Transfer Students

Transfer Admissions

Applicants who wish to be considered for transfer admission must have maintained at least a 2.50 grade point average in 15 or more transferable credits at an accredited two- or four-year institution of higher education for consideration, although this is no guarantee of admission. Temple requires the same high school units of transfer students as of freshmen.

Applicants must submit official transcripts from high schools and each college previously attended. The University defines "official transcript" as that which is sent directly from a high school or college to Temple's Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Ordinarily, SAT or ACT scores are not required unless specifically requested by the Admissions Office.

An evaluation showing accepted transfer credits and a list of Temple course equivalencies are sent to students who are admitted. Evaluations are based on the majors students indicate on their applications. The Temple school/college in which they enroll will make the final determination of which transfer credits are applicable to the degree.

Transfer Credit

Temple University accepts all college-level liberal arts courses beyond the developmental level. These courses must have been completed with a grade of C- or better.  Transfer students receive credit from all colleges and universities accredited by the appropriate commission of one of the regional accrediting Associations (Middle States, Northwest, North Central, Southern, Western, and the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges). Temple does not award credit for courses from institutions accredited by the Commission on Technical and Career Institutions of the New England Association or from any university, college, school, institute, or program accredited only by a national, professional, or specialized accrediting body.  Whenever possible, credit is allowed for courses completed more than 10 years before the date of admission.

Evaluation of transfer credits is based on a student's major, and the student's Temple school/college makes the final determination of which transfer credits are applicable to the student's degree program. Transfer evaluations may change for students who change majors.

To earn a degree from Temple, students must complete at least 30 hours of the last 45 semester hours as a matriculated student at Temple, fulfill all university requirements, and fulfill all of the degree requirements of the Temple college or school in which they are enrolled, as approved by the dean of that school. See Academic Residency in the Academic Policies and Regulations section of the Bulletin.

To graduate from Temple with Honors, students must complete at least their last 60 hours toward their degrees in residence as matriculated students at Temple University. See Honors in the Academic Policies and Regulations section of the Bulletin.

Advanced Placement and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits, and courses taken as a non-matriculated student at Temple, are posted on a student's record as transfer credit, but do not always count as transfer credits for determining a student's eligibility for the 45+ Transfer University Core. See 45+ Transfer University Core in the Academic Programs section of the Bulletin.

The number of credits that can be transferred into Temple varies with the date of a student's admission to Temple:

· Students matriculating at Temple before fall 1998: The number of credits that students can transfer from a four-year institution depends on their declared Temple major. The maximum number of semester hours that will be accepted in transfer from a two-year institution or a combination of all two-year institutions attended is 64, whether earned prior to or following credits earned at a four-year institution.
· Students matriculating at Temple in fall 1998 and after: The number of credits that students can transfer from another institution (two- and four-year) depends on their declared Temple major. This policy may not be applied retroactively to students who matriculated at Temple before that semester.

Credit for Academic and Prior Learning Experience

Some schools and colleges at Temple grant limited credit to qualified students for relevant experience in academic, employment and life situations. See Academic Policies and Regulations for further information.

The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Incoming students can also gain credits through the College Level Examination Program tests. See Academic Policies and Regulations section of the Bulletin for the list of accepted CLEP tests and the Temple course equivalencies.

Dual Admissions

To better encourage and facilitate transfer admission from other colleges to Temple University, Temple and these colleges have established articulation agreements with one another.

Dual Admissions agreements conditionally admit students to Temple at the same time they are admitted to a community college, and provide merit scholarships to Temple for those students. Students at five area community colleges (Bucks County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Community College of Philadelphia, and Harrisburg Area Community College) may enroll in the Dual Admissions program before attaining 30 credits at the community colleges. Students are then conditionally admitted to Temple upon attaining their associate's degrees at the community college.

Program Articulation Agreements

These agreements between Temple schools and/or academic departments and other two-year institutions provide accurate curricular information for prospective transfer students and their academic advisers by lining up associate degree requirements and baccalaureate requirement. They indicate which courses students should take during their associate program in order to be prepared for the Temple baccalaureate program into which they wish to transfer. See Articulation Agreements at http://www.temple.edu/undergrad/applying/transfer/tran_artic.html for lists of agreements currently in effect.

Transfer Students and the University Core Curriculum

Every Temple undergraduate fulfills the requirements of the University Core Curriculum in some way.

Students entering Temple as freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 45 transfer credits complete the full University Core Curriculum (see University Core Curriculum under the Academic Programs section of the Bulletin).

Transfer students with 45 or more transferable credits satisfy the 45+ Transfer University Core version of the University Core. (See 45+ Transfer University Core under University Core Curriculum under the Academic Programs section of the Bulletin.)

Students with an associate degree approved for Core-to-Core Transfer meet most University Core requirements with the general education courses taken for the associate degree. Associate degrees are approved for Core-to-Core Transfer by two university-wide faculty committees. See Core-to-Core Transfer for information on the policy and a list of approved community college associate degrees.