Transfer Credit Policy

• Columbia College Chicago accepts transfer credit from other regionally accredited colleges or universities and will consider transfer credit from select institutions with discipline-specific accreditation, located in Illinois or out of state.  Transfer courses must be completed with a C grade or better and be similar or equivalent in content to those offered by Columbia.
• A maximum of 88 credit hours from a regionally accredited four year college or university.
• A maximum of 62 credit hours from a regionally accredited two year institution.
• Transfer credit from any combination of regionally accredited two year institution, Advanced Placement, CLEP, military and/or Life Experience is limited to a maximum of 62 credit hours.
• If a student has attended both a four-year and a two-year regionally accredited institution, the maximum number of transfer credit hours accepted is 88 (with no more than 62 credits earned from the two-year institution.)
• No more than 4 semester hours of Physical Education will be accepted.
• The final 12 credit hours needed for graduation must be taken in residence at Columbia College Chicago.

Deadline for Transfer Credit Submission
The acceptance of transfer credit is at the sole discretion of the College. To be accepted, transfer credit must be received by the Office of Degree Evaluation before the end of the student’s first semester of attendance at Columbia. Students wishing transfer credit after matriculation must submit such credit before the end of the student’s next semester at Columbia.

Credit Not Accepted
Developmental, Adult Education, Continuing Education, ESL, Internships, Independent Study, Topics, Workshop, or Seminar courses are not transferable.

CLEP/Advanced Placement Credit
Students desiring advanced standing (transfer credit) based on CLEP results must have official score reports sent to the Office of Transfer Evaluation.
Scores of 3, 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement tests may also be accepted as transfer credit, and official records must be sent to the Office of Degree Evaluation for consideration. Credit for CLEP and Advanced Placement tests is applicable only to students with freshman or sophomore standing and is considered inappropriate for more advanced students. For more information about AP credit please review the link http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html.
To see the CLEP list of subjects and accepted scores please review the information at the link "What Your CLEP Score Means" at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/scores.html.

Life Experience Credit
Under special circumstances, a student may be granted up to 16 credit hours in their major for life and work experience. Apply to the Records Office for evaluation of non-college learning experiences.

International Baccalaureate (IB)
Credit is accepted for test scores of 4 or higher.

Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)
Credit is accepted for A and AS Level exams with grades of A to E in subjects similar to those offered at Columbia College Chicago.
www.cie.org.uk

Military Credit
Veteran may be eligible for active duty and service school credit on the basis of information from official copies of military records. Please contact E.J. Talbot, Veterans Affairs Coordinator, in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Frequently Asked Questions