Minimum Transfer Standards

Student course work of comparable content and scope to that of CU Anschutz curriculum may be considered for transfer credit if it was completed at a college or university with regional accreditation, please refer to the school/college specific policy. If coursework was completed at an institution not regionally accredited, the student may specifically request that credit be considered in transfer by initiating a review process that begins with the student’s academic advisor and is approved by the dean responsible for the student's curriculum.

Undergraduate Students

Generally, courses in which a grade of C or better (2.00) was earned are considered for transfer however; please check with your program for specific requirements. Courses in which a grade of Pass (P) was earned are considered for transfer only if a grade of Pass at the sending institution meets the defined letter grade requirement set by your program. Courses identified on transcripts as State of Colorado guaranteed transfer courses (gtPathways) are always accepted in transfer (with C- or better grades) and applied to degree requirements per gtPathways guidelines.

Undergraduate transfer credit older than 10 years will not be initially transferred. Credit older than 10 years will be reviewed for applicability to degree requirements by the academic department. To review the policy in full, please click here and search policy number 7006.

Graduate Students

Please review the specific requirements for minimum transfer standards in your program. For information on Prior Learning Assessment credit, please review our campus policy here.

Credit Hour Conversion

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is on a 16-week fall and spring semester system. Summer terms, study abroad programs, and independent learning vary in length but are reported in semester hours. Students who transfer from a quarter-based institution will receive the following conversion:

1 quarter hour = 0.67 semester hours
Example: 4 quarter hours = 2.7 semester hours

School/College Specific Policy

For more information on your program's transfer credit policy, please refer to the links below. For personalized assistance with your transfer credits, we recommend reaching out to your program advisor directly.

College of Nursing

For information regarding the College of Nursing transfer credit policy please see here.

Colorado School of Public Health

For transfer credit requirements and to submit a transfer credit request, please see the Transfer Credit Approval Form.

Graduate School

For information regarding the Graduate School's transfer credit policy please refer to the Graduate School Handbook.

School of Dental Medicine

The School of Dental Medicine does not accept transfer credit. Please reach out to your program advisor for more information.

School of Medicine

The University of Colorado School of Medicine accepts transfer students from another LCME accredited medical school in rare circumstances. For more information please refer to the School of Medicine transfer credit policy here.

Anesthesiologist Assistant Program

We do not accept credits from previous courses or credit for experiential learning. All students are required to complete 100% of the MSA curriculum offered by the University of Colorado.

Doctor of Physical Therapy

The CU PT Program is unable to accept transfer credits from other DPT programs due to lack of consistency across plans of study.

Physician Assistant Program

Skaggs School of Pharmacy

The Skaggs School of Pharmacy does not accept transfer credit. Please refer to the admission page for more information.

Courses Not Accepted for Transfer

Developmental, remedial, religious doctrinal, religious training, single religion, outdoor leadership, and student orientation courses are not accepted in transfer. Prior learning credit through vocational/technical courses, internship, cooperative education, life experience, and work experience are not accepted in initial transfer, but exceptions may be granted by the dean responsible for the student’s curriculum. Independent study, special topics, seminars, and experiential learning programs that lack catalog descriptions are not accepted in initial transfer but may be reviewed for transfer consideration by the corresponding academic department. Students wishing to appeal transfer credit decisions should contact their school or college advising office and be prepared to provide a syllabus for the course they are appealing. Except for developmental/remedial courses, academic departments make final decisions on transfer credit appeals.

Program pathways and/or courses identified in transfer agreements between the Anschutz Medical Campus and any internal/external partnerships in an academic or programmatic memorandum of understanding will be honored in both the content and program eligibility by which both parties agreed, upon a student’s initial transfer. Students who transfer into other CU Anschutz programs are subject to the additional transfer policies of their receiving school or college, which may result in changes to applicability of credit.

Appeals Process

Transfer credit that was not initially accepted may be appealed through the advising office. Typically, the student will be required to provide a syllabus for the transfer course from the term the course was taken. If it is an international course, the syllabus will need to be in English and the original language. Once the student’s petition is approved, the advisor will request that the course be accepted by the Office of the Registrar.

If a dispute cannot be resolved between the student and CU Anschutz, a student is at liberty to file a formal complaint with the Colorado Department of Higher Education.