Transition with Purpose: Pathways from English Language to Academic Study

33 TRANSFER STUDENTS If you are a transfer student with credits transferred from a different institution (either from within the U.S. or overseas), there are additional steps that you must take to ensure that you will be able to register for the correct classes. Each transfer student’s situation is different and you will need to work with the Office of International Admissions to have your credits from previous courses evaluated. It is possible that not all credits will be accepted by PSU, so it is important to determine how many credits PSU will accept as well as their PSU course equivalencies. In some cases, it may be necessary for academic departments to be part of the transfer evaluation. TRANSFER CREDIT EVALUATION Students who have earned credit at another college or university should initiate a Transfer Credit Evaluation with the Office of International Admissions as soon as possible. Transfer Credit Evaluations can be conducted ONLY with official transcripts. PSU may accept credits completed at another college or university toward your degree requirements and it is extremely beneficial to know the classes that PSU has accepted BEFORE you begin selecting PSU academic classes. In most cases, you do not want to repeat a course that you have already taken elsewhere. If PSU does not have a direct equivalent to a course that you have taken at another college or university, you may request a Transfer Credit Evaluation through your major department. In this case, advisors and/or professors in your major will review detailed information about the course(s) taken. If the content of the course(s) is similar to a course at PSU, and if you acquired the same knowledge, PSU may accept the other course in place of a PSU course. It may be necessary to obtain syllabi or course descriptions from the university where the course was previously taken. This can often take weeks or months of additional time. In some cases, and when possible, it may be helpful to go to the college or university in person to obtain the necessary documentation.