In order to enroll in a course at a school or college (within the U.S.) other than Boston University and have the units transfer to your BU academic record, the following sequence must be adhered to in order to receive approval from the appropriate department at BU. Transfer Credit Approval Forms must be submitted and approved before students begin taking classes at other institutions.
Residency requirement: In addition to satisfying all BS degree requirements, a minimum of 48 units of coursework must be taken at Boston University in the upper-division program. Please contact engrec@bu.edu for further information.
Students should note that transfer courses will not receive Hub units. Additional course work may be required.
Chemistry and Physics departments do not accept online courses.
Step 1:
Visit the BU Transfer Equivalency site to see if the course you wish to take has already been pre-approved
Step 2:
If the course you wish to take at another U.S. institution has already been pre-approved according to the BU Transfer Equivalency site
If the course you wish to take at another U.S. institution has NOT already been pre-approved according to the BU Transfer Equivalency site
Step 3:
Submit an official transcript
Please note:
- During the academic year, courses will not be considered for transfer credit from another institution while enrolled at Boston University.
- Credit is posted only after an official transcript is received showing a grade of C or higher. Courses with grades below C or graded Pass/Fail are not acceptable for transfer credit.
- Grade(s) earned at an external institution will not calculate into your cumulative Boston University grade point average.
- The number of units for the course must be indicated on the approval form. If the course is a 4-unit course at a school on a semester system, the student will receive 4 transfer units. If the course is a 4-unit course from an institution on a quarter system, the student will receive 2.66 units (1 quarter hour unit = 2/3 semester hour unit). A minimum of 2.50 semester hour units is required to satisfy a specific curricular requirement. Students are responsible for ensuring that any unit deficiency that may result from courses transferred from another institution is satisfied by additional units from other acceptable sources.
- Please note that courses taken during the last semester of candidacy may not be processed in time to meet commencement deadlines.
Additional BU Department Information
- Please find International transfer credit instructions on this page.