Transfer Credit Policies

Transfer credit is generally awarded for baccalaureate-oriented courses completed at regionally accredited institutions of higher education. Coursework completed at nationally recognized institutions will be assessed after initial enrollment. The University reserves the right to deny credit for courses that are not compatible with those offered in its baccalaureate degree programs. College courses numbered below 100, professional technical and vocational courses, developmental education or remedial courses, English as a Second Language, sectarian religion courses, credit for life experience/travel, study skills courses, CLEP examination credit, and DANTES credit by examination do not transfer, regardless of an institution’s accreditation.

  • Prospective students may use the Transfer Course Equivalency Guide to understand how courses taken at other colleges and universities will transfer to Western.

  • Students who confirm their intent to enroll at Western will receive a transfer credit evaluation prior to course registration.

Transfer credit limits

A maximum of 135 quarter (90 semester) credits are allowed to transfer from any combination of regionally accredited institutions. Of these, no more than 105 quarter (70 semester) credits may be at the lower division (100 and 200) level. Appropriate coursework which exceeds this limit may be used to meet specific major requirements, but will not apply to the total number of credits accepted in transfer and will not display on students' degree evaluations.

Transferring with a Washington community college DTA associate degree

Transfer students who earn an Associate in Arts, Associate in Arts and Sciences, or Major Related Program (MRP) degree from a Washington state community college that meets the Intercollege Relations Commission guidelines for the Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) are granted junior standing and will have fulfilled Western's General University Requirements (GUR) provided they

1) complete English Composition with a grade of C- or better, or

2) earn an Advanced Placement (AP) score of 4 or higher on either English Language & Composition or English Literature & Composition exams.

Transferring with a Washington community college Associate in Science - Transfer (AS-T) degree

Transfer students who earn the Associate in Science (AS-T) degree from a Washington state community college are also given junior standing. While DTA degrees automatically fulfill Western’s General University Requirements (GUR), AS-T degrees are designed to ensure students have appropriate math and science prerequisites for their intended major. While your AS-T degree includes many GUR, you will have additional GUR to complete to meet graduation requirements at Western.

To satisfy your GUR in full, you may elect to pursue one of the following options:

1) An AS-T student may satisfy their remaining GUR requirements by completing three WWU GUR courses, approved by the Registrar's Office. Students will receive an individual evaluation and approval of remaining GUR courses after a final transcript with AS-T notation is received by the Registrar's Office. These GUR typically include: 

  • Any Comparative, Gender or Multicultural course (ACGM or BCGM)

  • An additional B-Communication (BCOM) or C-Communication (CCOM) course

  • An additional Humanities (HUM) or Social Science (SSC) course

2) All AS-T students have the right to meet their GUR requirements by completing, at Western, the courses needed to meet the general education requirements of the institution which awarded your AS-T. Students who wish to fulfill their general education requirements through this alternate route, must complete the following steps:

  • Request an official degree evaluation from the college that awarded the AS-T. This evaluation must specify the remaining courses needed to earn the Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) degree.

  • Bring this evaluation to the Degree Evaluation team, Office of the Registrar, Old Main 230. A degree evaluator will create a new plan of study which requires only those courses.

Other transfer credit information

  • In calculating the transfer admission GPA, the Office of Admissions uses all transferable academic courses from all regionally accredited colleges the student has attended.

  • Specific letter grades do not transfer and transfer work does not affect the official Western Washington University institutional grade point average.

  • Semester credits are converted to quarter credits; one semester credit equals 1.5 quarter credits.

  • Courses transfer to Western Washington University at the same level (lower or upper division) as taken at the original institution.

  • The number of credits earned for an accepted transfer course will be used even if the number of credits for the equivalent Western course differs.

Additional graduation requirements

Western's baccalaureate degrees require completion of General University Requirements (GUR), a minimum of 180 total quarter credit hours with a minimum of 60 quarter hours earned at the upper division (300 and 400) level. A minimum of 45 credits must be earned through Western Washington University courses. For a complete list of bachelor’s degree graduation requirements, please consult the University Catalog.

Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge International, military credit and credit for prior learning

Western will grant up to a maximum of 45 credits for any combination of credit by examination, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Cambridge International examinations, military credit or credit for prior learning as detailed below.

Advanced Placement (AP)

Western grants credit for College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exams completed with a score of three (3) or higher, subject to the maximum 45 credit policy. Credit is granted upon receipt of official scores (AP Transcript) from the College Board according to this chart.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

Western Washington University will grant up to 15 credits for each approved standard level and higher level International Baccalaureate subject examination passed as specified in this chart. 

Students who have passed exams in subjects not listed will need to consult with the Office of Admissions. Such exams will be considered on an individual basis to determine eligibility for General University Requirement (GUR) or elective credit.

Military credit

Veterans may receive up to 30 credits for military service as recommended by the American Council of Education (ACE) Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services and in accordance with University and State policies regarding transfer credits. Students may request evaluation of military credit by submitting the Joint Service Transcript (JST) to the Registrar's Office. The JST replaces the Coast Guard Institute Transcript, Army ACE Registry Transcript (AARTS), and the Sailor/Marine ACE Registry Transcript (SMART). Air Force personnel may submit the Community College of the Air Force transcript.

Credit for prior learning

Western Washington University will award credit for prior learning on a case-by-case basis. Students seeking prior learning credit must apply to the Registrar’s Office within six weeks of their first term of enrollment after admission. The Registrar’s Office coordinates and documents the petition review with the applicable academic department. Academic departments and affiliated faculty are considered experts and specialists in their respective disciplines and therefore the authority in evaluating prior learning experience, equivalency in credit and relationship to degree. The Registrar’s Office will award prior learning credit as approved by academic departments.