Catalogs & Handbooks

Transfer Credit & Articulation Agreements

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Transfer Credit Policy

  • The institution must be fully accredited by a regional accrediting agency approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
  • The course must be comparable in content and academic level to courses offered at Washington College.
  • Except for Direct Transfer students (see below) who have completed their A.A. or A.S.,
    1. Transfer credit is only accepted for courses where a final grade of “C-” or higher is earned; and
    2. Courses taken Pass/Fail at another institution are not considered for transfer credit.
  • Except for Direct Transfer students who have completed their A.A or A.S, the W2 General Education Requirement may not be met with transfer credit.
  • Transfer evaluations for new-entering students are completed by select Faculty.
  • Transfer students transferring in 28 or more credits are exempt from taking FYS 101 First-Year Seminar. First-time college students transferring in 28 or more hours of advanced placement or dual enrollment credit are required to take FYS 101 First-Year Seminar.
  • Students must complete 24 of the last 32 credits in residence at Washington College or in a Washington College-administered program.

WC does not award transfer credit equivalency for life- or work-related experience. Students seeking such transfer credit may consider taking a College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam offered by The College Board, which the College does accept as equivalent to courses from its curriculum. 

To receive transfer credit for a course taken at another college or university, students should consult their faculty advisor and then secure pre-approval for the proposed course(s) from the Department Chair(s) who offer a similar course.  Students may have to provide a course description or syllabus for the course(s). Each department sets its own transfer credit policies regarding approval for transfer courses taught online or in other non-traditional formats. To approve a course for transfer credit, the department chair must sign the Transfer Credit Request Form, provided by the student. Students must return the signed Transfer Credit Request Form to the Registrar’s Office before enrolling in the course.

Students may need to apply for admission to the another college or university where they intend to take the transfer course(s). If needed, the Registrar’s Office can write a “letter of good standing” to the other institution stating that the student has permission to take outside courses. To request such a letter, the student should send a request to registrar@washcoll.edu.

At the completion of the course, students must request an official transcript from the other college or university be sent directly to the Registrar’s Office. Transfer credit is not posted on the student’s Washington College transcript until the Registrar’s Office has received both the completed Transfer Credit Request Form and the official transcript from the other college or university.

Grades from transfer courses do not factor into the calculation of a student’s cumulative WC GPA, nor will the final grade(s) from the transfer course(s) appear on the student’s WC transcript. Students may not use a transfer course to replace a passing grade and credits previously earned at WC. Students may transfer a course to replace a course required for graduation (major, minor, or distribution) provided that the grade earned at WC was an “F” (failing) grade, but the original grade will not change the cumulative GPA.

Transfer Students

To earn a degree at Washington College, no more than 72 credit hours of the total credits required for the degree may be met with transfer credits. Therefore, a minimum of 56 credits must be earned at WC, or in a Washington College-administered program. 

Direct Transfer: Transfer students with a completed A.A. or A.S. degree from any Maryland community college, or another community college with whom Washington College has a “Direct Transfer” agreement, are granted junior standing upon matriculation. These students have all General Education requirements met, including W1 and W2, with the exception of the foreign language requirement. 

Transfer students from colleges with whom Washington College does not a have a “Direct Transfer” agreement, even though the students may hold an associate degree, have their coursework evaluated and are granted appropriate transfer credit.

Flexible Transfer Curriculum

Students who are admitted to WC with 28 or more approved transfer credits from regionally accredited institutions are allowed the following flexible General Education Distribution requirements.

  1. The W1 & W2 Writing Requirement may be met with:
    1. Freshman Composition I and Freshman Composition II
  2. The Natural Science requirement may be met with:
    1. Two natural sciences courses, one must include a lab. 
  3. The Quantitative requirement may be met with:
    1. Statistics
    2. Calculus,
    3. Logic, OR
    4. Music Theory courses. 
    5. College algebra, pre-calculus, and similar courses may apply toward a WC degree, under the TRN code, but do not complete the WC Quantitative requirement.
  4. The Humanities & Fine Arts requirement maybe met with:
    1. Three courses from three different humanities subjects, (except for PHL 108 Logic).
    2. Three courses in different Fine Art subjects (except for courses equivalent to MUS 131, 132, 231).
    3. Public Speaking courses which count as Humanities Distribution
  5. The Social Science requirement may be met with:
    1. 100-, 200-, or 300- level History courses
    2. 100-, 200-, or 300- level Political Science courses.
    3. 100-, 200-, or 300- level Psychology courses.
    4. 100-, 200-, or 300- level Sociology courses.
    5. Criminal justice (theory courses are acceptable; however, applied courses like arrest processing or similar do not count toward the requirement)
    6. Three courses from different Social Science subjects.​

​​Advanced Standing

Washington College may grant credit up to 32 credit hours for advanced standing upon a student’s entrance into the College. Department chairs review the examinations offered by The College Board (CLEP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), in consultation with the faculty in their department, to determine the number of credits and the WC course equivalency that should be offered to entering students with high exam scores. More information about Washington College’s Advanced Standing policies is available on the Registrar’s Office website.

Advanced standing credit does not exempt students from FYS 101 First-Year Seminar.