Transfer Credits
Degree-seeking students wishing to take courses at other institutions and transfer the credit towards their ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ undergraduate degree must request course equivalent evaluations from Registry Services, as well as official verification of the institution’s accreditation or recognition status in its own country, prior to registering for or undertaking the study.
How to request Transfer Credit Approval: steps to be followed by students and academic advisers:
- Research in to options and select some possible courses.
- Submit the proposed courses to Registry Services, using the Transfer Credit Approval form below.
- The Registry Services determines the ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ course equivalents of the proposed courses according to the University transfer credit policy (see below), and the outcome is sent to the student and their adviser by email. They may then both check how the courses fit with the student’s degree plan and consider the most appropriate time for the student to complete the proposed courses.
Students may not register concurrently at ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ and at another institution and receive transfer credit for work taken at the other institution, except in cases where their ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ courseload allows for the other work to be completed. In such cases, the student’s specific situation should be discussed with the academic adviser and the Registry Services. If courses are taken at other institutions during winter intersessions or summer sessions at other institutions, students must ensure that the term or semester dates do not overlap with the ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ ones for which they are enrolled, or intend to enrol.
If students intend to take courses at other institutions during summer sessions, the courseload permitted will be determined by the courseload policy of the institution awarding the credit. Students should apply as visiting students to the other institution and seek advice on permitted courseload. If students intend to study at another institution for an entire semester, they should request a Leave of Absence in order to suspend their studies.
On completion of the course(s), students must have a final, official transcript sent to the Registry Services. If the other institution offers official, electronic transcripts, one should be sent to: registryservices@richmond.ac.uk. If the facility for electronic transcripts is not available, a student may other provide a sealed, hardcopy, or have the other institution’s registrar sent an official hardcopy directly to:
Transfer Credit Processing – Registry Services
ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ American University London
Building 12, Chiswick Park
566 Chiswick High Road
London, W4 5AN
Transfer Credit from Colleges or Universities
ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ welcomes applications from transfer students who have completed university-level work at an institution of higher education that is appropriately accredited or recognised by the relevant governmental agencies in its own country. Transfer applicants must usually have a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher and have been in good academic standing upon transferring out of their prior institution.
Transfer credit is granted only for academic courses completed with grades of C or above (or equivalent), and each course is evaluated by the Registry Services to determine its ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ equivalent. In cases where no equivalent ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ course is offered, the credit is awarded as either Lower Division elective credit or Upper Division elective credit. Students work with their academic advisers to determine how all transfer credit awarded best fits with the degree plan for their choice of major.
Up to 75 US/ 300 UK credits may be transferred toward the BA degree, which includes any applicable advanced credit. At most, 60 US / 240 UK credits may be transferred from two-year colleges where only Lower Division courses are offered. Only credit is transferred; grades and grade point averages from other institutions do not transfer, meaning that grades earned elsewhere are not factored into a student’s ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ GPA. No credit is allowed for courses passed with grades such as P or S; all courses considered for transfer credit must be taken for undergraduate grade credit towards an approved undergraduate degree, and be completed with a grade on the standard for-credit grading scale at the institution concerned. Extra-curricular credit courses and courses that may be repeated for credit are not considered for transfer.
Regardless of the transfer credit awarded, transfer students must complete all ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ Core Curriculum, major (and minor, if a minor is followed) requirements that are not covered by equivalent transfer credit. Students entering with advanced or transfer credit are ordinarily informed of their transfer credit awards prior to enrolment, and have the opportunity to review and discuss their proposed academic plan of study with the Registry Services staff members who have evaluated their courses and ‘pre-advised’ them. Where necessary and upon request, students are referred to academic advisers/faculty members for more specific advice.
All students registered for ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ BA degrees are required to complete a minimum of 60 US upper division credits at ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥, of which a maximum of 15 US credits may be transferred in. This equates to a maximum of 60 UK credits at Level 5.
All 6000-level courses must be completed at ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥, and equivalents to ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥â€™s courses coded 6000-6999 are therefore not considered for transfer.
Transfer students, as well as those who elect to study at other institutions after enrolling at ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥, must work with their academic advisers from the outset to ensure that these requirements, along with all other degree requirements pertaining to their course of study, are taken into account. Questions about transfer equivalents, as well as queries and requests for explanatory information on specific transfer decisions, are made directly to the Registry Services by email at Registry Services. Responses sent to students are also sent to the academic adviser or faculty member concerned.
The Head of Registry Services makes the final decision regarding the ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ course equivalent of courses offered by other institutions.
Transfer Credit Policy
Transfer of Prior Academic Credit and Credit for Advanced Standing
Students entering ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ with ‘advanced’ qualifications, i.e. national secondary education credentials that are acceptable for entry to British universities, as determined by NARIC (The National Academic Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom), may be awarded course credit toward completion of their degree, after review by the Registry Services. This includes qualifications such as UK A-Levels; the International Baccalaureate; Advanced Placement Examinations; the French Baccalauréat and the German Abitur. The exact credit awarded depends upon examination grades and subjects studied.
Credit for Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations is determined with regard to the guidelines outlined by and credit is awarded for grades of 3, 4, or 5. Six to eight credits are awarded, depending on subject area, for examinations covering two semesters of US university-level work; three to four credits are awarded for examinations covering one semester. No credit is awarded for grades of 1 or 2.
International Baccalaureat advanced placement awards are generally determined by the relevant guidelines outlined by the . Six credits are awarded for grades of 4–7 in Higher Level IB subject examinations; three credits are awarded for grades of 4–7 on Subsidiary Level IB subject examinations. No credit is awarded for grades less than 4.
Credit for United Kingdom Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and Advanced Level qualifications is determined by the evaluation of syllabi in the same way as for AP and IB exams. Because students study fewer subjects at A-level, and to a greater depth, than at IB and other European secondary school leaving qualifications, a greater number of credits is ordinarily awarded per subject, depending on the grades achieved. Nine credits are awarded per A-level completed at grades A-C and six credits per A-level completed at grades D or E. AS-levels must be completed with grades of C or higher to transfer.
The maximum number of credits awarded for advanced qualifications is 30 US / 120 UK credits, which normally represents one academic year of study. This limit is set because advanced qualifications are specifically equivalent to first-year study, allowing students to receive up to one year’s worth of academic credit. For this reason, only ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ courses at 3000-level are considered for advanced credit awards.
The qualifications must have been completed before a student enrols at ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥, and successful completion of these qualifications may have formed part of the student’s offer of admission. Course equivalent charts for the advanced qualifications most frequently transferred into ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ are available below.
Advanced credit course equivalents charts for A-levels, IB and AP exams: academic year 2016-2017
Dual-enrolment credits (where students have completed US university-level study alongside their high school diploma) are equally considered for advanced credit, according to the University’s regular transfer credit policies found in the section below.
CLEP (College Level Examination Program) Policy
Credit for CLEP examinations taken prior to enrolment at any university is generally awarded according to the relevant guidelines issued by the College Board. Note that ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥ does not offer CLEP examinations. Scores of 50 or higher are required, and six US /24 UK credits are awarded for examinations covering two semesters of university-level work. Three US /12 UK credits are awarded for examinations covering one semester.
Several of the CLEP examinations, especially those in Composition and Literature, have optional essays. If the essay part of the examination has not been taken, credit will be contingent on the student’s performance on ÁùºÏ²ÊÏÖ³¡Ö±²¥â€™s English Language Placement Assessment.
