INSTRUCTIONS FOR REQUESTING COURSE EQUIVALENCY EVALUATION

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Transfer / Equivalency Advisor will be processing transfer / equivalency forms for all languages. Please be advised that no equivalency will be granted for asynchronous online courses. If you seek equivalency for a course taken in person, hybrid, or online in synchronous format, please follow the instructions below.

EQUIVALENCY EVALUATION FOR MLL COURSES

Please read the following information to determine whether or not you need to request an equivalency evaluation.  If, after reading this information, you determine that you do need to request equivalency for Study Abroad and/or Transfer Credits for courses that are similar to those taught in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, the instructions for requesting equivalency evaluation are found below. Please allow 2-3 weeks to process, as some requests must be processed with multiple units and faculty members. 

• Florida Public Institutions:  UM has standing equivalencies for the following courses taught face to face or synchronous and remote at Florida state institutions (e.g.:  Miami Dade College, Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, etc.). Please note that asynchronous online courses are not accepted for transfer to UM.
  • SPA1120=SPA101 
  • SPA1121=SPA102
  • SPN 1130=SPA101 
  • SPN 1131=SPA102
  • SPA2340=SPA107

For these courses at Florida’s public institutions, you do not need an equivalency evaluation.  It is sufficient to take the course and have the transcript sent to the UM registrar.  Nonetheless, as with all equivalencies, the MLL Dept. cannot guarantee that these courses will prepare you well for the subsequent course in the sequence at UM.

• Placement in a non-UM program: If the program in which you plan to study requires a placement exam there is no way to know now whether your coursework will have a UM equivalent.  You can either request equivalency for the 2 or 3 courses you are most likely to place into, or, once you have completed the course you can submit an equivalency evaluation request for that specific course.
• Elective credits:  Even if a UM equivalent is not established for a course taken elsewhere, as long as the course is from an accredited institution and you have the transcript sent to the UM registrar, it can still count as elective credits.  Inversely, a course must be granted equivalency as a specific UM course in order for it to count toward a particular UM requirement beyond elective credits.
• For an elementary or intermediate language course to be equivalent to a UM Spanish course it must be conducted entirely in Spanish and cover the 4 language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).
• UM's 201:  If you are looking for a course that might be equivalent to UM's 201, typically such a course will have a title similar to "Intermediate French/German/Spanish I," "Third Semester French/German/Spanish," or “French/German/Spanish 3.”  Please note, however, that the course must be taught entirely in the language of study using a communicative method and must include oral and written exams and compositions in order to be a candidate for equivalency with UM’s 201.
• No equivalency is granted for any asynchronous online courses. Hybrid courses with 25% or less of contact hours occurring virtually/in a language lab are acceptable. In other words, the equivalent course must be at least 75% in person or synchronous.
• Study abroad:

It is essential that you plan ahead for study abroad.  Many UM-administered programs have a pre-requisite regarding the level of proficiency that you must attain before studying abroad. 

• UM Transfer Credit Regulations:

For All Students:  The UM residency requirement stipulates that if you transfer credits from a 4-year university, your last 45 credits must be taken consecutively at UM (i.e., in residency and not via transfer).  UM’s study abroad programs (i.e., programs administered by UM’s IEEP office) count as courses taken in residency.

For Students Majoring or Minoring in in one of the languages taught in the department or Minoring in Modern Languages (the dual language minor):  Only a certain number of transfer credits (includes non-UM study abroad), and in some cases UM study abroad credits, can count toward the major/minor.  UM’s study abroad programs (i.e., programs administered by UM’s IEEP office) count as UM credits, not as transfer credits.  For information on all of the requirements for the major/minor, consult the Modern Languages and Literatures Department website.             

• Timing: 

After reading these instructions, if you need to request equivalency evaluation, please do the following:

1. Fill out the Equivalency Questionnaire as well as the student portion of the equivalency form provided by your school at UM or by the IEEP office. You can find the CAS Equivalency Form here.

2. Submit the Questionnaire, the equivalency form, and a syllabus or detailed course description to the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures main office Merrick 212.  Alternately, you can e-mail the Questionnaire, equivalency form and syllabus/description to mlltransferadvisor@miami.edu. If you are in a school other than Arts & Sciences, make sure to drop off or email your school’s form.

   • The syllabus can be a sample syllabus (the syllabus that the institution used last semester or a standard one without the specific dates for the semester in which you will take the course)
   • The syllabus provided must include the institution’s course description, language and grammar topics and skills covered in the course, and details about methods of instruction and methods of assessment (tests, compositions, etc.)