Academic Regulations Search Result

Transfer credit is awarded for college-level academic credit earned based on appropriateness for WSU’s academic programs and comparableness in nature, content, academic rigor, and quality to WSU’s curriculum.  One set of transfer course articulation tables will be used for course evaluation by all WSU campuses.  The transfer course search tool articulation tables for courses from approved domestic and international institutions is maintained and monitored by WSU Pullman Admissions transcript evaluators and the Transfer Center in consultation with academic units. Transfer credit equivalencies are subject to change.

a)  Transfer credit is awarded from nationally recognized postsecondary institutions with institutional accreditation from the following approved accreditation agencies (or equivalent for international institutions). 

• Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
• New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
• WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)

See Rule 14 for information on credit processes for postsecondary institutions with nationally recognized institutional accreditation that is not from an approved accreditation agency. 

b) Transfer credit awarded from approved institutions on the quarter system is converted to 0.67 semester credits.

c) Ninety semester hours shall be the maximum allowed by transfer toward a baccalaureate degree.

d) The maximum combined lower-division transfer credit allowed [from approved accredited institutions, CLEP (College Level Examination Program), AP (Advanced Placement), IB (International Baccalaureate), Cambridge International, military, and any other source] shall be 73 semester credits toward a baccalaureate degree irrespective of when those credits were earned.

e) Junior status, 60 semester credits, and completion of lower-division University Common Requirements (UCOREs) normally will be granted to students who have been awarded the Direct Transfer Associate (DTA) degree from a Washington state public community and technical college. Additional courses, up to the 73-semester credit limit, will be reviewed for transfer on a course-by-course basis.   Certain approved associate degrees may also be considered to have fulfilled the lower-division UCORE for graduation, provided the degree’s general education curriculum approximates the disciplinary breadth of WSU’s UCORE curriculum, but do not guarantee junior status or 60 semester credits. Completion of lower-division UCORE will be granted to students who have been certified by their institution as having completed the University of California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or the California State University General Education Breadth Curriculum. For details on specific degrees consult the Office of Admissions and the Transfer Center.

f) Reverse transfer allows students to complete an associate’s degree after transfer to WSU.  Policy details and credit levels vary depending on the community or technical college.  Students who enter WSU with at least 30 transferable quarter credits (20 semester credits) from a Washington state public community college or technical college will receive the support of the Transfer Center to complete the steps for reverse transfer.  Students who enter WSU and later complete one of the associate degrees listed in Rule 6(d) or (f) will receive the benefits described in Rule 6(d) or (f).

g) Students who have completed the Associate of Science Transfer (AS-T) degree from a Washington state public community and technical college normally will receive the same priority consideration for admission as they would for completing the Direct Transfer Associate (DTA) and will be given junior status and 60 semester credits.  Completion of the AS-T degree satisfies UCORE WRTG, QUAN, BSCI, PSCI, and three of the following requirements: HUM, SSCI, ARTS, DIVR, ROOTS, EQJS.  Up to three additional lower-division UCORE may be satisfied via transfer credit, up to the 73-semester credit limit, or via in-residence credit prior to completion of a baccalaureate degree.  An individual course completed within the AS-T degree may not satisfy more than one UCORE category.

h) Completion of all UCORE and the University Writing Portfolio graduation requirement will be granted to students who have completed a baccalaureate degree from another approved accredited institution or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from an international institution with approved accreditation (see 6a), provided that the general education curriculum approximates the disciplinary breadth of WSU’s UCORE curriculum.  Approved degrees will also provide senior standing and 90 semester credits. 

i) Completion of lower-division UCOREs will be granted to students who have been certified as having completed the lower-division general education curriculum from a baccalaureate institution with approved accreditation (see 6a), provided the degree’s general education curriculum approximates the disciplinary breadth of WSU’s UCORE curriculum.  Please consult the Office of Admissions or Transfer Center for more information.  

j) Other degrees will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis for fulfillment of requirements, in the absence of an approved articulation.  Higher degrees do not necessarily fulfill baccalaureate degree requirements.

k) Transfer credit follows WSU policy for repeat credit (see Rule 34), academic forgiveness (see Rule 43), and grades and grade points (see Rule 90). Transfer credit graded below D is considered failing. Transfer credit grades do not count in the WSU grade point average (see Rule 114).