Transfer Credit Services

USC policy requires that all articulation petitions regarding courses taken before entering USC should be initiated as soon as possible after matriculation and no later than the end of the first semester of study. The one semester time limit is in place to ensure students have complete and accurate transfer credit information as soon as possible after starting at USC so that they have a realistic understanding of how their transfer credit applies to their degree requirements. This allows students to develop the most efficient and effective course plan to complete their degree objective.

Students who have missed the deadline are eligible to request a one-time final appeal. Students requesting a final appeal will be charged a non-refundable $150 late petition fee per class, regardless of the outcome of the appeal. The decision on a final appeal will not be subject to further review.

All petitions must be accompanied by supporting documentation, which can be attached during the online process. The absence of the following supporting materials can result in the petition being delayed or denied.

• The complete syllabus you received from your instructor on the first day of class is required. The syllabus should be from the correct term and instructor. General course outlines and/or syllabi from a different term or instructor are not appropriate.
• Any other course documents (class notes, exams, papers, letters from professors, lab reports [if relevant], etc.) that you feel will assist us in evaluating your petition. These cannot be submitted in lieu of the syllabus.
• A professional English translation to accompany original language documentation for courses taken at international institutions where English was not the language of instruction. Contact Transfer Credit Services for details.
• Final drafts of all papers written in a composition course are required for students petitioning equivalence to USC’s WRIT 130/150. The absence of writing will result in the denial of your petition.
• A registration confirmation, enrollment summary, fee statement, or other document that shows the section of the course you were enrolled in and when/where that section met will be required for laboratory science or foreign language courses that are available in an online or hybrid format at your transfer institution.  A course syllabus is not sufficient for documentation.
• A PTH verification form will be generated and provided for students petitioning for college courses completed prior to high school graduation. Please note that you should submit a petition for only one course (or only one from each school if you attended more than one institution) and all will be reviewed. Syllabi are not required.

We strongly prefer all supporting documentation to be submitted electronically. The USC library system has scanning resources available to you if you need them. If you absolutely must submit hard copies of documents, please submit photocopies, as any hard-copy documentation will not be returned. You can submit hard copy materials to the Registrar One Stop Center located in the JHH lobby during normal business hours.

Once you submit a petition, you will receive a system-generated email acknowledging receipt of your petition and providing a processing period, generally 10-15 business days. This timeframe may be increased during extremely busy periods, so we ask that you make yourself aware of the processing time assigned to your petition. These processing periods are determined based upon the number of petitions received and resources available, and we will most likely need the full time allotted.

Once action has been taken on a petition, you will receive a notification email at your USC email address from Transfer Credit Services. Please be sure to check your spam or junk mail folder in the event that any email from this office has been routed there. You can also check to see if any action was taken by logging in to the petition process and clicking on the specific course in the “Check status of the petitioned course” column. This will display the most recent action taken on your petition. If nothing displays, no action has yet been taken. We appreciate your patience during the processing period.

USC undergraduates who:

• Would like to request a change in the evaluation of a transfer course as it appears on the Transfer Credit Report.
• Are appealing the decision of a previous articulation petition and are submitting additional documentation to support the appeal before the deadline.
• Have been directed to do so by Transfer Credit Services, an academic advisor or Degree Progress.
• See a message on their Transfer Credit Report requesting a petition or a syllabus for a transfer course.
• Would like to combine transfer courses from different schools or academic departments for general education credit.

Students who:

• Would like to change the way a USC course applies to their major requirements. For assistance, contact your major advisor.
• Would like to take a course during the summer after entering USC. Instead, students should submit a pre-approval request.
• Would like to know what kind of credit USC will give to courses that appear on the student’s Transfer Credit Report as Unknown or In Progress.
• Graduate students also should not file articulation petitions.

In most cases, online courses will receive the same credit in transfer as the classroom version at the sending institution.

However, online or hybrid laboratory science classes will not earn equivalence to USC lab science courses. Online or hybrid foreign language courses are not equivalent to USC foreign language courses, nor will they fulfill the language requirement. If you took a traditional classroom version of one of these courses at a school where the course is also available online, we cannot guarantee equivalence or subject credit in advance. You will need to provide additional documentation after you complete the course to demonstrate that you were enrolled in the classroom version of the class. Documentation typically includes a registration summary and your course syllabus. A syllabus alone is not sufficient for documentation. Please keep copies of all related materials.

Any courses taught in non-traditional settings or timeframes, including compact intersessions or open-ended distance education courses, require individual review after completion of course. In these cases, no advance guarantee of credit can be made.

Some students study abroad through a U.S. college or university. The U.S. institution providing the transcript must be regionally accredited, and USC expects that the U.S. institution’s faculty either teach the courses being transferred or retain direct, detailed curricular oversight over the program. If the program involves enrolling directly in an international institution, then that university must be recognized by its own country’s Ministry of Education to grant undergraduate degrees.

To request pre-approval for programs offered through a U.S. college or university, please complete the Pre-Approval Form above. You must include as much information as possible about the program you plan to attend. Information about where the courses will be held, the length of the program, and the institution that will provide the transcript is required. Failure to submit this information will result in a delay in processing or a denial of your request.

Some students enroll directly at an international university. Per USC policy, students who wish to receive transfer credit toward their undergraduate degree for coursework taken at an institution outside of the United States (without U.S. regional accreditation) must request a “Detail Report with Course Level Identification” from the International Education Research Foundation (IERF). This evaluation requires an official transcript showing grades for completed coursework and cannot be done in advance.

To be eligible for transfer credit, you must take coursework at a college or university that is appropriately accredited in the home country, and the courses you take must be part of that school’s regular curriculum, open to that school’s regular students, and reported on that school’s official transcript. You must earn that school’s equivalent of a C- or higher, as determined in the IERF evaluation, to be eligible for credit.

Some schools create summer sessions intended solely for a study abroad audience to give foreign students experience with the host institution’s faculty and content.  These courses may be based on the home institution’s regular coursework, or they may have “American-style” course numbers, titles, and content and may even be taught by visiting faculty from U.S. universities. In either case, these courses are not part of the regular degree curriculum, not intended for regular degree-seeking students, and are generally not applicable to a degree at the host institution. USC does not accept coursework from these programs in transfer.

Many students study abroad through unaccredited institutions such as language institutes, schools that are not recognized by their home government to grant university degrees, or private study abroad organizations. While such programs may offer students the chance to receive a transcript from an accredited or recognized institution (often for a fee), USC will not accept these programs for transfer credit. To be eligible for credit, USC requires that the institution providing the transcript teaches the courses and retains direct, detailed curricular oversight over the courses offered on such programs.