In the History of Art & Architecture Department, faculty members (usually the Director of Undergraduate Studies) review applications for transfer credits; as such, the acceptance of transfers is entirely up to their discretion. In order for a course to be accepted for transfer, it must meet our academic standards and it must be similar to a course that we currently teach or have taught in the recent past.  Because of this, we do not accept online courses for transfer credit. We can only evaluate courses that are taught in the United States or have already been approved by Global Programs.

The following information is provided for current BU students who are seeking to transfer one or more summer school or study abroad course(s) for credit in the History of Art & Architecture.
It is not intended for transfer students from other universities (for which see this page).

In order to have your course evaluated:

  • Consult BU’s web page How to Transfer Credits and make sure that you understand it and have followed the directions.
  • Download the Transfer Equivalency Form and fill it out to the best of your ability. For courses taken abroad, consult this page from Global Programs.
  • Consult BU’s Transfer Equivalency web page to see if the course you wish to transfer has been approved in the past. Please note that past approval does not guarantee re-approval in every case. If your course has been approved in the past and appears on the TES list, note that fact on your application.
  • Obtain a detailed syllabus for the course you wish to transfer for BU credit which includes:
    • Descriptions of all assignments
    • A breakdown of how grades are calculated
    • A week-by-week outline of readings and coursework
  • Once you have your form completed digitally and a pdf of the course syllabus,
    fill out our Online Application: Course Equivalency Transfer Credit Request Form.

– You will receive an email once your forms have been evaluated. Please follow the instructions in the email about next steps, which include having a sealed transcript sent directly to BU.
– Due to the volume of requests we receive, forms are normally reviewed within 2-3 weeks. Please keep this in mind when submitting forms.

**Our department does not accept online courses for transfer credit.**

If you have any questions, please contact us at ahdept@bu.edu.

**If you have questions about specific courses, you should attend the office hours (virtual or in person) of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Please note that questions concerning transfer credits will not be answered over email unless the inquiring student is studying abroad and cannot attend office hours.

Here are a few tips for selecting courses for transfer:

  • Start early. Gathering the appropriate materials and having your course evaluated takes time.
  • No two students or courses are the same. We evaluate courses individually from many different colleges and universities. That is why the process takes time—and more time for some students than others. But it means you can count on a careful, thorough evaluation.
  • No course can be considered without a full and detailed syllabus, do not start the process before you have one in hand, and have looked it over to make sure it meets our basic criteria.
  • The topic of the course must be the history of art or the history of architecture. Courses in art appreciation, arts administration, fashion (or other) design, etc. are not eligible for transfer.
  • The course must have the same number of credit hours as a BU course.
  • As a general rule, the course must have required reading and a substantial writing component. The amount, difficulty, and topics of the reading and the writing will determine the course’s appropriateness for transfer and its level.

Students seeking transfer eligibility for courses taken in the U.S. may submit only one course at a time and cannot resubmit before receiving a response from the department. Students seeking transfer eligibility for one or more course(s) taken abroad may submit together all the courses planned for (or taken in) one term. Please plan ahead and choose your course(s) wisely. See tips above for selecting a class and visit the Director of Undergraduate Studies during office hours if you have any questions.

If your course is approved for transfer it will be given a CAS AH course number. In some cases, the non-BU course has a very close equivalent and will be given an exact number, such as AH111 for an introductory survey. In other cases, the non-BU course–although it is similar to one that we offer, or have offered in the past, and meets all of our academic standards–can only transfer as an elective and will receive a course number such as AH1xx. Majors and minors should meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies or their advisers in History of Art to determine how, or if, such courses can be used toward the major or minor requirements.