Academic

Transfer Credits/Dual Credit Use

Transfer Credit Policy Link to section

Graduate-level coursework taken prior to matriculation in a graduate degree program is classified as possible transfer work. Limits on transfer credits are set at the school and program level. Credit hours may be accepted toward degree requirements if the subjects taken form an integral part of the proposed program of study and if taken within five years of the date of matriculation with a grade of B or higher as interpreted in this University.

Requests for transfer credit must have the approval of the department and SAS/Hajim dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs or designee. Similarly, permission to take work at another institution for transfer credit after matriculation in a graduate program must be approved in advance by the SAS/Hajim dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs or their designee. Per University policy, credit hours already applied to two degrees, whether at the University of Rochester or elsewhere, cannot be applied to a third degree at the University.

For additional information, please review the Regulations and University Policies Concerning Graduate Studies.

Policy for Transferring in Credits Toward a PhD Link to section

Graduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS) and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (Hajim) are allowed up to 30 credit hours of acceptable graduate work taken at this or another university to be transferred toward the 90-credit requirement for the doctoral degree. All transfer credits must not have been used as part of an undergraduate degree program and require the approval of the program (either the director of graduate studies or the chair) and the SAS/Hajim dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs (or their designee) in order to be applied to a PhD program of study.

Note that programs may have their own requirements or guidelines that limit the number of credits they will accept toward the degree. Any program-specific policy that restricts the number of credits to fewer than 30 supersedes this policy.

Policy for Transferring in Credits Toward a Master’s Degree Link to section

Graduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS) and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (Hajim) are allowed no more than 10 credits taken prior to matriculation in a graduate program to be transferred in for the master’s degree program of study free of charge. If a student wishes to transfer in more than 10 credits for courses taken at the University of Rochester but prior to matriculation in a graduate program, the student must pay for these credits. The cost will be the per-credit tuition rate at the time the credit transfer is requested, and any graduate tuition scholarship that has been provided to the student shall be applied to this total tuition cost. However, per the Regulations and University Policies Concerning Graduate Studies, a master’s program of study must include at least 20 credits take at the University of Rochester as a matriculated student.

All transfer credits must not have been used as part of the undergraduate degree program and require approval of the program (either the director of graduate studies or the chair) and the SAS/Hajim dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs (or their designee) in order to be applied to a graduate program of study.

Transfer credits may not be applied to an en passant master’s degree (master’s along the way). Transferring credits to an en passant master’s degree creates a conflict with the University’s policy that states that credit hours already applied to two degrees, whether at the University of Rochester or elsewhere, cannot be applied to a third degree at the University. PhD students wishing to transfer credits from prior graduate study may request transfer to the PhD program only.

Note that programs have their own requirements beyond completion of credit hours, such as distribution requirements, TA requirements, and specific work toward the exit exam or essay that the student must complete in order to earn a master’s degree. Students are encouraged to meet early in their planning process with the program’s graduate coordinator and/or director of graduate studies in order to devise a program of study that will meet all the requirements for the degree.

Policy for Transferring in Credits Toward an Advanced Certificate Link to section

Graduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS) and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (Hajim) are allowed no more than four credits taken prior to matriculation in a graduate program to be transferred in for the certificate program free of charge.

If a student wishes to transfer in more than four credits for courses taken prior to matriculation in a graduate program, the student must pay for these credits. The cost shall be based on the per-credit tuition rate at the time the credit transfer is requested, and any graduate tuition scholarship that has been provided to the student shall be applied to this total tuition cost.

Double Master’s Policy Link to section

Policy for Using Overlapping Courses for Two Master’s Degrees in Arts, Sciences & Engineering Link to section

Graduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS) and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (Hajim) are allowed up to 10 credits to be used to satisfy the degree requirements for two distinct master’s degree programs. Students may petition for additional overlapped credits in their degree programs, but such petitions require the approval of both departments offering the degree programs as well as the SAS/Hajim dean of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs (or their designee).

Any course used to satisfy the degree requirements for two master’s programs may not, under any circumstances, be used to satisfy the degree requirements for an additional degree program at the University of Rochester, as University regulations limit the application of course credits to, at most, two degrees.