Academics

In consultation with your advisor and the Chair of Economics at HC, you can pursue the following subjects at LSE, as offered in the General Course program:

Accounting, Anthropology, Data Science, Economics, Economic History, Finance, Government, Geography & Environment, International History, International Relations, Mathematics, Philosophy, Logic & Scientific Method, Social Policy, Sociology, and Statistics

Note the broad range of social sciences offerings, not just courses ("modules") in Economics! Explore, because you may take non-Economics modules to fulfill a Common Area requirement or for general HC credit. 

There are three levels for undergraduate courses at LSE, designated 100, 200, and 300 level:

• • • 100 level courses are typically taken by LSE students in their first year of study.

• • • 200 level courses are intermediate courses broadly equivalent to junior year courses in the US, and typically have pre-requisites equivalent to university-level introductory courses. General Course students primarily take 200 level courses. 

• • • 300 level courses are advanced courses equivalent to senior year or master’s courses in the US. These are typically taken by LSE students in their final year and are extremely rigorous. LSE administrators recommend that General Course students enroll in a maximum of one 300-level course for the academic year. 

Note that LSE courses typically consist of both lectures and "linked classes" (the equivalent of discussion sections). You can anticipate several hundred fellow students in the lectures and approximately 15 total in the linked classes, where you will work through questions, problem sets, and lecture themes, as well as present and discuss your research.

The Holy Cross credit approval system works like this: 

1. After you arrive in the UK, you will receive an email from Jared Chapman in the Registrar’s Office with instructions for submitting Course Approval Forms (CAFS). You'll submit one CAF per module, as soon as possible, and no later than 1 week after the start of classes. 

2. Next, the Registrar's Office receives your CAFs and sends classes you'd like to count towards your major(s) and minor(s) to the official Study Abroad Course Evaluators in the relevant department(s) for approval. The Registrar's Office will manage the approval of common area requirements themselves. 

3. Once the Registrar's Office hears back from the relevant parties about all of your classes, you will receive an email detailing which classes have/have not been approved. (If you talk to your advisors before you leave and stay in touch during the course selection process, you should not receive any 'surprise' rejections). 

Courses that are NOT accepted for Holy Cross Credit:

1. Online or hybrid (partially online) courses;

2. Pre-professional, business, law, and marketing courses;

3. Other non-liberal arts courses;

4. Courses of similar content to those you have already taken;

5. Any major courses required by your major department to be taken at HC;

6. Courses taken without a letter grade (i.e., Pass/Fail; therefore, NO auditing, pass/no pass courses, etc.)

One of the most common questions we get in the Office of Study Abroad is whether or not a certain class abroad will count towards a student's major, minor, concentration, etc. The answer is...maybe! Here's how it works:

If you think a class might work for your Major(s) or Minor...

You need to talk to the official study abroad course evaluator in your department.  

You should obtain a course description and, if available, a syllabus for the class before contacting the course evaluator. They appreciate as much context as possible!

If you think a class might work for a Common Area requirement...

You need to talk to the Registrar's Office! Send an email to Jared Chapman (jchapman@holycross.edu) to gain clarity on Common Area requirements abroad. 

Again, obtain a syllabus and other relevant information about the class before contacting Jared. He appreciates as much context as possible!

FULL PROGRAM:

• Four courses per semester

• Required to take at least two full-year, one-unit courses

• LSE allows no more than 4 half-unit courses during the year (ideally balanced between the two terms)

Ex: you could take 2 full-year, one-unit courses and then 2 half-unit, semester-long courses each semester

  CREDIT CONVERSION:   

Host Grade HC Grade 

70-100 A

65-69 A-

60-64 B+

55-59 B

50-54 B-

45-49 C+

40-44 C

35-39 C-

30-34 D

29 & below F

All of the classes you take when you study abroad will be listed on your Holy Cross transcript, just as they are for any normal semester. Next to each class you take abroad, the letter grade you earned will appear, just as it does for any normal semester at Holy Cross. 

The difference is that the grades you receive abroad will not factor into your cumulative GPA. This means if you leave to study abroad with a 4.0 and you get all 'B's when you are at your host institution, your GPA when you return to Holy Cross will still be a 4.0. The system is designed with you in mind! 

Opting to spend a semester or year studying in a completely different academic system is brave. We want to celebrate the work you do abroad by reflecting the letter grades you earn on your transcript.  We also understand that it's normal to struggle in a new academic system. Therefore, we don't factor your grades into your overall GPA. The goal of this policy is to encourage more students to study abroad without fearing what a semester or year away might do to their GPA! 

NO. You cannot and will not take any classes pass/fail abroad. This is one of those "study abroad myths" that for some unknown reason seems to be passed down from study abroad generation to study abroad generation!

Your HC transcript, after your study abroad semester or year, will reflect the grades that you earn abroad. What will NOT be affected is your GPA.

You can look forward to much more academic independence when you study abroad.  In the UK education system, there are frequently only one, sometimes two, assignments that account for your entire course grade. This puts a lot more pressure on that one assignment, but it means you are free from the myriad of smaller assignments you are accustomed to at Holy Cross. 

Should you need assistance, you will need to take the initiative. It is worth your time to educate yourself on the UK education system and review how to best prepare for UK exams and how to write a research paper. Academic expectations in the UK differ from the ones we are accustomed to in the United States. 

Read Arcadia Abroad's website for the most helpful tips!  

https://studyabroad.arcadia.edu/find-a-program/programs-by-country/england/know-before-you-go/#academic-matters

Each university has its own support services. At LSE, Student Support Services are robust. Please take time to review this webpage:

https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/student-wellbeing 

If you utilize accessibility services at Holy Cross, please inform Piper O'Sullivan (Assistant Director of Study Abroad), and she will help you research your options at your study abroad location.