Graduate School Transfer Credit Policy

In order to protect the academic integrity and rigor of a Marquette graduate degree, limits are placed on the number of credit hours that may be transferred from other institutions, from Marquette in a different program, or from Marquette in the same program but in a different status (temporary or non-degree). Only credits directly applicable to students' Marquette degree program are considered for transfer, and there is no guarantee that a transfer request will be approved. Credits considered for transfer must be graduate-level credits or upper-level undergraduate credits that are acceptable for graduate credit at the institution offering the course.

Credits that are accepted for a Marquette degree, if transferred from another university, are not included when calculating the GPA. However, credits taken at Marquette in another program or in the same program but in a different status (temporary or non-degree), if accepted for transfer into a degree program, are included in the GPA. Only courses in which a grade of B or above is earned may be transferred for credit into a master’s program or doctoral program.

Credits approved for transfer from a school using a quarter-system transfer as two-thirds credit each when converted to Marquette’s semester system. Transfers from schools using a trimester system varies by school and must be evaluated individually.

Students are strongly urged to consult their advisers before submitting a transfer request and before taking any course for which they intend to request transfer credit.

Courses should not be taken at another university during students' final term, if those credits are necessary to meet graduation requirements. If a course or courses are taken at another university during students' final term at Marquette, their graduation could be delayed until the following graduation cycle due to the time necessary to receive an official transcript and process the transfer credit.

Master's Programs

Upon recommendation of the department and concurrence by the dean of the Graduate School, 9-15 credit hours of the program’s requirement for course work (exclusive of thesis) may be accepted for transfer depending on the total number of credits needed for the degree. Marquette University undergraduate students admitted to an accelerated degree program (ADP) are subject to the transfer limits and rules as detailed in the Accelerated Degree Programs section in the University Bulletin. Credits taken as part of a graduate certificate at Marquette can be applied to specified master's programs as detailed in the corresponding master’s program's Requirements section of the bulletin. For all other students, the following limits apply:

• 9 credits into a degree program requiring 36 or fewer course credits
• 12 credits into a degree program requiring 37-48 course credits
• 15 credits into a degree program requiring 49 or more course credits

Credits approved for transfer are normally earned within the six-year period prior to admission to the Graduate School at Marquette. If the transfer credits are older than six years at the time of admission, the academic department to which students are being admitted is expected to require evidence of proficiency with the material in the course(s) considered for transfer. The six-year period that master’s students have to complete their degree begins with admission to the Graduate School at Marquette and is not affected by prior transfer credit. There is no Graduate School requirement that students must complete a certain number of credits at Marquette prior to requesting transfer credit, but individual departments may have such a requirement. Students should consult their department adviser, director of graduate studies, or department graduate student handbook.

Only credit for courses directly comparable in content to the requirements of the current degree program, or comparable to elective courses available at Marquette, are considered for transfer. No credits are officially transferred into a degree program until the completion and submission of the Transfer of Credit Request form, found on the at Graduate School forms website, and approval by the Graduate School. Students must be sure that a final, official transcript is on file at the Graduate School before the form is processed.

Graduate-level credits earned at Marquette, whether as a degree student in a different graduate program or as a non-degree or temporary student, may transfer following the same request and approval procedures outlined above. Students are responsible for initiating this process. Credits transferred between Marquette programs or statuses are included as part of the 9-15 credit transfer limit.

Master’s thesis credits taken at another institution are not transferable to Marquette. The six thesis credits required for a thesis-option master’s degree must be taken at Marquette.

Doctoral Programs

Graduate credits from other institutions and from Marquette are accepted for a doctoral program following the completion and submission of a Transfer of Credit Request form, found on the Graduate School forms website, and approval by the Graduate School. In cases in which students enter the program with a master’s degree from another institution in the same or closely related field, students may request the department and the Graduate School to allow the master’s degree course work to satisfy up to 50% of the required credits. For such cases, a minimum of 21 credit hours of course work exclusive of the dissertation must be taken at Marquette while in a Ph.D. or D.N.P. program. For cases in which students enter the program with a master’s degree from Marquette University in the same or closely related field, students may request the department and the Graduate School to allow up to 30 credits of course work from the Marquette master’s degree to satisfy the Ph.D. course credit requirement. Thus, in this latter case, a minimum of 15 credit hours of course work exclusive of the dissertation must be taken at Marquette while in a Ph.D. or D.N.P. program. These credits must be specified on the Transfer of Credit Request form. There is not normally an age limit for accepting credits from an earned master’s degree.

Prior graduate-level credits taken, whether at another institution or at Marquette, that are not part of an earned master’s degree are considered on a case-by-case basis in consultation with students' advisers, departments and the Graduate School. These credits must be specified on Transfer of Credit Request form. The number of credits that may be applied toward the doctorate are limited. Students should consult the Doctoral Degree Academic Program Overview section of this bulletin. Such credits are normally earned within six years of admission to the Marquette doctoral degree. In cases in which the age of the credits exceeds six years at the time of admission, to be accepted, the academic department must require evidence of proficiency of the content contained in the courses.

Doctoral dissertation credits taken at another university are not transferable to Marquette. All twelve dissertation credits required for completion of a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree must be taken at Marquette.