Transfer Policies

Schedule your advising appointments online, 24-hours a day using our new online scheduling platform. Visit our Student Advising page and select an advisor today!

If possible, please e-mail or fax a copy of your academic record to an advisor in advance of your meeting. This will allow us to prepare an evaluation of the college credits you have already earned.

In this appointment, students also are encouraged to discuss their academic goals with the advisor.

Browse our programs and complete an online application for the undergraduate program or certificate program.

• Maximum of 66 units from a community college may be transferred to the bachelor’s degree.
• Maximum of 84 units overall may be transferred to the bachelor’s degree.
• Maximum of 24 transfer units may be transferred to the associate’s degree.
• Courses numbered as undergraduate level, according to transcript key, may be eligible for transfer credit.
• Courses must be taken at a regionally-accredited institution.
• Where a relevant division or department exists, credit will be granted in that division or department. Otherwise, general elective credit will be granted.
• Transfer credit is awarded toward all categories of course work in University College—General Education, Major, Advanced, and Elective. See notes below and speak with an advisor for restrictions.
• Courses with grades of C- or higher are eligible for transfer credit.
• Transfer credit is not awarded for internships, independent study, courses associated with vocational and technical training, or study for trade certification. Other courses may not be eligible for transfer; see an advisor to discuss how your previous credits may transfer in.
•  A combined maximum of 30 units may be awarded for prior learning: University College accepts College Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES Subject Standardization Tests (DSST), Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate examination scores. University College also accepts credit for prior learning evaluated by ACE via the National Guide or the Military Guide and recommended at the baccalaureate level.
• International records must be evaluated for transfer credit by an accredited transcript evaluation agency.
• Graduate students: normally, up to six units of relevant graduate-level study with a grade of B or higher may be transferred to a master’s degree program. Authorized P/F credit from graduate-level course work in the Olin School of Business may apply if the work was completed prior to the student’s admission to a University College program of study and the student received a course grade of Pass or High Pass.
• Certain courses, including physical education and English Language courses, may be limited to 6 transfer credits.

• Analytical Writing (U11 111)*
• Critical and Researched Writing (U11 203)*
• One additional 3-unit advanced writing course, chosen from U11 304, U11 3120, U11 324, U11 331, or Rhetoric.*
• One 3-unit course in numerical applications with a minimum grade of C-, which may be applied to the relevant distribution area as noted below. To meet the numerical application requirement you must take one of the following: Econ 231 (Economic Statistics), Math 1011 (Intro to Statistics), Math 123 (Programming in C), Math 141 (Pre-Calculus I), Math 142 (Pre-Calculus II), Math 155 (Calculus I), Math 156 (Calculus II), Math 205 (Applied Statistics Online), Math 210 (The Art of Mathematical Thinking), Math 212 (Sports and Statistics), Math 255 (Calculus III), Math 256 (Calculus IV), any 300 level and higher math classes, Programming with Python (U20 133), PolSci 323 (Introduction to Quantitative Methods) or Psych 300 (Psychological Statistics).
• One course in moral reasoning, which may be applied to the relevant distribution requirements noted below.
• One 3-unit course in cultural diversity, which may be applied to the relevant distribution requirement as noted below. Courses that satisfy the cultural diversity requirement explore issues of global human diversity and the interactions among cultures, with a focus on societies of Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East, or indigenous people of the Americas.

*Students who receive a grade lower than a C- in U11 111 Analytical Writing taken at University College must repeat the course. Students who receive a grade lower than a C- in U11 203 Critical and Researched Writing taken at University College must, in consultation with the Department of English and University College, choose between two options to satisfy the requirement: 1) repeat the course; or 2) complete a 3-unit composition tutorial with a grade of C or higher. Students who have completed English Composition courses at another college or university should be well prepared for the required writing courses at University College and transfer credit will be awarded for this work according to our regular transfer credit policies. However, new students will begin with U11 111 in University College. Students who feel they have a strong writing background may petition to take a placement test to demonstrate the skills needed to begin with U11 203 Critical and Researched Writing instead. All students will complete U11 203 and a 300-level writing course at University College. If you have any questions about the writing evaluation process or requirements, please contact your advisor.

These requirements effective as of Summer 2019. Students admitted to University College programs prior to Summer 2019 are expected to fulfill the requirements in place at the time of their admission.  

36 units, 9 units in each area noted below. Major courses also may fulfill basic and distribution requirements, however, each distribution area must include course work from at least two disciplines.

• Humanities: Courses from Art History, Classics, History*, Literature, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.
• Social Sciences: Courses from: Anthropology, Economics, History*, Political Science, Psychology.
• Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Courses from Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Physics, and Science.
• Languages and the Arts: (9 credits) Three courses, of at least 3 units each, in Creative Writing, Dance, Drama, Music, Speech, and Studio Art.

*History courses may satisfy either the Humanities or Social Sciences requirements, but not both.