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Office of the University Registrar

» Transfer Credit Policies and Guidelines

Please refer to this page and the catalog for policies and guidelines regarding transfer courses.

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General Undergraduate Transfer Credit Policies

  • Only credit from regionally accredited institutions is evaluated for transferability.
  • Students admitted in 2016 or later can take a maximum of 24 credits after being matriculated. Students are considered matriculated as of the first day of their first semester at Chapman. For post-matriculation credit maximums prior to 2016, please refer to the corresponding catalog year for details.
  • Students are permitted to take a maximum of 6 credits of Pass/No Pass per academic year, including transfer credits. The 6 credits do not include Chapman coursework only offered as Pass/No Pass.
  • During regular semesters, students may enroll in a maximum of 18 credits. Enrollment in 18.5-21 credits, including transfer credits concurrently enrolled in at other institutions, requires at least a 3.000 Chapman cumulative GPA and completion of a minimum of 15 credits of graded coursework at Chapman. Students cannot exceed 21 credits per semester, including transfer credits.
  • Credit is given for baccalaureate courses excluding preparatory level, technical, vocational, professional, and work experience/co-op credits.
  • Minimum grade of C-.
  • A maximum of 70 semester credits of community college credit will be applied toward the bachelor's degree.
  • No limit is placed on the number of transferable credits from regionally accredited four-year colleges or universities. A student, however, must meet all the credit, grade, and residence requirements as stated in the Undergraduate Degree Requirements section of the current Chapman University catalog.
  • No internship or practicum credit is accepted in transfer.
  • Independent Study and special topics credit in transfer are not automatically accepted. Materials detailing the content studied may be submitted for credit consideration.
  • Coursework may not duplicate or overlap other course credits.
  • CSU transferability does not guarantee the course will be transferable to Chapman.

Transfer Credits Approval

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS should work with the Office of Admission for any transfer related inquiries. Please go to our Transfer Admission site.

CURRENT STUDENTS with Transfer Credits in their academic record may review this guide to obtaining and Understanding Transfer Credit Report (PDF) from their StudentCenter.

Limitations of Credit

  • A maximum of 32 credits may be earned in passing courses by examination.
  • The maximum number of credits acceptable from two-year colleges is 70.
  • A maximum of 12 credits in applied dramatic art, dance performance, and music ensembles can count toward the degree, including transfer credit.
  • A maximum of 4 credits in physical activity courses can count toward the degree, including transfer credit. Exceptions are made for the following: dance minors, B.A. in Dance majors, and members of athletic teams may take up to 12 credits in physical activity courses toward their degrees. B.F.A. in Dance majors may take up to 22 credits of physical activity courses, including dance technique, toward their degree.
  • No more than 32 credits will be awarded for dual credit (college work taken while concurrently enrolled in high school or GED program) or combined dual credit and AP or IB.
  • No more than 15 credits may be accepted of baccalaureate level correspondence, extension, or continuing education courses. Of these no more than 6 credits may apply toward GE and no more than 6 credit may apply toward the major.

General Education Equivalency

  • Transfer courses approved for direct equivalency with Chapman courses carry all GE and major approvals granted to the Chapman course.
  • Courses approved by the department as substitution for major or minor requirements are not automatically granted approval to GE or other programs using the course.

DEI Courses in Transfer

Courses taken at other colleges and universities may meet the DEI requirement at Chapman. To have a transfer course reviewed for DEI, the syllabus must be submitted for approval to articulation@chapman.edu before credit will be granted at Chapman.

See Reviewing DEI courses for Transfer and Articulation for information about how DEI approval is determined.

Lower Division Transfer Credit

Freshman or sophomore-level courses completed at another institution will not transfer as upper-division credit. Such courses may be approved to satisfy a specific upper division course requirement but the credit does not apply towards upper division credit totals.

Independent Study & Special Topics Credit

Independent Study and special topics credit in transfer are not automatically approved for transfer. Exceptions are granted on a case by case basis provided the credit is applicable towards specific degree requirements and has the recommendation of the academic department the content falls under. The request for approval will go through the Academic Council for consideration.

Credit Value

Chapman credit is calculated in semester hours. Transferable courses completed on the semester calendar transfer for the full credit value of the incoming course. This means a 5 credit language course that is equivalent to a 3 credit language course at Chapman will transfer for 5 semester credits. Schools that operate on other credit calendars and systems will have credit converted to semester values upon transfer.

Quarter System Converted to Semester Credit

  • Credit from quarter system schools will be converted to semester hours.
  • One quarter unit is 2/3 value of one semester credit. See examples below.
CREDIT CONVERSIONS
Quarter Semester
5 3.33
4 2.67
3 2.0
2 1.33
1 0.67

Concurrent Enrollment Load Limit

Chapman students may complete transfer credit concurrently but may not exceed the course load limit as detailed in the Academic Policies and Procedures section of the current Chapman catalog. Students should consult with their Chapman academic advisor prior to registering for transfer coursework.

Course Equivalency

Transfer credit is assigned a course equivalency from one of three categories:

  1. DIRECT EQUIVALENCY: Transfer credit with direct equivalency with a Chapman course carries the same GE approvals as the Chapman course.
  2. GENERAL EQUIVALENCY: Transfer credit with general equivalency is assigned the equivalent subject code and an equivalent course level in either a lower division (100TR), or upper division (300TR) status. General equivalency is used when no direct equivalency exists, when a course has yet to be reviewed, when direct equivalency is denied by the department, or when proficiency is required by the department before transfer equivalency could be assigned.
  3. NOT TRANSFERABLE: Transfer courses that are not transferable are assigned TRAN-TR000, and do not meet Chapman's general transfer policy requirements.

Pre-Approval & Re-Evaluation of Transfer Credit

Course approvals listed on the Search Transfer Approvals recourse do not override credit limitations or transfer policy. Current students are recommended to verify course transferability before taking any transfer course, even if it appears on the previously approved course list. To request approval, email school and course information to articulation@chapman.edu

Re-evaluation of transfer work is done at the request of the student. The request should include the course syllabus. Requests for re-evaluation are sent to articulation@chapman.edu