Beginning with students enrolling at Puget Sound in Fall 2018:
College credits earned prior to high school graduation may transfer if such credits appear on the transcript of a regionally-accredited college or university. This includes coursework completed through concurrent enrollment programs, such as Washington’s Running Start and College in the High School programs. All other transfer restrictions apply, including:
1. Credit Limits: A degree at Puget Sound requires a minimum of 32.00 units; a maximum of 16.00 units of transfer credit may apply toward that total. One Puget Sound unit is equivalent to 4 semester credits or 6 quarter credits (e.g., a 3 semester credit course would equal 0.75 units and a 5 quarter credit course would equal 0.83 units).
a. No more than 4.00 units of credit earned through online or other distance education may transfer.
b. No more than 2.00 units of activity credit may transfer.
c. The 16.00-unit maximum includes any credit awarded for credit-by-examination programs, such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate HL exams.
2. General Transferability: Transfer courses must be similar to courses taught at the University of Puget Sound or otherwise appropriate for inclusion in a liberal arts discipline, with a scholarly approach to the topic.
Note: We do not accept coursework designated as vocational or technical, remedial or retraining, focused on personal development, from professional disciplines not offered by the University, or that instructs in doctrine or ideology.
3. Core Requirements: Core Requirements may be fulfilled via college transfer credit. Transfer credit taken for Core Requirements is subject to some additional restrictions:
a. The Connections and second Seminar in Scholarly Inquiry (SSI2) requirements must be completed in residence at Puget Sound.
b. The first Seminar in Scholarly Inquiry (SSI1) requirement is rarely transferred.
To fulfill other university Core Requirements, an eligible transfer course must be:
c. Worth at least 3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits,
d. Equivalent to a Core course taught at Puget Sound,
e. Taken for a letter grade (not graded pass/fail), and
f. Taken on-campus (not online) at the transcripting institution.
Note: Any course taken for the Natural Scientific Approaches Core must have a regular, formal laboratory component.
Students entering with freshman or sophomore standing (less than 15.00 units transferred) may fulfill a maximum of 4 Core areas via transfer credit. Students entering with junior standing (15.00 or more units transferred) may fulfill a maximum of 5 Core areas via transfer credit.
4. Major or Minor Credit: Acceptance of transfer credit toward major or minor requirements is at the discretion of the academic department, and may require review of course materials including assignments and syllabi. As most students do not declare a major until their sophomore year, we strongly recommend retaining all materials from transfer courses in case of more extensive review later. Please be advised that most departments do not accept online credits toward their major or minor requirements.
5. Washington State Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA): As of Fall 2021, a student who matriculates at Puget Sound after completing a Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) associate degree through a Washington State community college with a grade point average of 3.00 or higher shall be awarded junior standing, 16.00 total units of transfer credit, and shall be considered to have completed the Seminar in Scholarly Inquiry (SSI1) as well as the Five Approaches to Knowing requirements. Completion of additional core and graduation requirements will be determined by evaluation of the student's previous coursework on a course - by course basis. Please note that junior standing upon entry does not guarantee that a student will complete their degree at Puget Sound within two years. Courses for the planned major(s) and the evaluation of the previous credit must be considered.
The full list of all transfer credit policies and limits appears in the Academic and Administrative Policies section of the Bulletin under Transfer Information.
For students who enrolled at Puget Sound in Spring 2018 or earlier:
College credits earned prior to high school graduation may transfer only if the credits were earned in regularly scheduled college classes taught on a college campus, and if such courses exceeded the normal preparation a student would be expected to earn in high school. Such coursework is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.