Transfer Students

Undergraduate Transfer Students

Penn State welcomes applications from students who have completed at least 18 semester-hour credits (with at least a 2.0 GPA) at other regionally accredited institutions. As part of your application process, you will need to submit the following to the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Office:

• official copies of your academic transcripts
• official copies of your GED or high school transcripts

Students who have been out of high school for more than five years (four years for military veterans) do not have to submit official SAT or ACT scores.

Residency Requirement

Penn State requires all students to complete a minimum number of Penn State credits to earn a Penn State degree:

• Associate Degree Students: At least 18 of the last 30 credits you take to earn your degree must be from Penn State.
• Bachelor's Degree Students: At least 36 of the last 60 credits you take to earn your degree must be from Penn State.

You may take courses at a local, regionally accredited community college or university to supplement the Penn State courses you're taking to complete your degree; however, you must earn the minimum number of Penn State credits specified above to fulfill the residency requirement and earn your Penn State degree. You can take these courses during the day, on campus with Continuing Education, or online with the World Campus.

There is generally no limit to the number of undergraduate credits you may transfer to Penn State.

Graduate Transfer Students

Each Penn State academic unit has its own requirements for accepting transfer credits; however, general information about applying as a graduate transfer student can be found on the Penn State Graduate School Web site. A few general rules follow:

• The courses you want to transfer must appear on a graduate-level transcript from a regionally accredited institution.
• Courses designated as undergraduate level on your transcript cannot be transferred to a Penn State graduate degree program.
• Courses used to complete a graduate degree at Penn State, or any other university, may not be used as transfer credits in your new Penn State degree program.
• You will need to submit official copies of your academic transcripts to the academic department hosting the degree program to which you are applying for admission.
• No more than 15 nondegree graduate credits can be applied toward a degree program.

If you have more detailed questions regarding the transfer of graduate-level credits, please contact the graduate program coordinator for your degree program of interest. Contact us for more information.