Transfer Credit Policy

The following policy represents a campus-wide baseline standard for transferring credit at University of Michigan  Dearborn graduate programs. Individual colleges or programs may adopt more restrictive requirements. Rackham  programs at the University of Michigan Dearborn campus are required to follow the academic policies of the  Rackham Graduate School. 

With program adviser approval, select graduate coursework credits earned at another accredited institution may be  transferred toward a University of Michigan-Dearborn graduate degree. It is the responsibility of the student  requesting transfer of credit to submit to the graduate program adviser an official transcript with the course final  grade, a copy of the catalog with the course description from the former institution, and a course syllabus. 

Students eligible to transfer credit must: 

• Be enrolled in good standing in their graduate degree program.
• Have satisfied all conditions for full or conditional admission. 

Criteria for transferring credit for master’s programs: 

• Coursework must have been completed within five years of the term of admission into the graduate program where credit is being transferred.
• Students may transfer credits for graduate-level courses taken while pursuing an undergraduate degree only if these were not used to fulfill requirements for a degree from another institution and only if there is confirmation that these courses required graduate-level work.
• For master’s level programs, graduate credit may be transferred from other accredited degree-granting universities with graduate degree programs for up to a maximum of 9 credit hours, or their equivalent. For universities on the quarter system, 13 credit hours is the equivalent of 9 semester credit hours. Graduate credit may be transferred from other University of Michigan campuses (Flint or Ann Arbor) for up to half the credits required for the degree.

For doctoral and other post-master’s programs, students should refer to program-specific information and  requirements. Credits may not be transferred: 

• If they are used or will be used, in whole or in part, to fulfill requirements for a bachelor’s or other degree • for courses taken at an exclusively undergraduate institution or community college; 
• for courses taken more than five years before admission to the student’s current program; or • for courses for which a letter grade of less than “B” has been awarded. Note: Courses graded pass/fail or  satisfactory/unsatisfactory are not eligible to be transferred. 

Under no circumstance will credit used in one master’s degree program be transferred to satisfy the  requirements of another master’s degree. If the program advisor determines that coursework completed in a  previous master’s degree is equivalent to University of Michigan-Dearborn courses, they may be eligible for a  course waiver provided they satisfy degree requirements in the second master’s program. 

Approved graduate transfer credit will appear on the student’s official transcript. Grades earned in coursework  transferred from University of Michigan campuses (Flint and Ann Arbor included), or from another university  through the Michigan intercollegiate Graduate Study (MIGS) program, will be calculated into the students  graduate program GPA. Grades in coursework transferred from other universities will not be calculated into  the student’s graduate program GPA.