» General Education Policies for Transfer Students

Transfer Students

 

 

Transfer students at Chapman may be exempt from some Chapman’s General Education (GE) requirements. It is important that transfer students understand the policies that apply, which are summarized below.

  •  All transfer students must complete the GE language requirement, either at Chapman, through courses previously taken, or through demonstrated proficiency. See more information on the language requirement.
  • All transfer students must complete the Exploration Focus requirement, either in part or in full. The secondary area of study requirement is completed through completing a minor, second major, the University Honors Program or a Themed Inquiry.
    • Students who transfer less than 30 completed credits must complete the full Exploration Focus requirement.
    • Students who transfer between 30 and 59.99 completed credits may complete a minor, second major or University Honors. They may also choose to complete a Themed Inquiry, and instead of the required total of 4 courses, complete 3 courses, two of which must be upper division. Dual enrollment and test credit do not count towards the credits.
    • Students who transfer 60 completed credits or more may complete a minor, second major or University Honors. They may also choose to complete a Themed Inquiry, and instead of the required total of 4 courses, complete 2 courses, both of which must be upper division. Dual enrollment and test credit do not count towards the credits.
    • No courses taken prior to beginning at Chapman may be used to complete a Themed Inquiry.
  • All transfer students must complete the First-year Focus requirement, the First-year Foundations course, unless they have completed 24 or more credits at an institution of higher education after graduation from high school. Dual enrollment and test credit do not count towards the 24 credits.
    • Transfer students who have attended 1 or more semesters at a 4-year institution of higher learning and who have taken a 3-credit first-year seminar course focused specifically on critical thinking may be able to waive this requirement. A copy of the syllabus for this course and a request for review must be submitted to the Office of the University Registrar.
  • Transfer students who have completed a general education certification program, either the CSU GE Breadth or IGETC programs in California, or, if transferring from other states, the equivalent to the California certification programs, will complete all GE requirements except language inquiry and the Exploration Focus area. Certification, and questions regarding certification, can be sent to the Office of the University Registrar, and can be discussed with an Academic Advisor in the Academic Advising Center.
  • Military veterans may be eligible to receive 6 credits of academic credit for a year of honorably completed active duty military service and will complete the GE Citizenship/Community/Service requirement. Please contact the Academic Advising Center for further information on documentation required.


GE category credit for any course taken prior to beginning your studies at Chapman may be determined using the Transfer Guides available at the Office of the University Registrar’s web page on Transfer and Articulation. The course must be passed successfully and the transcript sent to the Office of the University Registrar.

If a course you have taken at another institution of higher learning is not listed in the Transfer and Articulation Guides, you may submit it for consideration to satisfy a GE requirement by using the Transfer/Study Abroad Course Petition for GE Approval form and providing a copy of the syllabus. It is always recommended that any course you plan to take at another institution be reviewed by the Office of the Registrar prior to enrolling in that course.  You may submit any courses to articulation@chapman.edu for review in advance of enrollment.

  • Note: Many students submit courses that include a significant writing component for consideration for the Written Inquiry category. Remember that the amount of required writing is not part of the consideration for Written Inquiry approval.  A Written Inquiry course must examine the ways language is used to negotiate social, educational, and intellectual relationships in various contexts to a range of audiences.


IMPORTANT: Be sure that all final transcripts from prior schools and any test scores used to complete GE requirements are received by the Office of the University Registrar as soon as possible so that you know which GE categories are completed prior to registration.

It is highly advisable that all transfer students meet with their Academic Advisor in the Office of Academic Advising during their first year at Chapman to be sure that their prior competed academic credits are accurately reflected in their record and are counted in the appropriate GE categories.