Transfer Course Evaluation Process

1. Official transcripts are submitted. Students are responsible for submitting all final official transcripts detailing their entire academic record prior to enrolling at UMD. Transfer courses will post to a student's UMD record only from official transcripts received from the institution at which the credit was earned.
   • Admitted or currently enrolled students should send electronic transcripts to registrar-help@umd.edu, and printed transcripts to: 
     University of Maryland
     Office of the University Registrar
     1113 Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Building
     College Park, MD 20742
   • Prospective students not yet admitted to UMD should consult the Office of Undergraduate Admissions instructions for submitting a transcript.

2. Transfer courses are evaluated. Students may refer to the Transfer Course Database to see a library of transfer courses that have already gone through the evaluation process. Generally, college-level courses completed at regionally-accredited institutions will transfer to UMD, provided the course is similar in level, scope, content and expected learning outcomes to courses offered at UMD, and a grade of C- or higher is earned (grades of D- or higher are accepted for courses completed at Maryland public institutions). A course that is considered accepted for transfer to UMD will receive one of the following types of evaluations:

   • direct equivalency to a UMD course (whether within or outside the major),
   • no direct equivalency, but satisfies general education requirement, or
   • no direct equivalency, but is accepted as a general elective. 

   Students work with an academic advisor to understand how transfer courses satisfy degree requirements:

   • Students who have been admitted to UMD should contact their advising college for assistance.
   • Students who have not been admitted to UMD should contact the Pre-Transfer Advising Program for assistance.
   • Transfer Credit Services does not provide advising services.

   Questions regarding the posting of these courses should be directed to Records and Registration Services at registrar-help@umd.edu.

3. Course evaluation request is submitted. Students who would like to request an evaluation of a course for transfer to UMD will need to provide a detailed syllabus from the semester/term when the course was taken. The syllabus must be in digital format, either .pdf or .docx. Students should send the course syllabus via email. If sending multiple course syllabi, group the courses by subject or related course (i.e. send a separate email for mathematics, history, music, etc.). Each course in the request should include a course ID, full title of the course, and term the course was taken.

   Please format the evaluation request email as shown in the example below:

   To:	[See departmental evaluators list]
   Subject:	Transfer Course Eval Request - [insert institution name]
   Email Body:	Hello, My name is [insert full name] and my UID is [insert 9-digit UID]. Could you please have the following courses reviewed for acceptability? Institution: [insert institution name] Course ID: MATH157 Course Title: Statistics Term: Spring 2016 Course ID: MATH165 Course Title: Precalculus Term: Summer 2017 Thank you,

   Students may submit their evaluation request directly to the academic department or to Transfer Credit Services (TCS). In many cases the processing time is faster when a student goes directly to the department to request an evaluation.

   • Email the Academic Department: Transfer course evaluation requests may be sent directly to most academic departments. The procedure and processing times for course evaluations vary between departments. Evaluations must be communicated to TCS directly by the approved departmental evaluator; evaluations forwarded from the student to TCS are not accepted.
   • Email Transfer Credit Services: Once TCS receives the request and attached detailed syllabus, it will be forwarded to the appropriate departmental evaluator for review. When the evaluation has been completed and returned to TCS, the student will be notified via email of the evaluation. Students are asked to remain patient while waiting for an evaluation to be completed.

1. Official credential evaluation is submitted to UMD. All degree-seeking undergraduate applicants for admission to UMD are required to submit an official credential evaluation for all international post-secondary transcripts from one of the two evaluators:
   • ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators) - The ECE third party evaluation provides a comprehensive review of the official transcript, which includes: credit and grade conversions, grade point calculation, and upper division course designations. Students should select the "Course by Course" report option for ECE.
   • Josef Silny & Associates Application Form - The JSA third party evaluation provides a comprehensive review of the official transcript, which includes: credit and grade conversions, grade point calculation, and upper division course designations for students with more than 1 year of post-secondary/university education completed. Students should select the "Post-Secondary/University Course-by-Course + GPA" option, and the "Upper Division Course Identification" if applicable.
2. Official transcripts are submitted to UMD. To ensure all completed transfer courses are posted to the UMD record, a final official transcript in the original-language and a literal (exact) certified English translation must be submitted to UMD after all coursework has been completed.
   • Electronic international transcripts should be sent to applymaryland@umd.edu
   • All other international transcripts should be sent to:
     University of Maryland
     Office of Undergraduate Admissions
     Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Building
     College Park, MD 20742
3. UMD grants admission as a degree-seeking student. Students must apply for admission and be admitted as a degree-seeking student before international transfer courses can be evaluated. The timeline for newly admitted students with international transfer courses to obtain access to their transfer credit evaluation can depend on the institution previously attended. It may take several weeks after the receipt of the admission letter before any courses are available for viewing.
4. International transfer courses are evaluated. UMD awards transfer credit for courses taken at international post-secondary educational institutions recognized by the ministry of education in the respective country. Generally, for transfer credit to be awarded, transfer courses must be similar in level, scope, content and expected learning outcomes to courses offered at UMD, and a grade of C- or higher (based on United States grade equivalent) must have been earned. A full syllabus with a certified English translation is required for evaluation. Students work with an academic advisor in their advising college to understand how transfer courses satisfy degree requirements. This is typically completed during orientation, but may require a follow-up advising appointment. Transfer Credit Services does not provide advising services.
5. Acceptable transfer courses are posted to the UMD record. International transfer courses will be posted with one of the following three grades:
   • A grade of P for Pass will display for courses that are accepted for transfer and awarded credit
   • A grade of F for Fail will display for a course that has an equivalent grade that is below a C- (based on the United States grade equivalent)
   • A grade of NC for No Credit will display for a course that is not acceptable for transfer and is awarded zero credits by UMD
   Questions regarding the posting of international transfer courses should be directed to Transfer Credit Services.

All currently enrolled UMD students who take courses outside the US, must go through Education Abroad to obtain approval prior to departing on their abroad experience. This process ensures that:

• Potential transfer courses have been evaluated by the relevant department
• The minimum grade required has been determined
• The conversion of international credits to UMD semester credits has been determined

To request an evaluation of a study abroad course on an approved study abroad program:

1. Approval from the Education Abroad office is obtained prior to departing on the abroad experience.
   • A student who did not obtain permission through the Education Abroad Office prior to departing on an abroad experience must appeal to receive a retroactive approval. Without the appropriate approval, transfer credit cannot be awarded by UMD.
2. The Study Abroad Course Database (SACD) or Transfer Course Database (for courses reviewed prior to September 2019) is consulted to see if the study abroad course has already been evaluated for UMD credit. Engineering majors should first consult the Clark School's SACD. 
3. If the course is not listed in the SACD or the Transfer Course Database, an EA Transfer Credit Evaluation Request is submitted for each course needing evaluation. A full syllabus with a certified English translation is required for evaluation.
4. Transfer Credit Services routes the request to the appropriate UMD academic department.
5. Student receives an email when the evaluation is complete. Evaluations usually take 2-3 weeks.
6. Education Abroad will update the SACD to reflect the outcome of the evaluation.
7. Students should consult with an academic advisor about how the course will apply to degree requirements.
8. Upon completion of the study abroad experience, students are responsible for submitting all final official transcripts. Transfer courses will post to a student's UMD record only from official transcripts received from the institution at which the credit was earned.
   • Official sealed transcripts should be sent to Education Abroad:
     University of Maryland
     Education Abroad
     1118 H.J. Patterson Hall
     4065 Campus Drive
     College Park, MD 20742

Please direct questions regarding education abroad to educationabroad@umd.edu.

Newly admitted students with transfer courses from domestic institutions can obtain access to their preliminary transfer credit evaluation starting usually 2-3 weeks after the receipt of their admission letter.

The preliminary transfer credit evaluation can be reviewed via the student's UMD unofficial transcript in Testudo. An initial review of transfer credit will occur automatically upon admission to UMD. Newly admitted students should continually monitor their unofficial transcript to ensure:

• All completed transfer courses are listed
• The course title for each transfer course reflects the course title from the sending institution
• The grade listed for each transfer course reflects the grade earned
• Students do not register for a course at UMD similar in content to a transfer course that is pending evaluation