Undergraduate Transfer Credit
Summary
Stanford University may grant transfer credit for work completed at regionally accredited institutions or internationally recognized colleges and universities. No more than 45 (90 for transfer students) quarter units of credit for external work may be counted toward a Stanford bachelor's degree.
Policy Statement
In conjunction with appropriate review bodies, the Office of the University Registrar evaluates and records the amount of transfer credit and Advanced Placement test credit an undergraduate can apply toward graduation requirements. Stanford awards credit based on course work completed at U.S. colleges or universities accredited by a regional accrediting association; or coursework completed at international colleges or universities of recognized standing. Credit may also be awarded for certain Advanced Placement programs, International Baccalaureate Program, GCE, French Baccalaureate, and the German Abitur examinations.
Academic credit for work done elsewhere may be allowed toward a Stanford bachelor's degree under the following rules and conditions:
Credit may be granted for work completed at institutions in the U.S. only if the institutions are regionally accredited.
Study in institutions outside the U.S., when validated by examination results, tutorial reports, or other official evidence of satisfactory work, may be credited toward a Stanford bachelor's degree, subject to the approval of the credit evaluator and the appropriate departments. See this Transfer Credit page for additional information regarding transfer credit requests for course work completed abroad.
Credit is officially allowed only after the student has been unconditionally admitted to Stanford.
Credit is allowed for work completed at institutions in the U.S. only on the basis of an official transcript received by the Registrar at Stanford directly from the institution where the credit was earned. In order for transfer credit to be awarded, students must submit an official transcript that clearly indicates all of the below information for each course:
Course codes/numbers
Course titles or descriptions
Final grades earned
Course credits earned
Credit from another institution may be transferred for courses which are substantially equivalent to those offered at Stanford University on the undergraduate level, subject to the approval of the credit evaluator. A maximum of 20 quarter units may represent courses which do not parallel specific undergraduate courses at Stanford, again, subject to the approval of the credit evaluator as to quality and suitability.
Course work cannot duplicate, overlap, or regress previous work.
Transfer course work cannot count towards secondary school diploma and/or graduation requirements.
For students interested in fulfilling a Ways of Thinking/Doing (Ways) breadth requirement through transfer work, a transfer course evaluation must be submitted to confirm if the course will meet the Ways criteria. Requests for fulfilling Ways requirements in transfer require pre-approval prior to course enrollment and the pre-approval requests must be submitted prior to the term in which students intend to enroll in the transfer course and as defined on the Ways transfer page. Courses must be taken for a minimum of 3 quarter units (except Creative Expression) and must be taken for a letter grade.
For incoming transfer students, a proportion of their Ways requirement must be fulfilled at Stanford based on the number of qualified transfer units awarded at matriculation. Students must complete a number of Ways courses to fulfill the Ways requirement as outlined on the Ways Incoming Transfer page.Transfer work can be used to satisfy a department major or minor requirement. Students should consult with their departments about a program's transfer credit policies/procedures.
The credit allowed at Stanford for one quarter's work may not exceed the number of units that would have been permissible for one quarter if the work had been done at Stanford; for work done under a system other than the quarter system, the permissible maximum units are calculated at an appropriate ratio of equivalence (i.e. is converted into quarter units).
Credit is allowed at Stanford for work graded 'C-' (or better) or 'Pass' (where 'Pass' is equivalent to a letter grade of 'C-' or above), but not for work graded 'D' or below.
No more than 45 (90 for transfer students) quarter units of credit for work done elsewhere (including external test credit) may be counted toward a bachelor's degree at Stanford.
Credit earned in extension, correspondence, and online courses is transferable only if the university offering the courses allows that credit toward its own bachelor's degree. Online and independent study courses are not eligible for Ways credit.
Credit earned in military training and service is eligible for transfer credit to Stanford if completed at an accredited college or university in the U.S., or must appear on an official ACE-evaluated Joint Services Transcript (JST).