Global Course Compass

• Full time enrollment at Sheffield is 60 credits per semester. You may enroll in a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 60 credits. Most modules are worth 10 or 20 credits. You can expect a 10-credit module to involve 100 hours of work and a 20-credit module to involve 200. This can include lectures, seminars, tutorials, labs, and self-study time.

• IMPORTANT: Course levels abroad do not necessarily correspond with course levels at OSU. If course level is important to your course selection, submit each course for pre-articulation using the transfer articulation reevaluation form as early as possible in your planning.

• Interpreting course levels at Sheffield:

  • Level 100 modules are available to most visiting students who have a suitable background in the topic.
  • Level 200 modules are available to more advanced students with at least one year of study at undergraduate level in the subject.

  • Level 300 modules are ONLY available under special circumstances in certain schools and only to advanced students with substantial documented undergraduate-level background in the topic.

  • Level 400, 500 and 600 modules are postgraduate-level classes and are not usually open to undergraduate students. You must show significant background study in the subject and permission from your home university to take these modules. In some cases advanced undergraduate students in some subjects may be able to take a Level 400 module but would not be able to take a Level 500 or 600 module.

• It is not possible to study modules in the Faculty of Health, which includes:
  • School of Allied Health Professions, Nursing and Midwifery
  • School of Clinical Dentistry
  • School of Medicine and Population Health
• It is not possible to study modules in the School of Law.

• Sheffield offers a December finish for students for the autumn semester. Read the December finish for the Autumn Semester section here for a list of subjects that do not offer December finish. 

• After completing your OSU GO application and meeting with the program coordinator, you will be asked to submit an application to Sheffield. As part of this application, you'll provide a study plan with a list of modules you want to take. Be sure to include several back up modules in case your top choices aren't available.
• After submitting your application to Sheffield, the relevant module leaders will check your class choices and approve or reject them. If any are rejected, they will automatically add your backup choices in order of preference on your behalf. Admissions will check your documents to make sure you meet the requirements for your study plan.
• Once you have 60 credits per semester approved (or 40+ with reduced credit load permission), and you meet the requirements for your programme, admissions will send your offer letter to the email address on your record.
• Once you have received your offer letter and committed to the program, you will be asked to complete pre-registration tasks. Some of these tasks can be completed online (you will be provided with instructions on completing them nearer to the start of the semester), while some must be completed in person during your first week on campus at Sheffield.

Remember courses abroad count as OSU credits and grades count towards your OSU GPA.

To explore if Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading could be an option for you, talk with your academic advisor. To request S/U grading for courses abroad, you'll need to secure approval from your academic advisor and submit the S/U request form in your OSU GO portal before 70% of the course is complete.

• For official determinations on how education abroad courses will be transcribed at OSU, submit each course using the transfer articulation reevaluation form

• No need to wait! We recommend submitting courses as early as possible in your planning - even while exploring programs! ​​​​​

• Since course articulation can affect your degree progress and planning, it's important to work closely with your academic advisor to understand how your courses abroad will fit into your academic plan.

• Visit the OSU GO Education Abroad Course Articulation Database to view courses that previous OSU students have taken.
• The database is not a comprehensive list of all courses available and may list courses that are not offered during your program cycle. Check out the host institution tools below fo up to date course offerings.
• Previous articulations are a guide for how a course may appear on your OSU transcript. Given updates to course content, articulation standards, etc., how a course is articulated on your transcript may look different. If a course you plan to take abroad is essential for completion of degree requirements, submit the course information through the form above.