Transfer Credit Policies

Credit Evaluation Policies 

The following policies are part of the credit evaluation process: 

Core Curriculum Transfer Policies

• The Towson Seminar (Core 1) will be waived for all transfer students. 
• General education courses taken at your previous institution(s) will be applied to the Core Curriculum based on the general education category. 
• The Advanced Writing Seminar (Core 9) is an institutional requirement and typically not satisfied in transfer. The requirement cannot be satisfied through lower-level credit. 
• If you complete a general education program at a Maryland public institution, your general education will transfer without the need for a course-by-course match. You will still have to complete the Advanced Writing Seminar (Core 9) and any additional units to meet the minimum of 40 units. No more than 18 additional units will be required. 

 Free Electives/Potential Major Courses 

• If a course is directly equivalent to a course required by your major, it will transfer as that course without need for review. 
• Courses that have not been previously reviewed for a course equivalency will transfer as elective credit. These may require departmental review before they can be applied to the major. 
• Any courses that are transferable but not applicable to your major will be considered free electives toward the 120 units required for a degree. 

The university’s complete transfer policy and regulations specific to Maryland transfer credit are available in our Undergraduate Catalog. 

Non-Traditional Credit and Experiences 

Non-Regionally Accredited Schools 

If you have credits from a non-regionally accredited U.S. school or an international college/university, they may be considered for transfer credit on a case-by-case basis.  

U.S. Institutions 

Non-regionally accredited schools may have national or programmatic accreditation recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or CHEA. A transcript must be submitted for review, but transfer credit can only be granted after the academic department evaluates course content. 

If you are not sure about the type of accreditation your school has, that information should be publicly available on their website. You can also use these resources to identify your school's accreditation status: 

• U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs  
• CHEA Database of Accredited Higher Education Institutions 

International Institutions 

For international applicants with credits from an international school, a course-by-course evaluation from an international credential evaluation company is required. This is to convert your transcript into the context of U.S. higher education, as types of degrees, grading systems and course formats vary across the globe. We need to see how your program compares to a typical U.S. associate or bachelor’s degree program. 

While we may award some elective credit, we will not determine if any of the content is equivalent to the courses offered here. To review individual courses, submit the institutional catalog and a copy of the course catalog. Please have any course materials translated to English, if applicable.  

We accept international credential evaluations from the following companies: 

• World Education Services (WES) 
• SpanTran 
• International Education Research Foundation (IERF) 
• Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) 
• International Education Evaluation (IEE) 

Credit for Prior Learning/Experience 

Military Experience or Training 

TU is a proud member of the Servicemembers Opportunities Colleges (SOC), and we are committed to supporting our military students. If you are an active-duty member or veteran of the U.S. military, you may be able to receive college credit for your basic training, military occupational specialties and other military coursework. We will evaluate your military experience and courses based on the Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services by the American Council on Education (ACE). 

Requesting an evaluation of your military transcripts can be done in two simple steps: 

1. Request a copy of your Joint Services Transcript (JST) and have it sent to University Admissions. 
2. E-mail transfer AT_TOWSON to request a review of your JST.  

Once we receive your request, a transfer credit evaluator will contact you with specific details about your military evaluation. No military credit will be posted to your record without your permission. 

*We do not transfer Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) credit. 

Credit by Exam 

Credit earned through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College-Level Examination (CLEP), or University of Cambridge International Exams may be applied to your bachelor's degree. You must submit a score report. Please visit the Advanced Credits page for more information. 

Students at MD public institutions: You may be eligible to transfer certain exams directly from your transcripts. If you have AP or CLEP credit applied to your general education requirements, we recommend that you contact the TSC for details.  

High School Articulation 

High school articulation refers to college credits awarded for high school course work. To be evaluated for transfer, they must be posted on a college transcript as credit earned toward a degree program. The transferability of high school articulation courses is determined by our transfer credit policy for colleges and universities. 

Transfer Policies 

Transfer Credit Maximums 

• 2-year schools: maximum of 64 credits 
• 4-year schools: maximum of 90 credits 
• More than one school: maximum of 90 credits, including a limit of 64 credits from any 2-year schools 

 Grade Requirements  

• The minimum grade required for transfer credit is a D (1.0). 
• Some TU degree requirements require a C (2.0) or higher, including Core 2 English Composition, Core 9 Advanced Writing Seminar, and any major or minor requirements. 
• Courses with a grade lower than a C will transfer even if they may need to be repeated at TU. 

 Course Level 

• Courses will transfer as the same level that they were taken, whether it was a lower-level numbered 100-299 or upper-level course numbered 300-499.  
• Community college courses will always transfer as lower-level. These can be recognized as equivalent to upper-level TU courses if the content is the same, but they will not apply to the graduation requirement of 32 upper-level units. 

Non-transferable Coursework 

Courses that are not parallel or discipline-compatible with TU courses will not transfer. This includes the following types of coursework: 

• developmental or remedial courses 
• institutional credit or courses not counted toward graduation 
• technical or occupational courses 
• select business courses 
• separate 1-credit lab courses which are not taught as a separate lab at TU and were not taken with a companion lecture course