A large percentage of our students use transfer credits upon their acceptance to Penn State World Campus. Assistant Director of Transfer Credit Services Tasha Rockey answers some of your questions regarding the process of transferring in credits from another academic institution:
Will courses from my previous schools transfer to Penn State?
For a course to qualify for credit at Penn State, it must meet the following criteria:
- must be from a regionally accredited school
- grade earned must be a C or higher
- must be equivalent to a Penn State course
- must be useful in your program of study
How are transfer credits evaluated?
Transfer credits are first reviewed by the Undergraduate Admissions Office to determine how they will transfer into Penn State. During this initial evaluation, courses may transfer into the University as general credits. General credits typically fall into your electives area. Transfer credit specialists review transfer credits by looking at course titles and course descriptions, and using a record of courses previously reviewed by the program. When additional information is needed to evaluate courses, transfer credit specialists will request syllabi directly from you.
How do I know if my credits were transferred into Penn State?
When you’re admitted, you will receive a transfer evaluation letter from the Undergraduate Admissions Office. In the letter it is likely that you’ll be asked to submit multiple syllabi for your transfer courses to determine how they will transfer into Penn State. Syllabi should be sent to [email protected] for further review. Syllabi are then sent to the academic department for review. When decisions are made regarding the course work, this will be updated in your student center in LionPATH.
Can I send a course description instead of a syllabus for review?
A course description is a short summary of the main topics covered in a course. It typically does not cover enough key information for the academic department to make a decision regarding the substitution of a course. A syllabus includes information about the textbook used in the course, the grading scale, weekly assignments, and course objectives. If a syllabus is requested from you, a course description will not be accepted for review, since it lacks the detailed information about the course that is included in a syllabus.
How does an academic department or college decide if my course is transferable?
When your transfer course is being reviewed by the academic department, they are typically looking to see that the course content from the transfer course matches about 80% of a Penn State course.
Can I receive credit for military experience?
Active-duty military or veteran students are encouraged to submit Joint Services Transcripts and Defense Language Institute transcripts to the Undergraduate Admissions Office. Some major courses of study are able to use more military credits than others.
Will international credits be evaluated?
In order for your international credits to be reviewed, a syllabus is typically required, and it must be in English. If the syllabi are not in English, some programs may require these syllabi to be translated by an official agency, such as World Education Services.
Is there a maximum number of credits that I can transfer into Penn State?
You must earn a minimum number of credits from Penn State to earn your degree through Penn State World Campus:
- To earn an associate degree, 18 of the last 30 credits that you take to earn your degree must be from Penn State.
- To earn a bachelor’s degree, 36 of the last 60 credits that you take to earn your degree must be from Penn State.
Where should my official transcripts be sent?
Your official transcripts must be sent to the Undergraduate Admissions Office. It is important that you send transcripts from ALL institutions (high school/GED and college) that you have attended. Official transcripts can be sent to:
Undergraduate Admissions Office
The Pennsylvania State University
201 Shields Building
University Park PA 16802
Transcripts can also be sent electronically through Parchment, eScrip-Safe, or the National Student Clearinghouse directly to Penn State from the college/university where course work was attempted.
Contact [email protected] if you have additional questions about the transfer credit process at Penn State.