Taking Courses Elsewhere

Undergraduates sometimes take courses at another postsecondary institution during the summer or academic year. There are several ways to do so:

• Students can sign up as a “visiting student” at another institution
• Students can take a class for no extra charge through the Cooperating Raleigh Colleges (only allowed during the academic year)
• Students can take a class for no extra charge through the Inter-Institutional Agreement

If a student takes a course elsewhere through the Cooperating Raleigh Colleges or the Inter-Institutional Agreement, their grade from the other institution will automatically be entered into MyPack. If they have any issues with this, they should contact Samantha Polito (spolito@ncsu.edu) in Reg and Rec.

If a student takes a course elsewhere as a visiting student, then they will need to have the other institution send their official transcript to our Undergraduate Admissions Office (undergrad-admissions@ncsu.edu).

If a student wants to take a course via study abroad, see our department’s process here.

Prior to taking a course elsewhere, the student should ensure that it will transfer in. The first place to check is the NC State Transfer Database. If it’s not in the database, it most likely means that no one has attempted to transfer it in yet. The student should obtain a syllabus for the course and send it to you, so that you can run it by the appropriate faculty member for equivalency evaluation. You should also ensure that the other institution is accredited.

• Residency Requirement for Matriculation and Graduation
  • 25% of credits must be courses offered through NC State
  • 30 of last 45 hours must be NC State courses

If a student is taking courses elsewhere in their final semester at NC State, they should indicate this in their graduation application. Tell them to have their official transcript sent over immediate and to let you (or Dana Thomas) know when they do.