Transfer Credit

The University of Alabama accepts transfer work from postsecondary institutions that are fully accredited by one of the six accrediting agencies listed in this policy. Courses will be evaluated and equivalencies assigned based on the inventory of course offerings active in the catalog at the time the transcript is received for evaluation. A University of Alabama equivalent course, discipline-specific elective, or general elective will be assigned based on comparability of course content. A transfer course can be used to satisfy General Education requirements if the assigned University of Alabama equivalent course is approved for General Education at the time the transfer course is evaluated. Some General Education requirements may be required to be completed in residence at the University of Alabama in accordance with the General Education policy.

General Transfer Credit Policy

Accreditation 

1. Collegiate work will be considered for transfer credit from postsecondary institutions that offer the baccalaureate degree or associate's degree leading to the baccalaureate degree and are fully accredited by one of the six accrediting agencies below. Institutions that have been granted official candidacy status by one of the accrediting agencies listed below will be accorded conditional acceptance for the coursework until full accreditation is granted.
   • Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
   • Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
   • New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
   • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
   • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
   • Western Association of Schools and Colleges; Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)
2. Collegiate work will be considered for transfer credit for courses completed at colleges and universities outside of the United States which are accredited or approved by the Ministry of Education (or other appropriate governmental agency) of the country in which they are located. Students seeking transfer credit from international institutions are required to submit a course-by-course evaluation completed by a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) accredited organization. A list of current NACES member organizations can be found at http://www.naces.org/members.html.  

Transferability, Equivalency, and Applicability

1. Transferability refers to the conditions under which the University accepts credit from other postsecondary institutions for inclusion in the student's record. The Office of the University Registrar (OUR) is responsible for determining transferability.
2. Equivalency entails equating transfer credit, both in hours and content, to University of Alabama coursework. Lower-level equivalencies will be determined by transfer credit evaluators in OUR. Upper-level equivalencies will be determined by the college/school which houses the discipline.
3. Applicability of credit toward a degree refers to the prerogative of the academic divisions to count specific credit toward the fulfillment of a student's degree requirements. The student’s college of enrollment is responsible for determining applicability.

Governing Policies 

1. Transfer credit is generally awarded for academic credit earned at institutions fully accredited or in candidacy status with one of the six accrediting agencies listed in this policy.
2. The evaluation and award of transfer credit will be based on official transcripts. To be eligible for evaluation, coursework must appear on an official transcript from the institution that offered the coursework and initially conferred the credit in question.
3. The University of Alabama follows a semester calendar and posts credit to The University of Alabama transcript in semester hours. Coursework completed at institutions that follow a semester-based academic calendar will be posted to The University of Alabama transcript with the semester hour total attempted for each course. Coursework completed at institutions on non-semester-based academic calendars will be converted and posted to The University of Alabama transcript with the semester hour equivalent attempted for each course.
4. Credit granted by another institution for non-traditional experiences will not be accepted based on that institution’s transcript. To receive credit for non-traditional experiences (e.g. College Level Examination Program [CLEP], Advanced Placement [AP], International Baccalaureate [IB], General Certificate of Education [GCE] Advanced and Advanced Subsidiary Level Exams, military training, etc.), the student must present official documentation from the original provider of the non-traditional experience.
5. The following types of credit are not transferable and will not count toward a degree:
   • placement credit granted by another institution
   • remedial or developmental courses
   • technical courses
   • occupational, vocational, and some workforce courses from two-year institutions
   • courses classified as below freshman level by the originating institution
   • courses in religion that are doctrinal, confessional, or sectarian in nature
   • courses applying to a previously earned baccalaureate degree
6. Courses from two-year institutions transfer as lower-division (100- and 200-level courses) credit only. Undergraduate courses from four-year baccalaureate degree-granting institutions transfer at the same level, lower- or upper-division, as they were taken. Graduate level coursework may be transferred as undergraduate credit at the written request of the student and upon approval by the appropriate academic department.
7. Class standing is based on cumulative credit hours earned, not degrees. Students transferring to The University of Alabama with an associate’s degree will not automatically be granted junior standing.
8. Courses are posted to The University of Alabama transcript with the grade reflected on the official transcript of the originating institution. In those instances when a student has repeated a course, all occurrences of the course, including grade, will be posted to The University of Alabama transcript. All grades count in the overall GPA, but earned hours will be awarded based on The University of Alabama repeat policy for the equivalent course. This policy can be found on the Grade and Grade Points page under "Repeat Course Policy."
9. Courses in which a grade of "F" was earned are not applicable and will not count toward a degree. However, the course, hours, and grade are placed on The University of Alabama transcript and calculated in the overall GPA.
10. Courses for which a student has been awarded academic clemency, bankruptcy, forgiveness, etc. by the institution at which the courses were completed will not be posted to The University of Alabama transcript.
11. Students are required to submit official transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended. All transferable work will be posted to The University of Alabama transcript. Students do not retain the right to pick or choose certain courses for transfer.

Evaluation and Application of Transfer Credit

Core Curriculum/General Education

Transfer courses that do not have a direct University of Alabama equivalent but are appropriate for core credit will be designated with a transfer general studies (TRGS) prefix and the corresponding core area. These will be noted on the student’s transcript as follows:

• TRGS FC - Transfer Gen Stdy Fresh Comp
• TRGS FL - Transfer Gen Stdy Foreign Lang
• TRGS HU - Transfer Gen Stdy Humanities
• TRGS L - Transfer Gen Stdy Literature
• TRGS HI - Transfer Gen Stdy History
• TRGS SB - Transfer Gen Stdy Soc Behv Sci
• TRGS FA - Transfer Gen Stdy Fine Arts
• TRGS N - Transfer Gen Stdy Nat Sci
• TRGS MA - Transfer Gen Stdy Math
• TRGS C - Transfer Gen Stdy Comp Sci

The student’s college of enrollment will have to grant an exception or substitution if the course should be applied to the major and/or minor.

Elective Credit

Course numbers 197 and 397 indicate lower-level and upper-level elective credit, respectively. If, upon evaluation, a course is determined to have no direct University of Alabama equivalent but does fall within a discipline taught at The University of Alabama, the course will be awarded 197 or 397 credit in conjunction with the appropriate discipline prefix. The discipline prefix with the 197 or 397 course number indicates that the course is suitable for elective credit in that discipline.

If, upon evaluation, a course is determined to have no direct University of Alabama equivalent and does not fall within a discipline taught at The University of Alabama, the course will be awarded 197 or 397 credit in conjunction with a general elective credit (GEC) prefix.

Some colleges or degree programs may not allow 197 or 397 elective credit to complete degree requirements. Students should contact their college of enrollment for details.

Applicability of Credit

Transfer credit will be applied as appropriate to a student's degree program. The authority to apply transfer credit toward degree requirements rests with the student’s college of enrollment.

Transferring between colleges within The University of Alabama will not affect the equivalencies established for a student’s transfer work, but may affect the applicability of the credit towards the new degree program. 

Transferable courses with a grade of "D-" or above may apply to degree requirements unless a grade of "C-" is specifically required.

A minimum of a "C-" must be earned in English composition and introductory math courses to be applicable towards completion of degree requirements. Courses requiring a "C-" or better are: EN 101 English Composition I, EN 102 English Composition II, MATH 100 Intermediate Algebra, MATH 110 Finite Mathematics, MATH 112 Precalculus Algebra, MATH 113 Precalculus Trigonometry and MATH 115 Precalc Algebra & Trig. If a grade below a "C-" was earned in one of the aforementioned English composition or introductory math courses, the course will still be included on the student’s transcript and included in the calculation of the student’s higher education GPA. 

A minimum of 50 percent of the coursework required to earn a baccalaureate degree at The University of Alabama must be earned at a baccalaureate degree-granting institution, and a minimum of 25 percent of the coursework required for the degree must be earned at The University of Alabama. Students should contact their college of enrollment for the specific number of hours required for their degree.

The policies and procedures for determining GPA and applying transfer credit are discussed in each college’s section of The University of Alabama Undergraduate Catalog.

Evaluation of Credit from Non-Traditional Sources

Credit by Examination

Credit by examination and credit for several types of out-of-class experiences are recognized by The University of Alabama. Credits can be earned through satisfactory completion of one of the standardized national exams including the Advanced Placement (AP) program, the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced and Advanced Subsidiary Level Exams and the College Level Examination Program (CLEP).

Credit hours earned by examination and/or out-of-class experiences are not considered UA institutional coursework, and therefore, may not be applied toward fulfillment of:

• The minimum of 50 percent of the coursework required to earn a bachelor’s degree at The University of Alabama that must be earned at a baccalaureate degree-granting institution (four-year college or university), and
• The minimum of 25 percent of the coursework required for the degree that must be earned at The University of Alabama.

Study Abroad

All University of Alabama students planning to do research, internships, or academic credit programs abroad will apply for study abroad through the Education Abroad office. Once admitted to a program, students are required to submit each planned course for approval through the online International Credit Approval for Study Abroad application. Each course will be evaluated and a University of Alabama equivalency will be determined and provided to the student. In the event a student changes courses while abroad, a new request for evaluation should be submitted. Any courses not pre-approved will be evaluated at the time a transcript is received and are not guaranteed to be accepted for credit by The University of Alabama.

When a transcript is received with work from a UA-affiliated study abroad program on an international transcript, the credit will be posted with pass/fail grades. A grade of "P" does not affect the GPA; however, a grade of "F" is computed in the GPA. When a transcript is received with study abroad work that appears on a domestic transcript from an accredited and affiliated U.S. institution, it will be treated as standard transfer credit. The grade received on the domestic institution’s transcript will be posted to the student’s University of Alabama transcript and calculated into the overall GPA.

Courses taken through study abroad programs often cover content from a focused area of study related to the culture, history, and perspective of the country in which the experience takes place. For that reason, many study abroad courses will not have a direct UA equivalency. The authority to apply the credit awarded from study abroad toward degree requirements rests with the student’s college of enrollment.

Military Service

The American Council on Education (ACE) recognizes the educational value of military training and experience. ACE continuously evaluates military school courses and occupations and makes recommendations for college-level credit. ACE credit recommendations are present on the Joint Services Transcript (JST) of the military service member. The University of Alabama accepts military service records and will award credit for ACE recommendations in the associate and baccalaureate categories at both the lower and upper level. Recommendations for credit at the vocational level are not acceptable for credit at The University of Alabama. The University of Alabama does not award credit for military occupations or for courses with ACE recommendations that are considered technical in nature. While ACE recommendations that meet the aforementioned criteria will be considered for credit during the evaluation of the JST, they are not binding to the University. Duplicate credit recommendations will not be allowed. In most cases, credits will be awarded as elective credit.

Each service member will receive at least 4 hours of military science elective credit for military experience documented on the JST. Any additional credit awarded may be comprised of direct University of Alabama equivalencies, discipline-specific electives, physical education electives, or general electives after evaluation by The University of Alabama. A maximum of 6 semester hours of physical education credits and 6 semester hours of general elective credits will be awarded for educational experience in the military. Discipline-specific electives will only be considered for ACE recommendations of 2 or more semester hours. Military courses in which ACE has provided optional credit recommendations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine the appropriate credit. Military courses that have received an upper-level credit recommendation from ACE will receive elective credit only. 

The authority to apply the credit awarded from military experience toward degree requirements rests with the student’s college of enrollment.      

Other Non-Traditional Sources

Credit from other non-traditional sources including, but not limited to, independent study, workshops, field experiences, or internships will be considered for credit if documented on an official transcript from an institution accredited by one of the six accrediting agencies listed in the General Transfer Credit Policy section of this page.

Course Reevaluation Process

If a student disagrees with a transfer credit evaluation, the student must submit further information to the Office of the University Registrar to initiate an appeal of the evaluation. Supporting documentation can include, but is not limited to, a course outline, syllabus, or textbook.

The Office of the University Registrar will review all supporting documentation in coordination with the academic department and will amend the original evaluation if a change is warranted.