Students who have taken composition classes at other schools or who would like to take an external course for writing credit in the future may apply to get CAS WR transfer credit for their external classes. Note that WR transfer credit will not satisfy any Hub requirements. Note also that, in general, the Writing Program does not approve transfer credit for asynchronous online courses and/or short duration courses (half-semester, etc.)
Beginning with transfer students entering in Fall 2020, the Writing Program will award the following transfer credit:
- General elective credit: for external writing classes that are not equivalent to any CAS WR classes
- CAS WR 01*: for external classes that are equivalent to CAS WR 111
-
CAS WR 02*: for external classes that are equivalent to CAS WR 112
-
CAS WR 13*: for external classes that are equivalent to CAS WR 120
-
CAS WR 16*: for external classes that are equivalent to CAS WR 150, CAS WR 151, CAS WR 152, or CAS WR 153
WR transfer credit fulfills the following prerequisites for WR classes:
- CAS WR 01* transfer credit fulfills the prerequisite for CAS WR 112.
- CAS WR 02* transfer credit fulfills the prerequisite for CAS WR 120 for transfer students.
- CAS WR 13* and CAS 16* both fulfill the prerequisite for CAS WR 150, CAS WR 151, CAS WR 152, and CAS WR 153 for transfer students. Only one of the two is needed. First-year students with CAS WR 13* or CAS WR 16* credit are required to take a First-Year Writing course such as CAS WR 120 still.
The Writing Program strongly recommends that ELL transfer students begin the WR sequence at the level of their Multilingual Writer Placement. However, if they feel comfortable, ELL transfers students may register for a class at a higher level than their placement if they have WR transfer credit that meets the prerequisite for the higher level class.
More information about transfer credit at Boston University is available on the BU Admissions website. More information about Hub requirements for transfer students is available on the Hub website.
Applying for WR Transfer Credit
Incoming transfer students and incoming freshman who have taken college-level writing courses should visit the Registrar’s transfer credit website for instructions on how to apply for transfer credit.
If you are a current BU student, please visit the Registrar’s Office page for more information and links to transfer credit forms.
Transfer Credit for Classes Taken in the US
You will need to submit an application to the Writing Program with the following materials:
- A transfer credit form from your college at Boston University.
- A catalog description of the course.
- A syllabus of the course. This may be a sample syllabus of the same course level provided by the department offering the external class. The syllabus must include details about the number, length, and type of papers that were required as well as the day-by-day schedule of the course.
Returning students can check the review history of the external class they wish to take on the Registrar’s transfer credit website for current students.
Transfer Credit for Classes Taken outside the US
All Boston University students considering taking a non-BU course abroad for transfer credit are required to consult with the BU Study Abroad Program Manager for External Programs prior to applying for an international study program in order to determine if the program they have selected is acceptable under University policy. Transfer credit must be approved in advance. No credit will be given for courses that do not receive official BU approval in advance. Students must apply to the Study Abroad office for all courses taken outside of the United States, even if the course is offered in association with an American school as part of a summer program abroad.
You will need to submit an application to the Writing Program with the following materials:
- A transfer credit form from the Study Abroad office.
- A catalog description of the course.
- A syllabus of the course. This may be a sample syllabus of the same course level provided by the department offering the external class. The syllabus must include details about the number, length, and type of papers that were required.
Appealing or Changing Transfer Credit
If your application has already been evaluated by the Writing Program and you wish to appeal the decision, please submit a
Transfer Credit Appeal Form to the Writing Program. You are welcome to include new materials, such as your academic papers or assignment sheets, with your appeal form to support your case. Students are permitted to appeal courses one time.
Transfer Credit and the Multilingual Writer Placement
Students who are required to take the
Multilingual Writer Placement (students who submitted English-language proficiency test scores to Boston University for admission) must take the Multilingual Writer Placement if they will still be taking CAS WR courses after getting their transfer credit evaluated or if they have not gotten their transfer credit evaluation results yet.