Transfer Credit Guidelines

Review the transfer credit guidelines for your degree program and let your admissions counselor know if you have any questions about your incoming credits.

Some programs at Excelsior place grade requirements and time limits on certain transfer credits to ensure you meet academic standards for your field of study.

  • Undergraduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of C-
  • Graduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of B-
  • Undergraduate business component:
    • No time limit on transfer credits for the AAS in Administrative/Management Studies or the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Business and Management.
    • For other undergraduate business programs, transfer credits must have been earned within 15 years prior to your enrollment.
  • Undergraduate courses that meet the waiver for graduate foundation requirements must have been completed within 10 years prior to your enrollment.
  • MBA: Graduate-level credits must have been earned within 5 years prior to your enrollment.
  • MS in Human Resource Management: Graduate-level credits must have been earned within 5 years prior to your enrollment.
  • MS in Management: Graduate-level credits must have been earned within 5 years prior to your enrollment.
  • MS in in Organization Leadership : Graduate-level credits must have been earned within 5 years prior to your enrollment.

  • Graduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of B
  • MS in Health Sciences specialization requirements: Credits must have been earned within 5 years prior to your enrollment.

  • Undergraduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of C-
  • Graduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of B-
  • BS in Natural Sciences: Science credits must have been earned within 10 years prior to your enrollment.

  • Undergraduate transfer credits for general education require a minimum grade of C-
  • Graduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of B-
  • General education component: Anatomy/physiology and microbiology credits must have been earned within 5 years prior to your enrollment.
  • Nursing component: Nursing theory credits must have been earned no more than 5 years prior to your academic policy date, must carry a grade of B or better, earned from a regionally accredited degree-granting institution of higher education, and must cover content equivalent to that of the theory requirement for which the waiver is sought.

  • Undergraduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of C-
  • Graduate transfer credits must be similar in content and level to Excelsior’s Public Service graduate program courses and a minimum grade of B-
  • Maximum number of graduate transfer credits allowed by program:
    • MS in Criminal Justice: 15 credits
    • Master of Public Administration: 15 credits
  • MS in Criminal Justice and Master of Public Administration: Graduate-level credits must have been earned within 5 years prior to the date of your enrollment.

  • Undergraduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of C-
  • Graduate transfer credits require a minimum grade of B-
  • Course information:
    • Cybersecurity Programs: Courses transferring into the cybersecurity component of the Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity or the Master of Science in Cybersecurity programs will be considered if completed within 5 years of submitting your enrollment agreement. Courses completed over 5 years prior to submitting your enrollment agreement may be appealed by submitting a time-limit appeal form with your application.
    • Electrical Engineering Technology: Courses in the following areas will be considered in transfer to the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology if they were completed within 10 years of submitting your enrollment agreement: Computers, electrical (except DC and AC circuits) and electronics. Courses completed over 10 years prior to submitting your enrollment agreement may be appealed by submitting a time-limit appeal form with your application.
    • General Technology Programs: Courses related to computers, electrical (except DC and AC circuits), and electronics transferring into the Associate in Science in Technology will be considered if completed within 10 years of submitting your enrollment agreement. Courses completed over 10 years prior to submitting your enrollment agreement may be appealed by submitting a time-limit appeal form with your application.
    • IT Programs: Courses transferring into the information technology component of the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program will be considered if completed within 5 years of submitting your enrollment agreement. Courses completed over 5 years prior to submitting your enrollment agreement may be appealed by submitting a time-limit appeal form with your application.
    • Nuclear Engineering Technology Programs: Courses in the following areas will be considered in transfer to the Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering Technology if they were completed within 10 years of submitting your enrollment agreement: Calculus I and II; natural sciences; computers, nuclear engineering technology core courses as well as electrical (except DC and AC circuits) and electronics courses. Courses completed over 10 years prior to the date of submitting your enrollment agreement may be appealed by submitting a time-limit appeal form with your application.

Transfer Credits FAQ

Yes. Academic work completed at institutions outside the United States must be degree-level study at a university that’s been officially recognized as degree or diploma-granting by the national regulating agency for higher education for its location. Your international transcript must be evaluated by an agency approved by Excelsior University that specializes in evaluation of such transcripts. Visit our International Students page for details.

There is no fee for the credit evaluation of transcripts, certifications, and training submitted with an admissions application. Upon admission into the university, some admitted and enrolled students choose to earn credit from sources other than Excelsior and would like the credit evaluated for applicability toward their degree programs. As the first step in this process, students request that credit-bearing documents be sent to the Registrar’s Office from the credit provider (for example, other colleges and universities, licensure organizations, etc.). These credit-bearing documents will be held for evaluation until the student formally requests Excelsior’s evaluation of the new credit-bearing documents. At the time this Post-Admission Credit Evaluation Service is requested, the student will pay a $300 evaluation processing fee. The Registrar’s Office will evaluate the documents and communicate with the student regarding the applicability of those credits toward the student’s degree programs.

Some programs place time limits on certain credits to ensure they meet academic standards. However, if you earned credits many years ago, you may benefit by enrolling in Excelsior’s BS in Liberal Arts program, which does not place any time limits on transfer credits. In this program, you may transfer in as many as 113 credits, and then simply complete a cornerstone, capstone, and information literacy course to graduate.

Courses completed over 10 years prior to submitting your enrollment agreement may be appealed by submitting a time-limit appeal form with your application.

Excelsior University will review credits from degree-granting institutions, military and job training records, and professional certifications and licenses to determine which credits will transfer and how many credits can be awarded.

See Student Policies for details.

Talk to an admissions counselor about your goals and transfer credits

Anna Truss, BS in IT – 2014
Started with 89 Credits
“Excelsior University transferred most of my prior credits. In the end I ended up with about three years worth of credits that were transferred and I mean that was amazing, it saved time and it saved money for me.”