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Transfer Credit: USC Policies

20749586301_c3e495225b_nWhat follows specifies USC’s general policies with respect to transfer credit. Please note that in some circumstances USC Price’s policies are more restrictive than the university’s policies. In such circumstances, USC Price policies take precedence.

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» Master’s Students
» Doctoral Students
» Undergraduate Students

Graduate Students

The Degree Progress Department in the Office of Academic Records and Registrar determines whether coursework taken elsewhere is available for transfer credit. Faculty of the student’s degree program determine whether such credit is applicable toward a specific graduate degree, subject to approval by the dean of the degree-conferring unit. The faculty’s decision should be made no later than the end of the first year in a master’s program.

Master’s Students

The maximum number of transfer credits which may be applied toward a master’s degree (subject to departmental approval) is:

The same limits apply if a student wishes to transfer credits from any advanced degree previously completed at USC toward a master’s degree.

Transfer units must have been completed within seven years of admission or readmission to a USC master’s degree program. Students wishing to transfer coursework more than seven years old may request to do so, but they will need to demonstrate that the content of this work remains current.

For additional information, please go to the Course Work Taken Elsewhere page in the USC Catalogue.

Doctoral Students

Students entering the doctoral program with a master’s degree in public management/administration, public policy, planning, urban development, or a related field may be admitted with “advanced standing” to the Ph.D. in Policy, Planning, and Development.

All students must complete a minimum of 42 units of doctoral coursework beyond the master’s degree, exclusive of Doctoral Dissertation (794) units, for a minimum of 46 semester units. Following a screening examination, additional coursework may be required if deemed necessary by Price School faculty.

A maximum of six units of transfer credit may be applied toward a doctoral degree with “advanced standing.” Admission with advanced standing is based upon a competed graduate degree. The only coursework available for transfer credit is that which was completed after the graduate degree.

Transfer coursework must have been completed within 10 years of admission or readmission to a USC doctoral program to be applied toward that degree. Students wishing to transfer units that are more than 10 years old may request to do so, but they will need to demonstrate that the content remains current.

Transfer Coursework
Credit will only be allowed for courses:

Transfer coursework is applied as credit (“CR”) toward the degree and is not included in the calculation of a minimum grade point average for graduation.

Graduate transfer credit will not be granted for:

Students may not take courses elsewhere as a substitute for courses in which they have received grades that fail to meet departmental or university requirements.

This policy is subject to departmental approval. The faculty of a degree program may establish stricter limits on the number of transfer credits allowed than those of the university.

For additional information, please go to the Course Work Taken Elsewhere page in the USC Catalogue.

Undergraduate Students

Permission to Register at Another Institution
Only courses taken during a summer semester will be considered for transfer credit. For students following the new general education requirements, no transfer work may be used to satisfy any general education requirement or the writing requirement if those courses are taken after a student has enrolled at USC. In addition, transfer courses taken after enrollment at USC may not be used to fulfill upper division requirements in the major or minor without prior approval, using the Request for Exception to Residence Form.

Transfer Credit Evaluation
Prior to enrollment, a transfer credit evaluation is prepared for every new undergraduate transfer student admitted to regular standing. To ensure complete evaluation of transfer units, it is the student’s responsibility to submit official transcripts from all post-secondary schools at which coursework was completed. The purpose of the credit evaluation is to acknowledge officially all transferable work toward a USC degree. Total transferable units attempted and total transferable units accepted toward the degree are posted on the credit evaluation. Neither subject nor unit credit will be granted for courses that have been completed with a grade less than “C.”

Students are advised to consult with their Student Services Advisor as well as the Degree Progress Department to ensure prior units will transfer.

Subject Credit and Degree Credit
Subject credit does not carry unit value toward units required for a degree but may fulfill a required or elective subject area. Degree credit is defined as units that may be applied toward the requirements for a USC degree.

Transfer Unit Limitations
A student may earn a maximum of 64 units of credit toward a bachelor’s degree from other accredited institutions. Students will receive only subject credit for work completed in excess of the unit limitation.

Students may satisfy requirements for General Education Categories I, II, III or V with transfer coursework completed before enrollment at USC, but no transfer credit will satisfy requirements for GE Categories IV or VI. The first semester of the writing requirement may be satisfied with transfer coursework if it was completed before the student transfers to USC.

Degree credit will not be given for a transferred undergraduate course that a student has previously taken at USC. Subject credit only will be given for a transferred undergraduate course previously taken at USC under the following conditions:

For additional information, please go to the Course Work Taken Elsewhere page in the USC Catalogue.