Undergraduate Transfer Credit

Maximum number of advanced standing credits that can transfer:

College of Arts and Sciences: 94 credits

College of Business: 94 credits

College of Engineering: 102 credits

College of Nursing and Health Professions: 94 credits

The University welcomes transfer students from junior colleges, community colleges, and other accredited institutions of higher education. Students planning to transfer to Valparaiso University must apply for admission through the Admission office at least three weeks before the official start day of the term for which they are applying and must present evidence of honorable dismissal from the institution last attended. Transfer students will not be admitted to Valparaiso University until official transcript(s) and other required credentials are on file with Admission. After their records are evaluated, applicants will be notified regarding the courses which are found acceptable for transfer. Courses with grades of C- or above are accepted as transfer credit. Grades are not transferable; only credit transfers. There are amended requirements for students in the College of Business or the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Students transferring into either of these colleges should check the appropriate General Catalog heading pertaining to these colleges.

Credits earned more than 15 years before application for admission are accepted toward graduation on a provisional basis, subject to validation by the first 30 semester hours completed in residence at Valparaiso University with a 2.00 (C) average.

Credit for workshops, institutes, or travel study is ordinarily granted only for work taken at Valparaiso University. In cases of exception to the preceding restriction, transfer credit for institutes or workshops will not exceed one credit per calendar week of instruction. Transfer credit for travel-study programs will usually not exceed two credits per calendar week.

The maximum number of advanced standing credits that may be applied toward a Valparaiso University degree is 94 credits (Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, or Nursing and Health Professions) or 102 credits (College of Engineering). The remaining advanced standing credits will be applied as elective credit only.

Valparaiso University will not accept transfer credit for remedial, audited, or non-credit courses.

Fulfillment of Valparaiso University General Education Requirements

Students will receive a copy of a Transfer Credit Report that lists the transfer credits accepted by Valparaiso University and the matching Valpo course. The Dean of the student’s college will review the Transfer Credit Report and prepare a Statement of Equivalency in regards to the General Education requirements for the respective degree. Transfer students with more than 75 credits of advanced standing need to complete one course (three credits) of theology at Valparaiso University. One course in theology must be taken in residence at Valparaiso University.

VUE 101 or VUE 102 credit may only be granted by transfer credit for courses taken in semesters prior to the student enrolling at Valparaiso University. Any credit (courses taken in semesters after matriculation to Valparaiso University) transferred to Valparaiso University after the student has begun their career at Valparaiso University will not be considered as applicable toward fulfilling the VUE 101 or VUE 102 requirement. Transfer credit earned in VUE 101 and VUE 102 will only be granted to transfer students; incoming freshmen with transfer credit will not be waived from any semester of VUE.

Fulfillment of Valparaiso University Major Requirements

Statements of equivalence for academic majors, interdisciplinary programs, or professional block schedules are prepared by the colleges or departments concerned.

Resident Students

Any resident student who has taken academic coursework at any other accredited educational institution must request the Office of the Registrar of that institution to send an official transcript to the Valparaiso University Office of the Registrar, where an evaluation is made for possible acceptance of transfer credits. Courses with grades of C- or above are accepted for transfer credit. Grades are not transferable; only credit transfers. A Transfer Credit Request Form is also required prior to the student enrolling at the host institution.

Additional Requirements for Transfer of Credit

Students must complete a Concurrent Enrollment form to register at another institution only for a fall or spring semester while concurrently enrolled during the same semester at Valparaiso University. This form is not necessary for a summer semester.

The college or university must be a regionally accredited institution (Example: a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools).

Student must earn a grade of C- or better in a course to be transferred (unless a grade of C is required at Valparaiso University).

A minimum of one-half the number of credit hours required for any major, minor, or interdisciplinary program MUST be earned in residence at Valparaiso University.

30 of the last 40 credits presented for a degree must be earned in residence; no more than the last 10 credits may be transferred.

Course must be a college-level course. Courses equivalent to College of Business courses numbered above 300 must be completed at a four-year, regionally accredited institution.

Transfer courses will not replace grades for previous resident work earned for credit at Valparaiso University, but the requirement will be met.

Transfer courses are not included in your Valpo GPA.

Quarter credits are accepted as follows: one quarter credit equals 2/3 semester credit; three quarter credits equal 2 semester credits; 4 quarter credits equal 2.7 semester credits.

Students are welcome to appeal a transfer course by contacting the Office of the Registrar within 60 days from the date of evaluation. Students must appeal in writing and provide a course description and syllabi to support the nature of the appeal. There will be a response within 30 days.

After official transcripts have been received and reviewed by the Office of the Registrar, a Transfer Credit Report is emailed to both the student and the appropriate academic unit the student will be majoring in. The appropriate academic unit will then apply the transfer credits to the student’s proposed course of study, fulfilling both general education and major requirements as appropriate with the transfer credit. The appropriate academic unit will then email the student, the student’s advisor, and the Office of the Registrar the prepared Statement of Equivalency.

The Transfer Database is an ongoing collection of approved courses to transfer to Valparaiso University. This tool is available to both current Valparaiso University students and prospective students. Current Valparaiso University students may access the Transfer Database online through the Transfer Evaluation System (TES).

Instructions

1. Go to the Transfer Database.
2. Choose the state of the college you are currently attending or have attended in the past.
3. Choose the college or university you are currently attending or have attended in the past.
4. Choose the subject area you are looking for, or “ALL SUBJECTS.”

On the left side, you will see the course as it is titled at your current institution. To the right is the name of the Valpo course or the listing UND, which means it is undistributed credit which your advisor will decide how to place into your degree audit.

Our goal is to list all possible transfer credits from other regionally accredited higher education institutions. The database is being updated daily, so if you don’t see your specific college or course listed, don’t worry — it may still be eligible for transfer credit. It just means that no one else has either transferred from that institution or transferred that specific course to Valparaiso University. Current Valparaiso University students should complete a Transfer Credit Request eForm. Prospective students will need to submit their official college transcripts to the Office of Admission for review.

Learn more about information regarding transferring to Valparaiso University.

The Transfer Credit Request form is intended for current Valparaiso University students to do one of the following:

• Have previous transfer credit reevaluated
• Have future transfer credit evaluated

It is recommended that the form be completed prior to the student’s enrollment in the external institution. The form is also required any time a current Valparaiso University student wishes to transfer a course to Valparaiso University.

Please refer to the Transfer Database complete the Transfer Credit Request form.

Students needing to provide verification of Valparaiso University approved transfer courses to a third party can visit the Transfer Database or contact the Office of the Registrar.

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Transfer credit for VUE is awarded based on the following table with respect to previous coursework taken in the specific fields listed below.

Students who have earned a Bachelor’s Degree are exempt from the VUE requirement.

Specific Course Types Evaluated

This table indicates how various “UND” credits could be applied to specific major requirements. An “UND” (Undistributed) course signifies that Valparaiso University does not have an exact transfer equivalent, and the course will be posted to your academic record as an elective credit.

General Education:

This table indicates how specific “subject-UND…” courses would fulfill Valparaiso University general-education requirements. For example, your Transfer Credit Report may list a course as TR-UNDHF or ENGL-UNDHL. The following table explains the interpretation of the course.

For the full transfer key, click here.