Transfer Credit

Credit earned at another institution, whether during summer school or full-time attendance, can be used to meet various Stanford requirements: a) the unit requirement for graduation, b) the general University requirements (writing, distribution, language), and c) the major department requirements. Approval procedures for transfer credit depend on the type of requirement to be fulfilled.

Requirements for Transfer Credit

Graduation Requirements

All transfer credit to be applied toward the University graduation requirement of 180 units must be approved by the Registrar's Office. In petitioning for approval, students should note the guidelines outlined under "Transfer Credit" in the Stanford Bulletin.

General University Requirements

Whether a transferred course may also satisfy general University requirements is determined case-by-case by the Registrar and the appropriate department. The Registrar will notify the student in writing which credits meet general University requirements when the units are transferred to Stanford.

Department Requirements

Whether transferred courses approved by the Registrar for graduation credit also satisfy department requirements is determined by the department. Courses that meet the Chemistry Department major requirements for chemistry, physics, and mathematics must be approved by the chair of the Chemistry Department Undergraduate Affairs Committee. The student should bring to the transfer credit interview in Chemistry

  1.  an official transcript for the transferred courses,
  2.  a course catalog or syllabus describing the transferred courses, and
  3.  a statement from the Stanford math or physics department, respectively, about the Stanford equivalency of any math or physics transfer courses (or you can have that department email the statement to the Chemistry Student Services Office at chemistry-studentservices [at] stanford.edu (chemistry-studentservices[at]stanford[dot]edu)).

Performance, course content, and course units are important considerations. It is the student's responsibility to obtain all necessary approvals for transfer credits meeting departmental requirements for the major.

Chemistry students planning to take coursework at another institution are strongly encouraged to determine in advance whether the courses fulfill major requirements. Show the summer catalog describing the courses to be taken to the Chair of the Chemistry Undergraduate Affairs Committee. Because of the Stanford quarter system and the integrated core program in chemistry, courses at other institutions aren't always equivalent to Stanford chemistry courses in content and units. Be sure to have the transfer credits approved officially after you actually take the course.

For further information on transfer credit, see the Stanford Bulletin