Questions about Transferring Credits

The basics:

We accept credit from four-year institutions issuing bachelor's degrees in the liberal arts, natural and physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering, subject to review of each individual course.

To be eligible for transfer credit, an approved course must be taken for a grade at an approved college and completed with a grade of C or better. Ungraded or pass/fail courses taken prior to matriculation, if approved, may receive credit if the host school states in writing that the mark represents a grade of C or better. Credit for approved courses taken at a community college (an institution that issues primarily two-year degrees) will be transferred only if taken prior to matriculation at Johns Hopkins. A maximum of 6 credits may be granted for courses which are in curriculum areas not covered by the programs of the Johns Hopkins School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. No more than 12 credits from all courses completed elsewhere may be transferred to Hopkins.

Directions to Receive Credit for Transferred Courses

  1. Obtain a Permission to transfer Summer Courses from Another College/University form and a course description or syllabus of the course(s) taken from the host institution. Bring the completed documents to your Faculty Advisor and/or respective advising office to obtain the appropriate signatures.
  2. Signature Requirements:
    1. Required course for major or minor: Must have the signatures of a Faculty Advisor for that major or minor AND respective advising office – AS students - Garland 3rd Floor / EN students - 103 Shaffer
    2. Elective course: AS students - Office of Academic Advising, Garland 3rd floor / EN students - 103 Shaffer
    3. Courses in the following departments require an additional signature from the department: Physics, Economics and German and Romance Languages.
  3. Once your grade is posted at the end of the term, YOU must request that the host college/university send a transcript to: Johns Hopkins University, Registrar's Office, Garland Hall Room 75, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD, 21218.

FAQs

Do my courses have to match a course taught at Johns Hopkins?
Courses do not have to match a currently existing JHU course; however, courses should cover topics that are broadly defined as part of the curriculum at Hopkins. For example, we do not regularly teach a course about science fiction films. But since this is a film studies course and since we have a major in film and media studies, it's likely that this course would be eligible for transfer.

Who determines if my credits are transferrable?
The professional advisors in your school's advising office, in conjunction with faculty, determine which courses are eligible for transfer credit toward the number of credits required for graduation.

Will my credits from AP/IB/A Level tests count towards the 12 transfer credit limit?
No they do not have any effect on the 12 credits.

Can writing-intensive courses transfer?
In most cases, credits from summer courses do not typically transfer as writing intensive. You may seek out the Director of the Writing Program, Pat Kain (kain@jhu.edu) to confirm whether or not the course would count as writing intensive.