Stanford accepts a small number of undergraduate transfer students each year. Requirements for admission are described as part of the undergraduate application process and are listed on the Undergraduate Admission web site. Stanford University has a designated adviser who coordinates support for transfer students.
In conjunction with appropriate review bodies, the Office of the University Registrar evaluates and records the amount of transfer credit and advanced placement test credit an undergraduate can apply toward graduation requirements. Stanford awards credit based on course work completed at U.S. colleges or universities accredited by a regional accrediting association; or course work completed at international colleges or universities of recognized standing. Credit may also be awarded for certain Advanced Placement programs, International Baccalaureate Program, GCE, French Baccalaureate, and the German Abitur examinations.
See the "Advanced Placement" section of this Bulletin for information concerning Stanford's policy on credit for Advanced Placement work. Details on how to request credit for advanced placement examinations are available at the Registrar's Advanced Placement site.
Undergraduate Transfer Work
Academic credit for work done elsewhere may be allowed toward a Stanford bachelor's degree under the following rules and conditions:
- Credit may be granted for work completed at institutions in the U.S. only if the institutions are accredited.
- Study in institutions outside the U.S., when validated by examination results, tutorial reports, or other official evidence of satisfactory work, may be credited toward a Stanford bachelor's degree, subject to the approval of the credit evaluator and the appropriate departments.
- Credit is officially allowed only after the student has been unconditionally admitted to Stanford.
- Credit is allowed for work completed at institutions in the U.S. only on the basis of an official transcript received by the Registrar at Stanford directly from the institution where the credit was earned.
- Credit from another institution may be transferred for courses which are substantially equivalent to those offered at Stanford University on the undergraduate level, subject to the approval of the credit evaluator. A maximum of 20 quarter units may represent courses which do not parallel specific undergraduate courses at Stanford, again, subject to the approval of the credit evaluator as to quality and suitability.
- Course work cannot duplicate, overlap, or regress previous work.
- Transfer course work cannot count towards secondary school diploma and/or graduation requirements.
- For students who want to fulfill general education requirements through transfer work and who are subject to the GER system in place prior to Autumn 2013-14, a proposed transfer course must match a specific Stanford course that fulfills the same GER requirement; it must be a minimum of 3 quarter units and have been taken for a letter grade.
For students who want to fulfill general education requirements through transfer work and who are subject to the Ways of Thinking/Doing (WAYS) breadth requirement (2013-14 and later for incoming first-year students and 2014-15 only incoming transfer students), transfer courses are reviewed to determine if courses can be certified to fulfill WAYS requirements. Requests for fulfilling WAYS requirements in transfer require pre-approval prior to course enrollment and the pre-approval requests must be submitted by the quarterly deadline in the quarter prior to the term in which students intend to enroll in the transfer course, as defined on the WAYS site. Courses must be taken for a minimum of 3 quarter units (2 units in the case of Creative Expression only) and must be taken for a letter grade.
For 2015-16 incoming transfer students, a proportion of their WAYS breadth requirement must be fulfilled at Stanford. Based on the number of qualified transfer units awarded at matriculation, students must complete a number of Ways courses to fulfill the WAYS requirement as outlined in the “Credit Transfer” section of the Bulletin. - Transfer work can be used to satisfy a department major or minor requirement. The transfer work must first be officially accepted into the University through the Office of the University Registrar. Departments determine if approved transfer work can be used to satisfy a department major or minor requirement.
- The credit allowed at Stanford for one quarter's work may not exceed the number of units that would have been permissible for one quarter if the work had been done at Stanford; for work done under a system other than the quarter system, the permissible maximum units are calculated at an appropriate ratio of equivalence.
- Credit is allowed at Stanford for work graded 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' or 'Pass' (where 'Pass' is equivalent to a letter grade of 'C' or above), but not for work graded 'D' or below.
- No more than 45 (90 for transfer students) quarter units of credit for work done elsewhere may be counted toward a bachelor's degree at Stanford (including advanced placement test credit).
- Credit earned in extension, correspondence, and online courses is transferable only if the university offering the courses allows that credit toward its own bachelor's degree. Such credit is limited to a maximum of 45 quarter units for extension courses, a maximum of 15 quarter units for correspondence and online study, and a maximum of 45 quarter units for the combination of extension, correspondence, and online courses.
- Credit earned in military training and service is not transferable to Stanford, unless offered by an accredited college or university in the U.S. and evaluated as above by the credit evaluator.
Graduate Residency Transfer Credit
After at least one quarter of enrollment, students pursuing an Engineer, D.M.A., or Ph.D. may apply for transfer credit for graduate work done at another institution. Engineer candidates who also earned their master's at Stanford are not eligible for transfer residency credit, nor are any master's degree students. Ph.D. or D.M.A. students may only apply a total of 45 units of transfer credit and credit earned for a Stanford master’s degree toward the PhD residency total.
Students enrolled at Stanford who are going to study elsewhere during their degree program should obtain prior approval of any transfer credit sought before their departure.
The following criteria are used by the department in determining whether, in its discretion, it awards transfer credit for graduate-level work done at another institution:
- Courses should have comparable Stanford counterparts that are approved by the student's department. A maximum of 12 units of courses with no Stanford counterparts and/or research units may be granted transfer credit.
- The student must have been enrolled at the other institution in a student category which yields graduate credit. The maximum amount of credit given for extension and nonmatriculated (non-degree) courses is 12 units. No transfer credit is given for online or correspondence work.
- Courses must have been taken after the conferral of the bachelor's degree. The only exception is for work taken through programs structured like the Stanford coterminal bachelor's/master's program.
- Courses must have been completed with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) or better. Pass grades are accepted only for courses for which letter grades were not an option and for which the standard of passing is 'B' quality work.
- Courses must have been taken at a regionally accredited institution in the U.S. or at an officially recognized institution in a foreign country. Courses taken at foreign universities must be at the level of study comparable to a U.S. graduate program.
The Application for Graduate Residency Credit is reviewed by the department and the Office of the University Registrar. For transfer credit done under a system other than the quarter system, the permissible maximum units are calculated at an appropriate ratio of equivalence. One semester unit or hour usually equals 1.5 quarter units.
