring or fall semester are not permitted.
For classroom courses, credits are evaluated using classroom hours and session calendar. A 3-credit course must meet for a minimum of 36 hours over a minimum of three weeks.
Online and hybrid courses will be evaluated by the student’s dean to ensure that the minimum standard of instructor/student/class contact is met. Self-paced courses or independent studies will not be approved. The course must meet for a minimum of three weeks, with fixed start and end dates.
COURSE CONTENT
Though proposed courses do not need exact Georgetown matches to be approved, we do limit our approvals to courses and areas of study contributing to the aims and spirit of a Georgetown liberal arts education. Courses offering non-academic training (paralegal studies, EMT, word processing, etc.) and that prepare students for college work (pre-calculus, expository writing, grammar) will not be approved or transferred.
Students are generally expected to fulfill major, minor, certificate, and core requirements at Georgetown. The following core requirements MUST be completed at Georgetown: HALC (Humanities: Arts, Literature, and Culture), HIST-099 (History Focus), and Science for All. No more than half of a core requirement may be transferred from outside Georgetown. All language credit at the learning level is subject to the results of a department-administered placement exam upon return.
Department approval is required for major, minor, and certificate courses and is recommended for prehealth courses. You will need to obtain approval from a faculty member in the relevant department in the form of an email. The email will then need to be saved as a PDF file and uploaded to the application.
The McDonough School of Business (MSB) does not permit the transfer of non-Georgetown business courses. College of Arts & Sciences students who are pursuing minors in business studies may not take business courses away from Georgetown and apply them toward the minor. Overall, College students are limited to a maximum of six business courses toward their degrees.
Course Expectations
Students must upload a syllabus (PDF format only) confirming that the course they are proposing contains the following:
1) Significant learning goals.
2) Evidence of assignments and activities that give students practice and meaningful feedback in meeting the learning goals.
3) Appropriate assessments tied to the learning goals. For courses in the humanities, appropriate assessments must be the creation of significant and substantive work, mostly likely in formal writing.
4) For online courses, the course must require regular peer-to-peer interaction.
5) For online courses, there must be evidence that the professor 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, will not be approved.
The syllabus must be current and match the course format. That is, if you are submitting an application for an online course, the syllabus must be for the online version of the course for Summer 2023 and must be prepared by the instructor of record.
If a Summer 2023 syllabus is not available, students may submit a Summer 2022 syllabus along with an email from the professor confirming that they will not make significant changes to the course design or content in Summer 2023. Syllabi for previous versions of the course that were taught in a fall or spring semester will not be accepted. By nature of the difference in length between semester terms and summer terms, it’s not possible to assess a fall or spring course that will be adapted for a summer term.
International Courses
Students who plan to complete courses at universities located outside the U.S. and transfer the earned credit back to their Georgetown degree must follow Georgetown’s International Travel Policy.
The policy requires all GU undergraduate students to submit their university-related international travel plans for a review of local and regional safety and security concerns. Safety and security approval is required in addition to academic approval in order for credit to transfer.
Note: You should allow at least four weeks prior to your departure for the safety and security review process.
Additional information:
All undergraduate students must have their travel plans authorized by the Travel Committee. As part of the travel authorization process, students will be expected to confirm health insurance coverage, sign an Assumption of Risk form, and submit a safety plan. All travelers are strongly encouraged to enroll in the U.S. State Department Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
The policy and all related forms are available on the Office of Global Services website: https://globalservices.georgetown.edu/gps/travelandsafety/travelpolicy/
Transcripts, Grades, and Credits
To be eligible for transfer, coursework must be at an accredited college or university, accepted towards an undergraduate degree at that institution, and represented on that institution’s transcript. For summer programs abroad through third-party providers, such as DIS, CIEE, and CET, students must request a transcript from the university of record aligned with the provider and this may require an additional fee. Transcripts from third-party providers will not be accepted, as they are not degree-granting institutions.
All courses must be taken for a letter grade; no other grades, such as “pass” or “S” will be accepted for the transfer of credit. A letter grade of C or higher from the host institution is required for the course to be transferred to your Georgetown degree. However, the grades for courses taken away from Georgetown will not appear on the Georgetown transcript and are not computed in your Georgetown GPA.
After completing the course, students must ask the summer college or university to send an official transcript to Georgetown.
If your host institution provides electronic delivery of official transcripts, please submit your transcript to: collegedeans@georgetown.edu. If your host institution does not offer e-transcripts, you may request for it to be mailed to:
Claudia Estrada
ICC 303
College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office
Georgetown University
Washington, DC 20057-1003
Please note that these guidelines may apply only to College students. Students in the McDonough School of Business, Walsh School of Foreign Service, School of Nursing, and the School of Health should check with their respective dean’s offices for their policies.
Georgetown Summer School
For summer school courses at Georgetown University, please see the Georgetown Summer School website. If you enroll in summer school at Georgetown, the credits will automatically appear in MyDegree.
Before you register, please make note of the following restrictions:
- Students may enroll in no more than two classes that meet concurrently (see details on this page under Course Load and Time Status).
- Overall, students may take no more than 4 courses in one summer.
Your dean may require changes to your summer school schedule if it violates the restrictions above and/or is inconsistent with your academic program.