Prospective Students
Before You Apply
1. How to Prepare
2. Get to Know LSA
3. Community College Transfer Guides
4. Transfer Credits
5. Financial Aid
6. FAQs
Apply
Admitted Transfer Students

Transfer Credits

Prospective Students
Before You Apply
1. How to Prepare
2. Get to Know LSA
3. Community College Transfer Guides
4. Transfer Credits
5. Financial Aid
6. FAQs
Apply
Admitted Transfer Students

LSA accepts transfer credit for coursework that meets the following criteria:

It was taken at a regionally accredited college or university.
It matches the kind of academic work offered for credit in LSA.
Your final grade was C or higher.

You can see all transfer credit policies on the LSA Academics Policies page.

Update: LSA Transfer Credit Policy for 2020-2021

The continued effects of COVID-19 on the teaching and learning environment at U-M and other universities require continued adjustments in our LSA transfer credit policy for courses taken during the 2020-2021 academic year. As we acknowledge the flexibility that is needed during this unusual time, the following transfer credit policies will be altered for all courses taken in the 2020-2021 academic year that are transferred in:

All courses previously evaluated and currently approved for transfer credit in the Transfer Credit Equivalency (TCE) will continue to be accepted even if the course was taken with a different delivery method (i.e. online) and without any additional verification process for students

All never evaluated courses will continue to be reviewed and approved by the appropriate department to ensure it includes key curricular content that is comparable (including the review of syllabi and exams), but no course should be summarily rejected solely because of the delivery method (i.e. online).

Important Notes:

For courses taken Winter/Spring/Summer 2020 only, in addition to the above policy updates, any "P" or "S" grade that is noted on a transcript as representing a C- letter grade or higher will be transferred in and accepted as an acceptable grade (subject to usual criteria for degree requirement credit)
Any alternate grading (e.g. P or S) that cannot be confirmed to represent the approved letter grade for transfer credit will be awarded departmental credit (regardless if the TCE indicates a direct equivalency) and students will be directed to a particular department for additional review/consideration for direct equivalent creditAll other LSA Transfer and Residency Policies will still apply.

Using the Transfer Credit Equivalencies Guide

You can check to see if a course has already been approved to transfer by consulting the Transfer Credit Equivalencies Guide. Courses that have been evaluated will be listed one of four ways:

Equivalent Credit: A transferable class determined to be directly equivalent to an LSA class will be listed with that department and course number (e.g., PSYCH 111), indicating that it will appear on your transcript as that specific LSA course.
Departmental Credit: A transferable class determined to fit the LSA curriculum but that does not directly match a specific LSA class will be listed with the appropriate department with the designation “DEPT”; also known as “Departmental Credit,” this indicates that the course will appear on your transcript under the appropriate department but without a specific equivalent course number (e.g., PSYCH 101X).
Interdepartmental Credit: A transferable class that covers a range of topics and disciplines that do not match any one U-M department might transfer as “Interdepartmental Credit” (e.g., INTERSS 101X).
Not Transferable: Any course that has been evaluated and determined to be unacceptable for transfer will be listed with “NOT TRANSFERABLE” in the comments section.

If the course is not listed on the Transfer Credit Equivalencies Guide, that means no student has ever applied to have it transferred. These courses will be evaluated upon your acceptance to LSA.

How Transfer Credits Count for Your LSA Degree

When you transfer to LSA the following general rules apply to your transfer credit:

Up to 60 credits may be transferred from other colleges and universities to count toward the 120 credits required for an LSA degree. Students who, prior to enrolling in U-M, complete an associate’s degree that requires 62 credits may transfer 62 credits.
If you have taken courses at an institution based on a different unit of credit (e.g., quarter credits or international credits), the credits will be converted to U-M semester credits. For specifics on credit conversion, go to LSA Academics and Requirements.
Grades do not transfer except for courses transferred from UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn.
Credits taken as a dual-enrolled student or as part of an Early/Middle College Program while in high school are subject to additional restrictions. For specifics on these credits go to LSA Academics and Requirements.
The applicability of transfer credit to specific LSA degree requirements is determined by college and department policies.

For LSA General Degree Requirements

First-Year Writing Requirement: The Sweetland Center for Writing maintains lists of approved and not-approved transfer courses. If the course you completed is not listed on either the approved or not-approved list, you may complete an online Petition for Transfer Course Credit. Please submit any questions about transfer credit for First-Year Writing Requirements to sweetlandinfo@umich.edu.

Upper-Level Writing Requirement: Transfer credit cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.

Race & Ethnicity: Transfer credit cannot be used to satisfy this requirement except by successfully petitioning the LSA Academic Standards Board after the completion of the course.

Quantitative Reasoning: Courses transferred from another college or university, even those transferred as “equivalent credit” of LSA courses that meet the QR requirement (e.g., MATH 115), do not automatically count for QR credit except in the following circumstances:

Transferred courses (minimum three credits) of PHYSICS 125, 126, 140, 240, or any STATISTICS courses (except business statistics) receive QR/1 credit.
If a student transfers in all of the prerequisites for a math or computer science major, they will fulfill Qunatitative Reasoning.
For other quantitative coursework, students may petition the Academic Standards Board to be allowed to satisfy the QR requirement with a class transferred from another institution.

Language Requirement: May be met through a placement exam and/or coursework transferred in. Refer to the Transfer Credit Equivalency site to check how your language courses transfer. If you have not completed a course that transfers as equivalent to the U-M forth term course you will need to take a placement exam. Once you enroll in LSA, however, you may not take and transfer in language courses from another school unless the appropriate LSA language department has given you its approval.

Distribution Requirement: Courses that transfer as equivalent credit to existing LSA courses will typically count toward the Distribution Requirement, just as the U-M version would. Courses that transfer as departmental credit into certain departments will automatically be counted toward specific distribution areas. Other courses that transfer as departmental credit require evaluation by an LSA advisor. For details on how departmental courses can count for distribution, see Transfer Information and Residency Policy. Interdepartmental credit will count for the corresponding distribution area. You will begin this approval process when you meet with your advisor during orientation.

Transfers from Michigan Community Colleges: As part of the Michigan Transfer Agreement, many courses from Michigan community colleges have been pre-approved for transfer and distribution credit. Check out the Transfer Guides for more information.

For Elective Credit: All courses that transfer can count for elective credit toward the 120 credits you need to complete your degree. Some courses might transfer in as non-LSA department credit, making them non-LSA credit. You may use 20 non-LSA credits toward the 120 total credits required for your degree.

For Your Major

Courses that transfer as equivalent credit will fulfill the same major requirements as the equivalent class taught at U-M. Courses that transfer as departmental or interdepartmental credit must be approved by an advisor in the department of your major. You should meet with a department advisor at the beginning of your first semester to discuss such courses and overall requirements. If you plan a major or minor that requires equivalent credit for specific classes, you can have courses pre-evaluated by the department for equivalent credit. Each LSA department has a web page for submitting courses for evaluation. You will find the link for these pages on each department's website by hovering over the Undergraduates tab at the top of each department's web page.

Credit from Institutions Outside the U.S.

If you have taken courses at an institution outside the United States, the credits will be converted to U-M semester credits. The conversion differs based on the credit system of the country in which you took the courses. International students should be aware that the number of credits approved for transfer might differ significantly from what appears on your transcript from your previous institution.

Military Credit

The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is conservative in awarding credit for learning experiences at military schools. In order for credit to be granted, the material covered in the school must be similar to material taught in a course at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. The amount and level of credit given is determined by the faculty in the appropriate university department. No credit is awarded for schools that are specific to military activities or for Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). The Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Presidio of Monterey, California, is regionally accredited at the higher education level. Courses completed at this institution are evaluated in the same way as courses from other colleges or universities. You must have an official DLI transcript sent to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions when you apply.

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