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Bulletin Archive

This archived information is dated to the 2011-12 academic year only and may no longer be current.

For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.

Graduate Residency Transfer Credit

Up one level:

Transfer Work

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. Doctoral and Engineer candidates who also earned their master's at Stanford are not eligible for transfer residency credit, nor are any master's degree students.

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

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