4.4 Graduate Transfer Credit

After at least one quarter of enrollment, students pursuing an Engineer, DMA or PhD may request transfer credit for graduate work done at another institution. 

PhD or DMA students may only apply a total 45 units — consisting of graduate transfer credit, credit earned for a Stanford master’s degree, or a combination thereof — toward the PhD residency total. PhD or DMA students who are awarded graduate residency credit, who then add another graduate degree to their academic plan, may be required to earn a higher number of units to confer their degrees.

Application of graduate residency transfer credit toward a degree's minimum unit requirement is determined at the discretion of the academic department. The Office of the University Registrar is responsible for ensuring policy compliance and for the final posting of approved transfer credit to the Stanford transcript. The following criteria are used by the departments in determining whether or not transfer credit for graduate-level work will be approved for a student in their program:

1. Transfer of units earned for graduate work completed at another institution, including coursework completed partially or fully online, must be approved by the student’s degree program.

2. The graduate work must have been completed after conferral of the bachelor’s degree; exceptions may only be considered for graduate work taken through a program structured like the Stanford coterminal bachelor’s/master’s program.

3. A maximum of 12 graduate units (out of the 45 maximum) from the following categories may be eligible for transfer with degree program approval:

   1. Coursework completed while not enrolled in a graduate degree-granting program (i.e. extension courses or non-matriculated enrollment)

   2. Classes without a 1:1 Stanford course equivalent

   3. General research or Thesis units

4. Graduate work must have been completed with a grade of B or better in each course. Degree programs may accept a course with a lower grade provided the graduate work accepted for transfer received an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) or better. Pass grades may be accepted at the discretion of the degree program.

5. Graduate work must have been completed at an accredited institution in the U.S. or at an officially recognized institution outside of the U.S. Graduate work completed at foreign universities must be at the level of study comparable to a U.S. graduate program.

6. Units of graduate transfer work are applied toward the university residency requirement and do not automatically exempt a student from completing Stanford course requirements for their degree program.

The Application for Graduate Residency Credit is reviewed and approved by the department. The deadline to submit requests for graduate residency transfer credit is the Final Study List deadline of the term in which the Application to Graduate is submitted. Transfer credit does not need to be completed prior to enrollment at Stanford. Policy compliance approval and final posting of credit to the Stanford transcript is carried out by the Office of the University Registrar.

Units of graduate transfer credit are calculated using a recommended ratio of equivalence based on the sending school's credit policy, as follows:

* Only a maximum of 45 units will be posted to the student transcript, even if final calculation of an eligible graduate student's transfer credit exceeds this amount.

Students pursuing a master’s degree, MBA, MD, or any joint degree program are not eligible for residency transfer credit, nor are ENG candidates who have earned their master’s degree at Stanford. 

Students pursuing a JD degree are permitted to transfer up to 30 units. Review, approval, and posting of this credit is overseen by the Stanford Law School Registrar.

Graduate students interesting in submitting a Graduate Residency Transfer Credit request should review the graduate residency opens in a new tab and graduate transfer credit opens in a new tab guidelines, and should plan their requests in consultation with their department advisors to ensure all effects on residency and progress toward the degree are recognized.

Some domestic and international institutions do not use term, grade, or credit systems analogous to Stanford’s student record. The academic department and/or the Office of the University Registrar reserves the right to deny requests for graduate residency transfer credit unless adequate supporting documentation of the above can be provided by the student and/or source institution.

Students who plan to study elsewhere during their degree program at Stanford should obtain prior approval of any transfer credit sought before their departure.