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Majors and Core Curriculum

Transfer Credits

New Transfer Students

Once you accept your offer of admission, the SAS Transfer Center will begin evaluating the courses you’ve taken at your previous institution(s). This review typically takes place within a few weeks.

New First-Year Students

If you completed college-level coursework while in high school or over the summer before starting at Rutgers, the SAS First-Year team will evaluate those courses by the middle of your first semester.

Planning to Take a Course Outside Rutgers–New Brunswick?

Courses taken outside of Rutgers–New Brunswick are considered transfer courses, even if completed after you enroll. To take a course at another school and have it count toward your degree:

  1. Submit your request through the Transfer Credit Preapproval Portal
    • Approval is required from the SAS Advising Transfer Center.
  2. Send an Official Transcript after completing the course:
    • Preferred method: Email electronic transcripts to:
    • If electronic delivery is unavailable, mail transcripts to:
      • SAS Transfer Center
        Lucy Stone Hall, Room A-204
        Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
        54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue
        Piscataway, NJ 08854
    • Transcripts must be official.
      • If hand-delivered, they must remain sealed in the original envelope with the registrar’s seal or stamp across the flap. 

FAQ - Transfer Credits

  • Can I take a summer or winter session class in China?

    Information

    The School of Arts and Sciences requires that transcripts from Chinese institutions be submitted with a verification report from the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center (CHESICC) https://www.chsi.com.cn/en/ to be considered official. Any transcript that does not include a verification letter from CHESICC will not be evaluated.

    CHESICC does not verify summer or winter sessions for English-language based programs in China or Taiwan. The summer programs are often offered by third-party collaboration with a traditional university in China, Taiwan, or Korea serving as the host campus. The School of Arts and Sciences does not accept transfer credits from any of these programs, including those in cooperation with United States schools (ex: Seminole State University in Florida and Fontbonne University in Missouri).

  • Can I use a transfer course as a prerequisite before it appears on my Rutgers transcript?

    Information
    I'm very sorry, but transfer courses must be officially added to your transcript before you can use them as a prerequisite for future registration. This is to ensure transcript accuracy and prevent students from being incorrectly removed from courses.
    If you had the course preapproved, and you haven't already, please send your official transcript to Rutgers per the instructions from the Transfer Course PreApproval portal.
    If you did not have the course pre-approved, please complete the form on the portal and send your transcript immediately:
    https://secure.sas.rutgers.edu/apps/transfer_credit/sas
    You will receive an email at your official Rutgers email address once your transcript is evaluated and you can take action on your registration!

  • Can I use a transfer course from a school other than Rutgers or AP courses to meet the Core Curriculum learning goals?

    Information

    Transfer and AP courses CANNOT be used to meet the Contemporary Challenges (CCO/CCD) or Writing and Communication with Revision (WCr) learning goals. These learning goals must be satisfied by taking Rutgers University-New Brunswick courses.

    Transfer courses that have been evaluated by the cognate department at Rutgers and determined to be the exact equivalent of Rutgers University-New Brunswick courses certified to meet the NS, HST, SCL, AH, WCd, QQ, or QR goals may be used to meet Core Curriculum learning goals.

  • Does my county or community college automatically send Rutgers my transcript after I complete the course?

    Information

    No, you need to request to have it sent to the following address: SAS Transfer Center Lucy Stone Hall, Room A-204 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue Piscataway, NJ 08854 The transcript sent or hand-delivered must be an official transcript. If hand-delivered, it must be in an unopened envelope from the sending institution with the registrar's seal or stamp across the flap.

  • How will I know which of my credits will transfer?

    Information

    Students transferring from a NJ Community College can use NJ Transfer to assess course transferability. We require a grade of "C" or better for a course to transfer.

    Students transferring from a four-year college or university can make the general assumption that classes completed with a grade of "C" or better in an academic department offered at Rutgers University will be accepted for transfer credit. These courses may or may not be utilized to fulfill major requirements but will generally receive a minimum of elective academic credit. Please note that this is a general guideline only and should not be considered a guarantee of any sort.

    You will receive your personalized transfer evaluation via email 4-6 weeks after you have committed to Rutgers by paying your enrollment fee.

  • I think my major (or minor) department might allow TR:T01:EC credits to count. What should I do?

    Information

    NJ Community College courses have been pre-evaluated on njtransfer.org. If the course you’d like to have evaluated was taken outside of a NJ Community College, you can bring your syllabus from the specific course and a Transfer Course Departmental Evaluation Form to the department advisor and ask for a review. If the advisor determines the course is equivalent to an RU course, they will fill out the form and you should return it to any SAS Advising Center.

  • I think my TR:T01:EC course should count for a Core requirement. What should I do?

    Information

    The Core requirements are very specific. If you believe your course is directly equivalent to a course that is on the Core, you should bring your syllabus from the specific course and a Transfer Course Departmental Evaluation Form to the related department advisor and ask for a review. If the advisor determines the course is equivalent to a Rutgers course, they will fill out the form and you should return it to any SAS Advising Center.

  • I want to take a class but I don't have the Rutgers prerequisite. My county or community college doesn't have the same prerequisite. Can I take it there instead?

    Information

    NO! You must meet the eligibility requirements to take a class at Rutgers-New Brunswick in order to be granted preapproval to take it anyplace else.

  • I want to take a course as an online class. Will it transfer?

    Information

    Probably! Like all other classes, you'll need to obtain departmental preapproval.

    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), including those taught through Coursera, are not transferable to SAS.

  • I want to take classes at my county college to improve my GPA. How do I do that?

    Information

    Actually, you can't do that. All transfer courses transfer with credits only. Grades do not ever transfer between one academic institution and another.

  • If I am accepted to SAS as a School-to-School Transfer for the fall semester and I want to take summer classes, should I get approval in advance?

    Information

    Yes, please see the Transfer Courses page to seek preapproval. Please indicate that you are a school-to-school applicant on the top of the form.

  • Is there a credit limit SAS will accept from outside Rutgers University?

    Information

    Yes, a maximum of 60 credits from two-year institutions, a maximum of 90 credits from four-year institutions, and no more than 12 of the last 42 credits earned for the degree may be transfer credits.

  • What are Transfer codes? Understanding Transfer Codes:

    Information

    A Rutgers course number is divided into three parts. The first two digits are the administrative (school) code, the next three digits are the subject code, and the final three digits are the course code.

    Administrative or School Codes - 00:XXX:XXX
    The most common administrative (school) codes you will see on your transfer evaluation and when registering for courses include:

    01 - School of Arts and Sciences (SAS)
    04 - School of Communication and Information 
    07 - Mason Gross School of the Arts 
    09 - School of Social Work 
    10 - Edward J Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
    11 - School of Environmental and Biological Sciences 
    33 - Rutgers Business School-New Brunswick
    37 - School of Management and Labor Relations 
    TR - transfer course

    Subject Codes - XX:000:XXX
    A subject code comprises the third through fifth digits in all course numbers and indicates the subject matter of the course. The subject code T01 signifies a transfer course equivalent for a SAS general elective, liberal arts distribution requirement, or course filling a SAS Core learning goal.
    Course Codes - XX:XXX:000
    The course code comprises the sixth, seventh, and eighth digits in all course numbers. Course codes from 100 to 299 indicate introductory and intermediate undergraduate courses. Codes from 300 to 499 indicate advanced undergraduate courses. Some transfer course codes end with two or three letters instead of a three-digit number. Letter codes stand for the following:

    AHP = fulfills Arts and Humanities AHp core goal
    EC = Elective credit
    HST = fulfills Historical Analysis core goal
    NS = fulfills Natural Sciences core goal
    QQR = fulfills Quantitative and Formal Reasoning Core Goal

     

     

    Course Number Format

  • What happens if I don't submit a preapproval form?

    Information

    You're taking a big risk that the class you take will not be transferable in your specific situation. Don't risk it! Submit a preapproval request for each class you would like to take outside of Rutgers-New Brunswick and wait for a response via email from the Transfer Center.

  • What is the minimum grade I need to obtain to transfer my summer class?

    Information

    You need to earn at least a grade of "C".