Transfer of credits

At times, credits taken after receiving your baccalaureate degree may be transferred to a graduate degree program at the University of Minnesota.

Courses taken at another University, which were taken for graduate credit outside of an undergraduate degree program, taught by faculty authorized to teach graduate courses, may be petitioned to be approved for transfer. Credits must be appropriate to the degree and fulfill a degree requirement. 

Process

Submit all of the materials listed below at one time via this transfer request form. Your documents will be reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies and the decision will be communicated to you through your official U of MN email. Please allow 4-6 weeks for the review to take place (6-8 weeks during peak times, which include the start of the semester and during registration for the next semester).

Courses from an International institution

We require the following documentation:

  • A letter from your faculty advisor supporting the request (if the student is a Ph.D. student)
  • Completed Graduate Petition Form detailing the transfer request, equivalent CSCI courses and what requirement each course will fulfill. If you are requesting multiple courses please list them all on a single petition form.
  • English versions of course descriptions and/or syllabus.
  • Unofficial transcript showing grades for each course
  • Description of grading scale if different that A-F/4.0 scale

Courses from a domestic institution

We require the following documentation:

  • A letter from your faculty advisor supporting the request (if the student is a Ph.D. student)
  • Completed Graduate Petition Form detailing the transfer request, equivalent CSCI courses and what requirement each course will fulfill. If you are requesting multiple courses please list them all on a single petition form.
  • Course descriptions and/or syllabus.
  • Unofficial transcript showing grades for each course

Limits

  • We must follow the University of Minnesota Application of Credits for Students Earning Graduate Degrees rules.
  • Credits must have been successfully completed at the graduate level from a similar institution.
  • No courses may be transferred from an outside institution to meet breadth requirements for the Computer Science M.S. and M.C.S. programs. All approved transfer credits will be used as elective credits. 
  • A limit of two courses transferred from an outside institution may be applied to the breadth requirement for the Computer Science Ph.D. program with advisor and DGS approval. The specific breadth category is approved by the DGS. Remaining approved transfer credits will be used as elective credits.