Transfer Course/Credit Policies

1. Transfer courses are evaluated individually.

• Courses taken at institutions in the United States: Credits for all courses passed with a letter grade of C or higher at regionally accredited institutions or recognized by the National College Credit Recommendation Service and recorded on official transcripts will be evaluated and may be accepted for applicability to specific Stony Brook University degree requirements. Credits for successfully completed courses from these institutions for which a grade equivalent to “P” or “S” was assigned may also be accepted. Credits for courses from institutions with other than regional accreditation are evaluated for transfer purposes on a case-by-case basis.

• Courses taken at institutions outside the United States: College-level courses passed with a letter grade of C or higher completed outside the United States and recorded on official transcripts will be evaluated for transfer credit, provided that the institution where the courses were taken is accredited by the Ministry of Education in that country. International transfer students who have completed college level courses outside the United States may be requested to submit proof of accreditation by the Ministry of Education or provide a WES (World Education Service) or another NACES accredited evaluation.

2. All academic courses successfully completed with a grade of C or higher at a fully accredited college or university are transferable; however, the University reserves the right to determine what constitutes an academic course. Most baccalaureate degrees at Stony Brook require 120 credits. After earning 57 credits, the student must complete 36 credit hours at Stony Brook. The University will, therefore, accept a maximum of 84 transfer credits including test credits. All official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended must be submitted by August 15 if the student enters the University in the fall semester or by January 15 if the student enters the University in the spring semester.

3. Graduates of SUNY or CUNY colleges who earned an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree prior to matriculation at Stony Brook University are guaranteed junior standing. Students who have received an AA or AS from a SUNY or CUNY school are guaranteed to earn 60 credits. The University will accept a “D” grade to meet that 60 credit guarantee. However, courses with a “D” will not receive a direct equivalency or fulfill a general education requirement. Official proof of an A.A. or A.S. degree must be submitted by August 15 if the student enters the University in the fall semester or by January 15 if the student enters the University in the spring semester.

4. Transfer credit is entered on the official University transcript, and may not be removed from the official transcript once posted. Grades received for transferred courses are not shown nor are they included in the calculation of the student’s cumulative grade point average at Stony Brook University.

5. Almost all credits earned at community and technical colleges are considered to be lower-division credit.

6. Transfer courses are reviewed individually by the Tansfer Services office for their applicability toward fulfillment of general education requirements. Applicants who have completed college-level study at an institution outside of the United States will have their credits evaluated for application to the University’s general education requirements by the Transfer Office. Course work taken at institutions other than Stony Brook after matriculation will not transfer as WRT 102 . WRT 102 cannot be transferred from an international school.

7. Courses satisfactorily completed elsewhere toward the intended major or needed to fulfill the 39 upper-division credits requirement must be evaluated by the appropriate academic department for specific applicability. No transferred course with a grade lower than C may be counted among the 39 upper-division credits required for graduation. Forms for requesting the evaluation of specific courses for major and upper-division credit are available here. Students may begin the evaluation process upon matriculation.

8. Courses taken at other universities and colleges in a technology curriculum will normally not be transferred as equivalents to engineering or applied sciences courses.

9. Courses offered by regionally accredited colleges and completed while the student was in high school will be evaluated for transfer credit according to the guidelines in the Application of Transfer Credits to General Education Requirements of the Undergraduate Catalog.

10. Stony Brook accepts the recommended American Council on Education (ACE) credits for military courses on the Joint Service Transcript (JST) and General Education requirements may be satisfied. Credit for the TECH SBC  may be given for military experience on a case by case basis. 

11. Students will receive transfer credit for a maximum of four credits of 100-level physical education courses.

12. Students must list on their application for admission all institutions attended after high school graduation. Those who fail to do so will not receive this transfer credit and may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation and expulsion.