Penn State welcomes applications from students who have completed at least 18 semester-hour credits (with at least a 2.0 GPA) at other regionally accredited institutions. As part of your application process, you will need to submit the following to the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Office.
Transfer students do not submit SAT or ACT scores.
Residency Requirement
You do not need to attend classes in person at a Penn State campus to fulfill Penn State's residency requirement; you simply have to complete a minimum number of Penn State credits in your degree program.
- Associate Degree Students: at least 18 of the last 30 credits that you take to earn your degree must be from Penn State
- Bachelor's Degree Students: at least 36 of the last 60 credits that you take to earn your degree must be from Penn State
You may take courses at a local, regionally accredited community college or university to supplement the Penn State courses you're taking to complete your degree; however, you must earn the minimum number of Penn State credits specified above to fulfill the residency requirements and earn your Penn State degree.
There is generally no limit to the number of undergraduate credits you may transfer to Penn State.
Graduate Transfer Students
Each Penn State academic unit has its own requirements for accepting transfer credits; however, general information about applying as a graduate transfer student can be found on The Graduate School at Penn State Web site. A few general rules follow:
- The courses you want to transfer must appear on a graduate-level transcript from a regionally accredited institution.
- Courses appearing as undergraduate level on your transcript cannot be transferred to a Penn State graduate degree program.
- Courses used to complete a graduate degree at Penn State, or any other university, may not be used as transfer credits in your new Penn State degree program.
- You will need to submit official copies of your academic transcripts to the academic department hosting the degree program to which you are applying for admission.
- No more than 15 nondegree graduate credits can be applied toward a degree program.
For more detailed questions regarding the transfer of graduate-level credits, contact the graduate program coordinator for your degree program of interest. Contact us for more information.
Articulation/Memorandum Agreements
Penn State World Campus has completed formal agreements with some 2-year institutions to provide a seamless transition from an associate degree to a bachelor's degree. To find out if your school has a formal articulation/memorandum agreement, refer to our articulation agreement page.
