Upon submission of the below form, the Graduate School of Arts and Science’s (GRS) will review the transfer of credit request for compliance with the current GRS Transfer of Credit policy. If in line with this policy, GRS staff will forward the request to the student’s department/program for review and approval. It is up to the individual programs to decide which courses, if any, may be transferred.
Students may use this form to transfer general credit that will count towards the total number of credits required for their graduate degree. If a student intends to meet the total-credit requirement for their degree program at Boston University and is looking to satisfy a specific course requirement with coursework at another institution, a transfer of credit form should not be submitted. Discussions and approval for such a situation should remain internal to the student’s department/program.
When reviewing a transfer of credit request GRS will need an official transcript from the institution where the course was taken. In most cases, GRS will already have that transcript on file from the application for admission. If you know in advance that the GRS office will not have a necessary transcript on file, please submit the transcript to the GRS office, room 112, 705 Commonwealth Avenue.
Please contact the GRS Records office with any questions that are unanswered on this page by emailing grsrec@bu.edu. We also have limited meeting availability over Zoom. Zoom meetings can be scheduled with a GRS Records staff member here.
Prior Approval:
Coursework taken concurrently with studies in GRS requires prior approval before students register for the course. GRS and your department/program will review the Transfer of Credit request to see if it meets the requirements necessary to obtain credit at Boston University (BU). GRS will notify you of the results. If approved by both GRS and your department/program, proceed with course registration. After completing the course, you will need to submit an official transcript reflecting a letter grade (not pass/fail) for the course to the GRS Records office. If the course does not meet the requirements set out by the GRS office, or if after reviewing the final transcript your department/program does not approve the course, then the course will not be formally transferred for credit at BU.
| Credit Equivalency Chart | ||
| 1 credit at a 2-semester academic year institution | = | 1 credit at BU |
| 1 credit at a 3-semester academic year institution | = | .66 credits at BU |
| 1 credit at a 4-quarter academic year institution | = | .5 credits at BU |
| Summer session courses | = | Varying credits at BU, depending on institution |