Update for Spring 2021 semester
Transfer courses taken by students through Duke sanctioned study abroad may be online courses, provided that they were offered in-person prior to the pandemic. All other policies related to approving transfer courses and prohibitions against concurrent enrollment will remain in effect.
Transfer courses taken by students between spring and fall semesters may be online courses, provided that they were offered in-person prior to the pandemic. All other policies related to approving transfer courses and prohibitions against concurrent enrollment will remain in effect.
See below for standard policies.
After matriculation, Duke undergraduates may receive a limited amount of transfer credit for courses taken at other approved degree-granting institutions. Credit may be earned in two ways:
(1) On a Duke-approved study abroad program sponsored by another university.
(2) Through institutional enrollment, where you are not engaged in a Duke-approved study abroad program and instead enroll on your own at another four-year college or university in or outside of the United States.
You may receive up to 10 transfer credits (8.0 course credits for a full year abroad and 2.0 credits for a summer session) while on a Duke-approved study abroad program. You may receive 2.0 institutional transfer credits taken on your own, not as part of a Duke-approved study abroad program. However, in no instance may you transfer more than 10.0 total course credits when combining study abroad and institutional transfer credits.
You will need to work closely with and follow the procedures employed by the Global Education Office to secure transfer credit for study abroad courses. For further information, see Study Abroad Credit. Courses completed on non-Duke-approved study abroad programs are not eligible for study abroad transfer credit.
For this type of transfer credit, you choose the university and course(s) which you intend to study and then have the courses pre-approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the department in which a course would transfer and by your Academic Dean. There is a form below for obtaining approvals. After completing your course(s), you should have a transcript sent to the Duke Registrar's office. There are credit limitations you should be aware of for institutional transfer credit:
Please be aware of the following policies associated with Fall 2020 transfer credit:
We will accept transfer credit from other institutions for on-line courses according to normal approval procedures IF the course is a regular course at the institution normally taught face to face, but is being taught online this Fall only because of the current Covid-19
all other rules and policies apply (please see below)
Important update regarding summer school at the London School of Economics: Effective summer 2018, Deans in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences will no longer approve summer school courses at the London School of Economics for "Institutional Transfer Credit" for transfer back to Duke, as these courses do not meet our requirements for transfer. This change applies to courses taken in summer 2018 and thereafter. Courses taken up to or in the summer of 2017 will continue to be approved. If you still wish to study at the London School of Economics in summer 2018 or thereafter, please check the program's status at the Duke Global Education Office (https://globaled.duke.edu/programs). If you have any questions regarding this change, please contact Dean Alyssa Perz (akperz@duke.edu).
STEP 1: Please use the Transfer Credit Form
The form will ask you to indicate which university or college you will attend, the beginning and ending dates of the class, and if the university is on a semester or quarter/trimester system.
STEP 2: Request GEO approval if you will be attending a university outside of the United States. GEO must confirm the accreditation of the international institutional you wish to attend. If you are taking a course in the United States, you should skip this step.
STEP 3: Request departmental approval and identification of an equivalent course.
The form will ask for the department you are seeking approval from and will prompt you for a course description and/or a syllabus. If the DUS approves the content of the course and determines its equivalency to a specified Duke University course, the DUS will approve the form, identify the Duke equivalent course (and Area of Knowledge, if appropriate), and then forward the form on to your academic dean.
STEP 4: Academic Dean's approval.
The form will be forwarded on to your Academic Dean along with the provided information, showing the beginning and ending dates of when the class is taught. If the class is a 3- or 4-hour semester course or a 5- or 6-quarter hour course taught over a period of at least 4 weeks, your dean will approve the course as a 1.0 credit course and will give final approval. He/she will send the form to the Duke Registrar's Office and a copy will be placed in your student record. If your dean does not approve, he/she will notify you.
STEP 5: Complete the course and have a transcript sent.
Once you know the course has been fully approved, complete the course. Then ask the institution to send an official copy of your transcript directly to the Duke Registrar's Office. The Registrar's Office will then add the course to your Duke record. You must earn a C- or better to receive Duke credit. Your grade will not be recorded and will not be included in your Duke GPA; instead the notation "TR" will be recorded on your Duke transcript in place of a grade.
STEP 6: (optional) Request a Foreign Language (FL) Mode of Inquiry code
Transfer courses may be given an FL (Foreign Language) Mode of Inquiry code under two circumstances. You can apply for an FL code if you (1) have taken a foreign language course abroad in a country in which the language is spoken (i.e., an immersion setting), or (2) if the foreign language is less commonly taught and is not offered at Duke, and you have a compelling reason to study the language and have received permission from your Academic Dean to use this language to satisfy the foreign language requirement. (For the summer 2020 session, students may request FL Mode for language courses offered at other institutions as long as the course has been approved by the DUS in the department.) The form below is only necessary if the language is less commonly taught and is not offered at Duke) Note that in this case, since only 2.0 credits are allowed to transfer, one of the transfer courses must be approved at the advanced (300) level in order to fulfill the FL requirement. The FL-requirement may not be met by taking two courses at the 100- or 200- level.
If you wish to apply for a FL Mode of Inquiry code, you can do so only after the course has been approved for transfer credit and by the last day of drop/add in the semester in which you return to Duke following your study away. To apply, print a copy of the Transfer Course FL Coding Request Form. Submit the completed form together with the required support materials to the Transfer Course Coding Committee, 011 Allen Building, by the deadline noted on the form. Completion of the form and provision of documentation does not guarantee that the request will be approved. If you have questions about whether an FL code could be appropriate for a course, consult with the DUS of the relevant department at Duke.
These restrictions do not apply to courses taken at inter-institutional partner schools, for which students may continue to apply for Modes of Inquiry.
FORM: Transfer Course FL Coding Request Form
See also: