Undergraduate Transfer Credit
Undergraduate Transfer Credit
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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 regarding 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 religious studies at Valparaiso University. One course in religious studies 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 Registrar of that institution to send an official transcript to the Valparaiso University 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).
Credit is transferred only for courses in which a grade of C- or better has been earned (unless a grade of C is required at Valparaiso University).
At least one-half the number of credit hours required for all majors or interdisciplinary programs (at least 15 credit hours in the area of world languages) must be earned in residence at Valparaiso University.
At least one course required for all minors 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 2.67 semester credits.
Students are welcome to appeal a transfer course by contacting 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 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 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
- Go to the Transfer Database.
- Choose the state of the college you are currently attending or have attended in the past.
- Choose the college or university you are currently attending or have attended in the past.
- 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 that 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 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 to 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 Registrar.
Revised: 04/01/2020
Transfer credit for VUE is awarded based on the following table with respect to previous coursework taken in the specific fields listed below.
| Number of Credit Hours Transferred | 0-15 | 16-30 | 31-59 | 60 or more |
| No previous coursework in ENGL, HIST, PHIL, or REL | Take VUE 101 and VUE 102 | Take VUE 101 and VUE 102 | Take VUE 102 and a Writing Intensive Course (WIC) | VUE and WIC waived |
| Previous coursework in ENGL 100 (Composition) | Take VUE 101 | Take VUE 101 | VUE waived; Take a WIC | VUE and WIC waived |
| Previous coursework in ENGL 200 (Literature), HIST, REL, or PHIL (exclude PHIL 145/245) | Take VUE 101 and VUE 102 | Take VUE 102 | VUE waived; Take a WIC in ENGL (200, 201, 205, 210, or 280) | VUE and WIC waived |
Students who have earned a Bachelor’s Degree are exempt from the VUE requirement.
Specific Course Types Evaluated
| English Composition |
| English Literature |
| History |
| Philosophy (excluding PHIL 145/245) |
| Theology / Religious Studies |
Restrictions on credit accepted:
The MAXIMUM number of transfer credits that may be applied toward a degree is 94 credits (College of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, or Nursing) or 102 credits (College of Engineering).
Students may apply at most 30 credits from the professional colleges toward a degree in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Students may apply at most 4 credits of Physical Activity towards a Valparaiso University degree.
Thirty out of the last forty credits presented for a degree MUST be earned in residence. A minimum of one-half the number of credit hours required for any major, minor, or interdisciplinary program MUST be earned at Valparaiso University.
Courses with grades of “C-“ or above are accepted for transfer credit unless a minimum grade of “C” is required for a specific curriculum. Grades and grade points are not transferable.
Credits earned more than fifteen years ago are accepted provisionally, subject to validation by first thirty credit hours completed in residence with a 2.00 (C) average.
The Office of the Dean of the student’s college will issue a Statement of Equivalence of transfer credit applicability toward degree requirements. Curriculum requirements must be met regardless of transfer credit granted.
International students who transfer English Foreign Language courses are not eligible to earn English credit for those courses, nor use them toward satisfying the CORE General Education requirement.
Quarter credits are accepted as follows: One quarter credit equals 2/3 semester credit (3 quarter credits equal 2 semester credits; 4 quarter credits equal 2.7 semester credits; 5 quarter credits equal 3.3 semester credits).
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.
| Valpo Course | Valpo Course Title |
| TR UND | Transfer Undistributed |
| BUS UNDUP | Business Undistributed Upper Division Elective |
| MUS UNDAP | Music Undistributed Lesson |
| MUS UNDEN | Music Undistributed Ensemble |
| THEO UNDUP | Upper Level Theology / Second Religious Studies Course |
| KIN UNDACT | Kinesiology / Exercise Science Undistributed Physical Activity |
| XXX-UND2 | 200-Level Undistributed Course |
| XXX-UND3 | 300-Level Undistributed Course |
| NOCRED NC | Used for remedial course; athletic team credit; course in which credit does not transfer |
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.
| Valpo Course | Fulfills General Education Requirement |
| UNDHF | Undistributed Humanities: Fine Arts |
| UNDHP | Undistributed Humanities: Philosophy |
| UNDHH | Undistributed Humanities: History |
| UNDHL | Undistributed Humanities: Literature |
| UNDNS | Undistributed Natural Science |
| UNDSS | Undistributed Social Science |
| UNDQA | Undistributed Quantitative Analysis |
| UNDCD | Undistributed Cultural Diversity |