Home / Academics / Applying Outside Courses

Transfer Credits & Course Substitutions

Tsunami by hokusai 19th century East Asian studies minors must take the majority of their coursework from members of the UCSC East Asian studies faculty. Subject to the limits indicated, courses from the following categories may also be applied to the East Asian studies minor.

Transfer Courses/Courses taken at another institution (limit of 3)
Education Abroad Program (limit of 3)
Course Substitutions/Related courses not currently on the pre-approved East Asian studies course list (limit of 2)
Independent and Field Studies (limit of 1)

Transfer Coursework

Students may petition up to three courses taken from another college or university for use towards their East Asian studies minor requirements. Courses must appear on your UCSC Transfer Credit Summary Report before they will be approved for use towards your East Asian studies minor requirements.

Applying Transfer Courses

1. Complete the East Asian Studies Outside Course Substitution Approval Form (enterable PDF). Attach the description for each course as it appears in the host university's General Catalog. Consult the "Transfer Credit: Report" in your MyUCSC Student Center to ensure that the transfer courses have been posted to your UCSC academic record.

2. Make an appointment to meet the East Asian Studies Program Director. The director may ask for samples of your written work or the course syllabus if supplemental information is need.

3. After the meeting, return your approved East Asian Studies Outside Course Substitution Approval Form to the History Department office for inclusion in your academic file.

Education Abroad Program (EAP)

All students planning on participating in EAP must take the following information into consideration:

The East Asian studies program does not pre-approve EAP courses. To obtain credit towards the East Asian studies minor requirements, students must submit all courses taken abroad to the program for review. Courses offered at EAP campuses can vary significantly from year to year, and whether or not a particular course is appropriate often depends on a student's chosen area of study and the other courses he or she has already taken. In addition, the campus admissions office must first determine whether an EAP course will count toward graduation, whether it is upper- or lower-division, and for how many units it will be counted. Only with all of this information in hand can the program determine which minor requirements a course might satisfy.

A maximum of three courses completed through EAP may be approved for use towards the East Asian studies minor requirements.

When choosing your classes while on EAP, keep in mind that courses most likely to be counted towards degree requirements are those that are standard course offerings in East Asian studies. Courses in other fields of study will be assessed in terms of whether the preponderance of the readings, lectures, and course requirements are clearly applicable to your area of study.

Applying EAP Courses to the East Asian Studies Minor

To apply EAP courses towards the East Asian studies minor, all students must do the following upon their return:

1. Determine that the desired EAP classes have been posted to your UCSC academic record; this is best done by checking your MyUCSC portal periodically. Most EAP classes are given a designation of XHIS, XCHIN, XJAPN etc. This process may take up to one quarter.

2. Make an appointment to meet with the East Asian Studies Program Director. Bring to that appointment the following materials:

a printout of your personal transcript for the relevant quarters showing that your EAP classes have been posted to your UCSC academic record;
syllabi, reading lists and the written assignments you completed for all courses for which you are seeking credit;
a completed East Asian Studies Outside Course Substitution Approval Form (enterable PDF).

Be prepared to justify why these courses should qualify as part of your minor. Only courses passed with the equivalent of a letter grade of C or better may be applied to East Asian studies minor requirements.

3. After the meeting, return your completed East Asian Studies Outside Course Substitution Approval Form to the History Department office for inclusion in your academic file.

Important Information About Studying Abroad

You must declare a major before studying abroad.
You should complete a significant amount of your General Education Requirements (GEs) before you leave, even if you go as a junior.
EAP in your senior year is generally a bad idea. If you choose to participate in EAP during part or all of your senior year, you should have your major/minor requirements all but completed. You should also be prepared to return to UCSC after your time abroad (students may have to satisfy the residency requirements or outstanding degree or general education requirements; situations which, despite the best of plans, crop up regularly). Students should recognize that they may have to re-enroll at UCSC upon their return. Furthermore, EAP transcripts take at least one quarter to post to your UCSC transcript. This means that your planned quarter of graduation may be delayed by at least one quarter.
You can never count absolutely on a course you take abroad counting toward the East Asian studies minor. You must keep all documentation (syllabi, reading lists, the papers you write, etc.) to support the case you will need to make, upon your return, to apply EAP courses toward the minor.

Course Substitutions

The purpose of a course substitution is to allow students to use “related” regularly scheduled UCSC courses from another discipline towards their degree requirements. East Asian studies minors may substitute up to two upper-division “related” courses towards their upper-division elective course requirements.

Applying Course Substitutions

1. Complete the East Asian Studies Outside Course Substitution Approval Form (enterable PDF). Attach the description for each course as it appears in the UCSC General Catalog.

2. Make an appointment to meet with the East Asian Studies Program Director. The director may ask for samples of your written work or the course syllabus if supplemental information is needed.

3. After the meeting, return your approved East Asian Studies Outside Course Substitution Approval Form to the History Department office for inclusion in your academic file.

Independent and Field Studies

East Asian studies minors may substitute one upper-division individual study courses for their Upper-Division Electives requirements.

Applying Independent and Field Studies

1. Download a UCSC Petition for Undergraduate Individual Studies Course (pdf). It is best to initiate this process during the quarter before the one in which you plan to do the study. Outline your proposed course of study and obtain the approval of an instructor who is willing to supervise your study; student are expected to initiate discussion with and independently acquire faculty sponsors.

2. Complete the East Asian Studies Outside Course Substitution Approval Form (enterable PDF) with your faculty sponsor.

3. Submit the UCSC Petition for Undergraduate Individual Studies Course and East Asian Studies Outside Course Substitution Approval Form to the History Department Undergraduate Program Coordinator during drop-in advising hours.

4. The Undergraduate Program Coordinator will review your petition and will issue you a class number. Use this class number when you enroll via the Student Portal. Make sure to enroll with the grade option approved on the petition.