Evaluation of transfer credits, advanced standing, CLEP, AP, Cambridge, and IB are coordinated through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Prospective students who desire further information about policies and procedures for awarding credit should contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions or utilize the “Transfer Credit Advisor” tool online at admissions.uncc.edu.
UNC Charlotte will accept appropriate undergraduate credits earned through AP, IB, CLEP, Cambridge, armed forces service schools, and college level courses completed prior to graduation from high school. In addition, UNC Charlotte will accept or transfer appropriate undergraduate credits earned at another accredited institution or through credit by examination. Credit toward a degree is not awarded for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or for remedial level college courses.
Advanced Placement Course Credit (AP)
The University will accept appropriate undergraduate credits earned through Advanced Placement Program Tests completed prior to graduation from high school. Students must request that official Advanced Placement test results be sent directly to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for evaluation (UNC Charlotte code 5105). Prospective students who desire further information about policies and procedures for awarding credit should view score requirements and other related information at admissions.uncc.edu. No more than 8 credit hours can be awarded for any single Advanced Placement exam.
International Baccalaureate Program (IB)
The University will award credit for subjects in which students score appropriate scores on the IB examinations. View score requirements at admissions.uncc.edu.
Cambridge Exams
The University will award credit for subjects in which students score appropriate scores on Cambridge examinations. View score requirements at admissions.uncc.edu.
College Level Examination Program (CLEP) General Examination
An undergraduate student may receive up to 23 credit hours of elective credit.
Subject Matter Examinations
Credit may be awarded for subject matter examinations listed below at the levels recommended in the current edition of CLEP Scores: Interpretation and Use.
Business
Information Systems and Computer Applications
Principles of Accounting
Introductory Business Law
Principles of Management
Principles of Marketing
Education
Human Growth and Development
Introduction to Educational Psychology
Foreign Language
College French I and II
College German I and II
College Spanish I and II
Humanities
American Literature
Analysis & Interpretation of Literature
College Composition (with Essay)
English Literature
Mathematics
Calculus w/Elementary Functions
College Algebra
College Algebra-Trigonometry
Trigonometry
Sciences
General Biology
General Chemistry
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences
American Government
American History I and II
Introduction to Macroeconomics
Introduction to Microeconomics
Introduction to Psychology
Introduction to Sociology
Western Civilization I and II
CLEP credit will be awarded according to UNC Charlotte policy in place at the time of evaluation. View score requirements at admissions.uncc.edu.
The amount of CLEP credit that is applicable to a specific degree program is determined by the department offering the program.
Transfer Credit from Other Institutions
Official transcripts are evaluated in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the results are provided to the applicant and to the major department/college. Determining the applicability of transferred credits to major or program requirements is the responsibility of the department chairperson or program director. General rules governing transfer credit:
- Only courses taken at a college or university that is accredited by the U.S. Department of Education-recognized institutional accreditors will be considered for transfer credit.
- Provisional transfer credit may be granted for study at foreign institutions or a college or university that is accredited by the U.S. Department of Education-recognized institutional accreditors, but must be validated by 30 credit hours of successful performance in residence at UNC Charlotte.
- Courses for which credit is accepted must be appropriate for approved University programs and curricula in which the student is enrolled.
- No credit below C level will be accepted; grade points and averages do not transfer.
- Transfer credit is awarded only upon receipt in the UNC Charlotte Office of Undergraduate Admissions of an official transcript from the institution where the credit was earned.
Students who hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution will not be required to satisfy the UNC Charlotte General Education Requirements for a second degree. Students will be issued a transfer credit report and will have their credit from their first degree evaluated.
Reverse Transfer
North Carolina’s Reverse Transfer Program is designed to award an associate degree to students who previously attended a North Carolina Community College (NCCC) and fulfilled the associate degree requirements while working towards a bachelor’s degree at a University of North Carolina institution. This program is a state initiative in which a student can combine credit previously earned at a NCCC with credit they have earned at participating four year universities to apply for an Associate’s Degree from the NCCC they attended initially.
If a student is awarded the Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Fine Arts, or Associate in Engineering degree through the Reverse Transfer program, UNC Charlotte will honor the degree to satisfy lower-division General Education requirements. All students, regardless of transfer status, will still have to take a “writing in the discipline” course in their major. Only an advisor can students on UNC Charlotte degree requirements. It is the student’s responsibility to understand their own community college requirements for completing an Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Fine Arts, or Associate in Engineering degree. For more details, see the Academic Policy online at provost.uncc.edu/policies/reverse-transfer.
Credit for Military Training
The University will approve academic credit for military training equivalent to UNC Charlotte courses required for the students’ major, minor, or General Education requirements. The credit must be approved by the student’s major department chair, college dean, and the department that offers the course.
Documentation of the training, such as a license of completion, Joint Services Transcript, or notation on the student’s DD Form 214, is required. The same requirements apply to transfer or military training credit approved by another institution. Contact the Office of the Registrar for further information.
Credit from Two-Year Institutions
The University accepts a maximum of 64 credit hours from two year institutions for undergraduate students. Remedial and technical courses will not transfer.
Transient Study
Courses undertaken by UNC Charlotte undergraduate degree students at other accredited institutions may be transferred to the University subject to the following regulations:
- The University is not obligated to accept any credit from another institution unless the student has obtained the prior approval of the dean of the college in which he/she is enrolled. A “Permit for Transient Study” form should be completed and filed in the UNC Charlotte Office of the Registrar prior to enrollment at another institution.
- No credit will be accepted for courses below C level for undergraduate students.
- The student must request that an official transcript be mailed to the UNC Charlotte Office of the Registrar upon completion of the course. A form for this purpose is available in the Office of the Registrar at the institution where the course is taken.
- Students in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and students in the University College are not permitted to take courses at another educational institution in the Fall or Spring semester if they are enrolled full-time (12 credits or more) at UNC Charlotte in the same semester, unless it is a course not offered at UNC Charlotte (e.g., American Sign Language).
- Grades do not transfer.
Credit by Examination
A student currently enrolled at UNC Charlotte may pass a specially prepared challenge examination and receive credit for a University course without having to do the normal course work. The student contacts the chair of the department in which credit is sought to request administration of an examination. Since it may not be appropriate to award credit by examination for some courses, the decision to offer an examination is that of the department. If the chair authorizes an examination, the student is instructed to pay the required fee for credit by examination and to bring the receipt of payment to the examination. Hours earned through credit by examination will be indicated on the transcript, but no grade points will be awarded. Hours attempted will be assigned equal to the hours earned. Failure on such an examination will incur no grade point penalty or hours attempted. A department may allow a student to take examinations for courses not offered at UNC Charlotte, if it deems it appropriate to do so. No student may challenge a course for which either a passing or failing grade has been received at UNC Charlotte.
Exemptions from General Education Requirements
First-Year Writing Requirements
Students will be deemed to have fulfilled the First-Year writing requirement (UWRT 1103 or UWRT 1104 ) if either of the following apply:
- Exemption from first-year writing (without credit) at another college or university
- 64 or more transferred credit hours from U.S. institution(s) of higher education (Some exceptions may apply for students with transferred credit hours from institutions where English is not the language of instruction)
Lower-Division Requirements
Some transfer students are exempt from the lower division General Education requirements* if they are admitted to the University in Fall 2003 or thereafter. These include:
- Students from North Carolina Community Colleges who receive an Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), Associate of Fine Arts (AFA), or Associate of Engineering (AE) degree
- Students from North Carolina Community Colleges who have completed the 44 hour general education core (Comprehensive Articulation Agreement, CAA)
- Students who graduate from a North Carolina Community College with an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) and enroll at UNC Charlotte in an approved 2+2 degree completion program (This exemption becomes invalid if the student changes programs)
Transfer students from out-of-state and private institutions of higher education who receive an Associate Degree from that institution will have the degree evaluated for the same General Education exemption on a case by case basis by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The criteria used in the evaluation will be the amount of college-level English, math, natural science, social science, and humanities course work that is included in the degree’s curriculum. Curriculums that are more technical in nature or lack key features of the UNC Charlotte General Education core may not be approved for an exemption from lower-division General Education requirements, but individual courses will be accepted towards the UNC Charlotte requirements.
* “Lower-division General Education requirements” refers to courses in composition, mathematics and logic, natural and physical sciences, social sciences, liberal studies (LBST), critical thinking and communication, and three (3) credit hours designated as writing intensive and one to three (1 to 3) credit hours designated as oral communications. Students MUST still complete three credit hours in the major designated as Writing Intensive (W) to satisfy all General Education requirements for graduation.
Critical Thinking and Communication (CTC) Requirement
See the General Education Program for details on transfer credit and the CTC requirement.
