Transfer credit for graduate students

A maximum of 50 percent of the didactic hours required for a graduate degree or any graduate certificate program may be transferred from another institution and, if not applied previously toward another degree, may be applied toward a degree. Prerequisite course work that does not count toward the VCU degree may not be transferred.

Grades for course work taken at VCU, either as a nondegree-seeking student or in a previous graduate matriculation for which a degree was never awarded, are included in the calculation of the VCU graduate grade-point average and all other graduate statistics. Grades for course work taken at another institution are not recorded on the VCU transcript (only the names of courses, source institutions and credit hours) and are not included in the calculation of the VCU graduate grade-point average and other graduate statistics.

Recommendations regarding transfer credit are initiated at the program and academic school levels and reviewed and approved by the Graduate School. All matriculated students must obtain final written approval from the Graduate School for course work approved for transfer before registering for course work at another institution. Individual schools/programs may have more stringent requirements. Requests for transfer of course work must include an official copy of the transcript from the college or university where the course work was taken and a VCU Graduate School transfer equivalency form.

Graduate credit hours earned toward a VCU certificate may be applied one time to degree requirements for master’s or Ph.D. programs. Graduate credit hours earned toward a VCU certificate may be applied toward only one certificate. The determination of the acceptability of specific courses to be used for both the certificate and the graduate degree will be the responsibility of that master’s or Ph.D. program or school.

All transfer work must be at the A or B grade level from a regionally accredited college or university. “Credit” or “pass” grades can be accepted only if approved by petitioning the graduate advisory committee or equivalent of the student’s school or college. Students must be in good standing both at VCU and at the institutions from which the credits were earned. Some programs will not accept credits earned as a nondegree-seeking graduate student for transfer. VCU will not accept credits that do not apply to a graduate degree at the offering institution for transfer, nor will it accept credits from unaccredited institutions for transfer. These criteria apply to all domestic and international institutions.

Course work taken under the auspices of any study abroad program, including the study abroad program at VCU, is classified as course work taken at an international institution for purposes of determining if the course work may count toward a VCU graduate degree. Registration for such course work does not guarantee that the course work will count toward a VCU graduate degree. All study abroad graduate course work is subject to the same review and approval process if the course work is to count toward a VCU graduate degree.

Revised 5/11/2010; 5/10/2011 5/10/2016
University Graduate Council

Credit for military service, career or life experience

The Graduate School does not grant graduate-level credit for any type of military service or career or life experience.

The Graduate School may grant credit for formal military service school graduate-level courses that have received positive recommendation by the Commission on Accreditation of Service Experiences of the American Council on Education as stated in the ACE’s “Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services.” Recommendations regarding the transfer of military course work are initiated at the program and academic school levels and reviewed and approved by the Graduate School and must meet all other criteria for transfer credit as articulated in the transfer credit policy.

Revised 5/10/2011; 5/14/2013
University Graduate Council