Degree Progress

Graduate Transfer Credit

Course work taken at an institution based in the U.S.

Graduate course work taken at another institution within the United States before matriculation at USC can be made available for transfer credit at USC upon request. Students should contact us with our askUSC portal and request a Graduate Transfer Credit Report (GTCR). Official transcripts are required to complete this evaluation.

Degree Progress will input transfer course work onto the student record if the work meets the following criteria.

  • Transfer institution is regionally accredited in the U.S. to grant graduate degrees.
  • Courses are graded at least a 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 grading scale.
  • Courses are graduate level at the transfer institution and constitute a fair and reasonable equivalent to current USC course work at the graduate level.
  • Courses logically fit into the program for the degree.

Once the transfer work is available on the student record, the academic department will determine whether or not course and unit credit will be used towards the degree.

Course work taken at an institution based outside of the U.S.

The Graduate and International Admissions Office reviews course work taken at international institutions. Students must complete the "International Graduate Transfer Credit Request Form" and submit it to the Degree Progress department via ask.usc.edu.

Credit for military education

Academic credit will be awarded for graduate level course work taken at a regionally accredited U.S. Military institute/college upon receipt of official transcripts.

The university will also evaluate course work/experience completed through the armed services and may award credit for such courses if they meet the following criteria:

  • Students must provide official Joint Services (JST) transcript to Degree Progress.
  • Course work must be evaluated by ACE as graduate credit.
  • Students must submit an articulation petition for each course in which credit is requested. Each petition must include a statement of faculty support.

USC will not grant credit for the following:

  • DD-214 or DD-295
  • Course work not offered in an area of study taught at USC.
  • Course work/experience not evaluated by ACE.
  • DSST and CLEP exam scores.
  • Other Learning Experiences (OLE’s).