Transfer Credit

Transfer Credit

• Credit Transfer Policy
• Associate Degrees
• Articulation Agreements
• Guidelines for Transferrable Credit
• Religion Credit
• Transfer Website

Utah State University awards transfer credit for academic work completed at other Regionally Accredited academic institutions. Evaluations for the specific acceptance of credit being equivalent to a Utah State University course are at the discretion of each department’s faculty or faculty designee. Acceptance of credit should not be confused with its application. Transfer credit may or may not apply to the graduation requirements of Utah State University, regardless of the number of credits transferred.

In order to transfer credit to Utah State University, official transcripts of credit must be submitted to the Admissions Office. Submitted transcripts become the property of Utah State University, and will not be returned. Transcripts from all institutions previously attended are required.

Credit Transfer Policy

At its discretion, the university may accept transfer credit from accredited and nonaccredited institutions and miscellaneous sources. These may include:

(1) domestic regionally accredited institutions, (2) foreign universities, (3) U.S. military credit on Joint Service Transcript, (4) credit by examination, and (5) miscellaneous sources, such as internships and nontraditional learning experiences, and certificates from technical colleges. Further details about these sources are shown below.

The following evaluation criteria for acceptance will be used:

(1) accreditation status of the institution, (2) recognized national standards published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and by the American Council on Education, (3) guidelines given by the State Board of Regents (including guidelines for CLEP and AP credit), and (4) recommendations given by various university units having appropriate academic competence, including the Faculty Senate, as well as college and departmental curriculum committees.

Credit other than that intended wholly to meet the General Education requirements of the receiving institution will be applied on the basis of the appropriateness of credit to a particular institution’s specific degree program requirements as determined by the receiving institution. At Utah State University, coursework acceptability will be determined by the student’s major department.

Associate Degrees

Students who transfer to USU and have an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science degree (or have completed the General Education requirements) from a regionally-accredited Utah Systems of Higher Education (USHE) institution may be deemed as having satisfied the General Education portion of the University Studies requirements. A registrar’s certification, stating that the student has completed the General Education requirements of the transfer institution, may also be acceptable. However, Utah State University will require students to satisfy the Breadth American Institutions requirement (BAI), if an equivalent course has not been completed. In addition, students must satisfy any deficiencies in Communications Literacy (CL1 and CL2) and Quantitative Literacy (QL). In order to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, the University Studies Depth Requirements must still be completed.

When a student transfers without an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree and meets the General Education requirements of an institution not offering the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree by earning a 60 to 63 semester credit hour diploma, a registrar’s certification that the transferring student has completed baccalaureate-level General Education requirements at the sending institution will be accepted by the receiving USHE institution in lieu of the AA/AS degree. The registrar at the sending institution will forward to the receiving institution an up-to-date description of the General Education requirements.

Students who transfer to Utah State University with less than an Associate Degree (and have not completed General Education requirements) or with an Associate of Applied Science Degree will have their General Education courses evaluated on a course-by-course basis and may be required to take any additional courses necessary to satisfy the General Education Requirements at Utah State University. However, if these students have taken equivalent General Education courses at the sending institution, these courses will be accepted toward satisfying General Education requirements at Utah State University.

Courses approved as fulfilling General Education requirements at a USHE institution will be acceptable to Utah State University as satisfying comparable General Education requirements. Acceptability of General Education coursework from other institutions will be determined by the Department evaluating coursework or Provost.

Articulation Agreements

Utah State University maintains annual course-by-course articulation agreements with the following institutions:

These articulation agreements, as well as additional information about transferring to Utah State University, can be found at the Transfer website: https://www.usu.edu/registrar/transfer/

Guidelines for Transferable Credit

Transfer credit earned at institutions that are accredited by one of the six regional accrediting associations will be accepted if the work is parallel in nature to programs offered at Utah State University.

The six regional accrediting associations are: (1) Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education (MSA); (2) Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU); (3) North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Higher Learning Commission (NCA); (4) New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc., Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC-CIHE); (5) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACS); and (6) Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (WASC-ACSCU).

Utah State University does not accept transfer credit from non-regionally accredited institutions in those cases where USU lacks an academic unit to evaluate such transfer credit.

Subcollege-level courses which are developmental, remedial, or preparatory are will be accepted by USU as non-college credit courses.

Vocational-technical courses are generally not transferable. Exceptions may be made by individual departments if the coursework is pertinent to the student’s major.

Credit may be transferred from recognized international universities. Transcripts or documented evidence (translated into English) must be presented, indicating successful completion of coursework. Courses must be consistent in level, duration, and content with courses offered at American universities. For further information about the transferability of international credit, contact the Office of Global Engagement, Military Science 115, (435) 797-1124.

Subject to evaluation by Utah State University, to ensure credit is granted in accordance with USU policies, credit may be earned through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST), and International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) examinations or by taking Advanced Placement (AP) examinations while a student is in high school. See the Registrar’s Office website for more information.

Students who receive an ACT Math score of 26 or higher, or an SAT Math score equivalent on an exam taken September 2016 or later may be awarded 3 credits posted as transfer credit with a CR grade. These credits will count toward the 120 credits needed for graduation, but will not count toward the 30 credits in residency at USU.

Students who have served in the armed forces may be able to receive Military Credit .

Religion Credit

Religion courses are generally not transferable. These courses will be evaluated based on the particular orientation of the course. In order to be considered, courses in religion must be listed on an official transcript from a regionally accredited institution.

Transfer Website

Registrar’s Office - Transfer Credit

Click here to find course-by-course equivalencies.