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Transfer Credit Policies
- Other Colleges and Universities
- Educational Experiences in the Armed Services
- Community College of the Air Force
- Servicemembers Opportunity College
- Vocational and Technical Credit
- Noncollegiate Courses
- Credit by Examination
- Frequently Asked Questions
To protect the student's investment of educational effort and the value of the degree, UMUC will not award credit for courses that repeat work done elsewhere. Students who have earned credit at other colleges are responsible for determining whether courses they plan to take at UMUC would duplicate any previously earned credit. In certain disciplines, some of the content of community college courses may overlap that of beginning upper-level UMUC courses. Students who are in doubt should consult an advisor before registering.
Credit toward a UMUC degree may be granted for work completed through the kinds of institutions described in the following sections. As many as 45 semester hours of transfer credit (in any combination) may be counted toward the associate's degree (the associate's is available to active-duty military only); as many as 90 semester hours may be counted toward a bachelor's degree.
Please note: UMUC will accept as transfer credit no more than
- 70 semester hours from a regionally accredited two-year college or
university.
- 90 semester hours from a regionally accredited four-year college or university or from other combined sources including credit by examination, military service, or noncollegiate training.
A student who wants to transfer credit from other institutions to UMUC should consider the following options:
- Students who live in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, may attend an information session conducted by an Enrollment Specialist or Academic Advisor. For information about the scheduled times for these sessions, students should call 800-888-UMUC.
- Students who are located outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, should call 800-888-UMUC to speak with an Enrollment Specialist about potential transfer credit.
- Students who previously attended a community college in Maryland, should consult ARTSYS, the USM Articulation System, for more information.
Note: Credit earned at other institutions during a period of disciplinary suspension will not be accepted in transfer to UMUC.
Other Colleges and Universities
When the grade earned was at least C, transfer credits from regionally accredited two- and four-year colleges and universities may be accepted for courses that apply to the student's curriculum and do not duplicate other courses for which credit has been awarded.
A total of 60 semester hours of credit from two-year institutions (junior colleges or community colleges) may be applied toward a bachelor's degree at UMUC.
A student who has already matriculated at UMUC may be granted permission to take lower-level courses at a junior college or a community college before having completed 60 semester hours of credit at a junior college or a community college. To receive credit for work completed at such institutions, the student must submit a written request to an academic advisor. Such requests must be submitted well ahead of the semester for which the student is registering.
A student who initially enrolled in the public community colleges of Maryland will be admitted to UMUC in conformance with the policy developed and approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
Educational Experiences in the Armed Services
UMUC grants credit for study completed in service schools and in Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) on the basis of recommendations made by the American Council on Education (ACE) in its Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services. Such credit is granted only if it is applicable to the student's chosen curriculum. Ordinarily such credit may not be applied toward the general education requirements. UMUC generally accepts recommendations of ACE for lower-level and upper-level credit. Recommendations made by ACE for vocational or technical credit are considered on the same basis as and with the same limitations as those placed in nonmilitary sources of credit.
Community College of the Air Force
UMUC awards credit for study at technical schools of the U.S. Air Force in accordance with recommendations from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF). Credits must be applicable to the student's chosen curriculum at UMUC, must meet other UMUC requirements for transfer credit, and are subject to the limitations described below.
All credit from the CCAF is lower level and is applicable only to freshman and sophomore requirements.
Since the CCAF records satisfactorily completed courses as S (satisfactory) and specifies that S equals a grade of C or better, credit may be applied wherever appropriate in the UMUC curriculum. Courses that are vocational or technical may be used only as electives and only toward the B.S. degree to a maximum of 21 semester hours.
When a student submits an official CCAF transcript, credits are awarded on the basis of evaluation by the CCAF for courses completed after December 1973.
Servicemembers Opportunity College (SOC)
University of Maryland University College is a designated four-year Servicemembers Opportunity College (SOC), providing opportunities for men and women in the military services to complete educational programs by means of various modes of instruction scheduled at times appropriate to their duty assignments.
The SOC institutions have also developed a series of common curricula that correspond to Army, Navy and Marine career specialties and lead to associate's degrees (SOCAD, SOCNAV, and SOCMAR-2 programs) and bachelor's degrees (SOCAD SOCNAV, and SOCMAR-4 programs). The SOC concept itself was developed jointly by educational representatives from each of the military services, from the U.S. Department of Defense, and from 13 of the nation's leading associations of higher education.
Vocational and Technical Credit
Vocational and technical credit from regionally accredited institutions or American Council on Education-approved organizations, when applicable, may be accepted as elective credit only. Vocational and technical credit may not be used to satisfy degree requirements such as general education, specialization, or distribution requirements. This credit may be applied toward a certificate or a degree at UMUC, up to the following limits:
- A maximum of 6 semester hours for a certificate
- A maximum of 12 semester hours for an Associate's degree
- A maximum of 21 semester hours of coherently related work for the bachelor's degree
Noncollegiate Courses
UMUC will accept for credit professional (not technical) courses applicable to the student's curriculum that have been evaluated by either (1) ACE (if the courses are listed in The National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs or (2) the State University of New York National Program on Non-Collegiate-Sponsored Instruction (if listed in its College Credit Recommendations).
Credit by Examination
UMUC may award as many as 60 semester hours of credit by examination toward the bachelor's degree (30 semester hours toward the associate's degree), provided that (1) there is no duplication of other academic credit, and (2) the scores presented meet UMUC standards.
Examinations may include the Excelsior College Examinations (formerly ACT/PEP and Regents), the Advanced Placement examinations administered by the College Board, the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) examinations, and the American College Testing/Proficiency Examination program (ACT/PEP). As many as 30 semester hours of examination credit awarded by other regionally accredited institutions will be accepted for courses that appear on an official transcript with a grade of C or better.
Students who have questions about credit by examination are encouraged to consult an advisor.
Advanced Placement
Advanced placement and college credit may be granted to students who enter UMUC directly from a secondary school, on the basis of scores on a College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examination. These examinations are normally administered to eligible high school seniors during the May preceding matriculation in college.
A student intending to transfer AP credit that was awarded at another college or similar institution must have a transcript of those scores sent directly to UMUC from the College Board. When those scores have been received, an evaluator will determine whether they meet the standards established at UMUC for granting AP credit, and how much credit may be awarded.
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) Examinations
Up to 24 semester hours may be awarded for general examinations in the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). The scores must meet UMUC standards.
UMUC may award 3 semester hours each for the English examination and the mathematics examination, and 6 semester hours for the examinations in natural science, social sciences and history, and arts and humanitities.
Successful completion of certain subject-area examinations is another way of earning college credit. Advisors can furnish details.
DANTES Examinations
Credit may be awarded for successfully completing certain Subject Standardized Tests of DANTES (formerly known as USAFI). Advisors have information on tests that are acceptable.