A maximum of 30 percent of the didactic hours required for a graduate degree or any graduate certificate program may be transferred from another VCU program or outside institution and, if not applied previously toward another degree, may be applied toward a degree. Recommendations regarding transfer credit are initiated at the program level and reviewed and approved by the Graduate School. All matriculated students must obtain final written approval from the Graduate School for course work approved for transfer before registering for course work at another institution. Individual schools/programs may have more stringent requirements.

Graduate credit hours earned toward a VCU certificate may be applied one time to degree requirements for master’s or Ph.D. programs. Graduate credit hours earned toward a VCU certificate may be applied toward only one certificate. The determination of the acceptability of specific courses to be used for both the certificate and the graduate degree will be the responsibility of that master’s or Ph.D. program or school.

All transfer work must be at the A or B grade level from a regionally accredited college or university. “Credit” or “pass” grades can be accepted only if approved by petitioning the Graduate Advisory Committee or equivalent of the student’s school or college. Students must be in good standing both at VCU and at the institutions from which the credits were earned. Some programs will not accept credits earned as a nondegree-seeking graduate student for transfer. VCU will not accept credits that do not apply to a graduate degree at the offering institution for transfer, nor will it accept credits from unaccredited institutions for transfer. These criteria apply to all domestic and international institutions.

Course work taken under the auspices of any study abroad program, including the study abroad program at VCU, is classified as course work taken at an international institution for purposes of determining if the course work may count toward a VCU graduate degree. Registration for such course work does not guarantee that the course work will count toward a VCU graduate degree. All study abroad graduate course work is subject to the same review and approval process if the course work is to count toward a VCU graduate degree.

Credit for military service, career or life experience

The Graduate School does not grant graduate-level credit for any type of military service or career or life experience unless it involves course work taken as part of a regionally approved graduate program at an accredited college or university.

Changes approved by Graduate Council April 14, 2009 effective immediately