Transient Study (study at other colleges)

Students who enter Emory College as first-year students may be granted a combined total of 18 credit hours of the following types of credit: AP, IB, and other test credits; other college credits earned prior to matriculation; credits earned through a gap year program for deferred students; and transient study credits earned after matriculation. Students who enter Emory College as transfer students may transfer a maximum of 62 credit hours. Additional information may be found through the Office of Undergraduate Admission: AP, IB, and College Credit Policies.

Credit hours may count towards the General Education Requirements (GERs) where allowed by the AP/IB policy and the rules for the specific GER. Credit hours may also count towards major or minor requirements with departmental approval. Emory and Oxford Colleges will grant acceleration placement for courses beyond the allowed 18 hours, but no additional credit hours or GER waivers will be given. 

1. AP, IB and other test credits: Students may be granted a maximum of 12 credit hours from these tests. Departments have specified equivalent courses that AP and IB credits replace for the purpose of GERs and major requirements. Review the AP/IB policy here. Other test credits will be reviewed by the relevant academic department to determine the equivalency.
2. Other college credits earned prior to matriculation: Students may be granted credit for courses from other colleges earned prior to matriculating at Emory so long as these courses do not count towards the high school diploma. Newly admitted first year students who wish to receive credit for work taken at another college after acceptance and before enrollment (i.e. in the summer before entering Emory) should secure approval from the Office of Admission.
3. Credits earned through a gap year program for deferred students: Students who defer their admission to Emory and who enroll in a gap year program between high school and their matriculation may be granted a maximum of six credit hours for no more than two courses. The program must be accredited, and the courses must be equivalent to the college-level.
4. Transient study: Students may earn credit after matriculating at Emory through courses at other accredited colleges or universities according to the policy below. Transient study may be earned domestically or internationally.

Domestic transient study (permission to take work at another institution in the United States and US Territories) is normally granted only for summer enrollment. Students who wish to take summer work elsewhere in the United States after their first year, or before a student has earned 64 credit hours, at Emory must secure written permission from the Office for Undergraduate Education before the end of the preceding spring semester and must not be on academic probation after the completion of spring semester. In order to earn credit through Domestic Transient Study, students must earn a grade of C or above. The course credits, but not the grades, are posted on the official Emory transcript. For more information, please go to the DTS website.

International students (on J-1 or F-1 visa status) who wish to take summer coursework in their home countries after their first year at Emory must meet the requirements for International Transient Study and complete the International Transient Study application. For more information, please visit the International Transient Study webpage.

Credit earned at other institutions may not comprise part of the last 64 semester hours or four semesters of work toward a degree in Emory College of Arts and Sciences, except as described under approved off-campus programs such as the Washington Semester and Education Abroad programs or as described immediately below. A final transcript for any summer coursework must be submitted by October 1, immediately following the summer in which the coursework was completed. All credits for non-Emory courses must officially appear on the student’s transcript by the end of their first semester upon return to Emory.

Students who have completed 64 credit hours of course work in Emory College of Arts and Sciences and are in good standing may receive up to 16 semester hours and one semester of residence credit toward their Emory degree for advanced-level courses taken at another college or university in the USA. Approval is required in advance by the Office for Undergraduate Education and by the chairs of the appropriate departments at Emory, who must

1. Certify the advanced level of the proposed courses, and
2. Provide a compelling reason why these courses cannot be taken at Emory.

Students who wish to take courses abroad at an international institution must either do so through an approved Emory College Education Abroad programs or the non-Emory program petition process. Please contact the Education Abroad team for more information.