Welcome to the Office of Student Life (Grads)

TGS Policy on Transfer and Residency Credit

PhD students who take coursework at an approved, accredited institution before or during their enrollment at Northwestern may transfer credits earned elsewhere toward their degree and residency requirements. Doctoral students are permitted to transfer up to three quarters of course work towards residency requirements at Northwestern. It is in the purview of the students' program/department to accept transfer credit towards residency requirements. A minimum of nine graded courses must be taken at Northwestern to fulfill doctoral degree requirements. Students who take courses at another institution are required to meet all TGS registration requirements. Courses taken at an institution outside the CIC community are not covered by university tuition scholarship.

Masters students are not allowed to transfer any coursework from previous institutions for residency credit.

There are two options for previous coursework:

Transfer for Residency Credit
Transfer for Course Waivers

Transfer for Residency Credit

If a student would like to transfer courses previously taken and have them count towards residency credit they may do so. In other words, if they wanted to shorten the time they're here and have credits directly replace IEMS courses or electives for the degree, it is possible. However, this method of transfer makes them ineligible for receiving a Master's Degree from Northwestern. . These would have transfer courses show up on the NU transcript and would be formally approved by TGS. Residency credit can be awarded for up to 3 quarters and can be broken down by 1/3 (e.g., 1 and 2/3 residency credit can be awarded).

Transfer for Course Waivers

If a student is interested in transferring credits for either: (a) Core courses or other required courses (b) a major or (c) a minor, they must meet with the Graduate Program Director and propose these courses for transfer. If accepted, these courses would be waived by the department and the student would take additional ones in their place. This would give a student the same expected graduation time as when you entered. This option would still allow for a student to get a Masters Degree on the way to their PhD.

Transfer Request Process

All requests for transfer or residency credit must be made after the first year of study. No credit can be awarded before then. The process is as follows:

1. Gather any materials which would aid the committee in understanding the courses previously taken (e.g., syllabi, course descriptions, etc).
2. Download and fill out the student section of the Transfer Request Form (TRF).
3. Schedule a meeting with the Graduate Program Director to discuss the courses and possible transfer options. Have the Director sign the Transfer Request Form
4. Submit the signed Transfer Request Form to the Coordinator of Grad Student Life.
5. You will be notified when the process is complete.