Transfer & Credit Options
Learn how you can count credits from other institutions or life experience towards your CMU education. Use the links below to find your credit transfer information.
- Undergraduate credit transfer options
- Graduate credit transfer options
- Prior learning transfer credit options
Credit transfer for undergraduate students
Undergraduate students may transfer credit from a regionally accredited, degree-granting institution. There is no limit to the number of undergraduate transfer credits that can be transferred to CMU; however, there is a graduation requirement that 60 credit hours must be earned from a 4-year accredited institution of that, 30 credits must be earned through CMU.
You must have earned at least a C- or better for transfer credits to be accepted in non-competency courses. Competency courses are usually base-level courses for your general education requirements. In competency courses, like ENG 101, 201 and Math, you must have earned at least a C or better for credits to be accepted.
How do I know if my credits will transfer to CMU?
First, you'll need to apply for admission to CMU.
In your application, you'll submit one transcript from each institution you've attended. You can download and print the transcript request form, and contact your previous institutions. They must be the ones to send a copy of your transcript to CMU.
To get a general idea of how many credits you may be able to transfer, check out our CMU transfer equivalency tool.
Transferring community college credits
The Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) helps community college students earn the credits to satisfy general education requirements of four-year schools. You must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours to be eligible for the MTA.
If your community college is in Michigan, and your community college transcript says you satisfied the Michigan Transfer Agreement, you will have completed University Program section of CMU's General Education requirements.
You must earn a grade of 2.0 or higher in the following courses to meet the MTA:
- Two courses in English composition, or one course in English composition and one course in communication
- Two courses in social sciences (from two different academic disciplines)
- Two courses in natural sciences, including one with laboratory experience (from two different academic disciplines)
- Two courses in humanities or fine arts (from two different academic disciplines; studio and performance classes are not eligible)
- One course in college algebra, statistics or quantitative reasoning
Michigan Community College contact information may be found at: www.mcca.org
Your academic advisor will be able to answer any additional questions you might have about using transfer credit.
Prepare for graduate studies
Earn credits that count toward your bachelor's degree and your master's degree with accelerated master's programs. You could double-count up to 18 credits while saving time, money and building a stronger résumé.
Credit transfer for graduate students
Depending on your program, you may be able to transfer up to 50% of graduate-level coursework towards a master's degree program at CMU*. Your credits can be a combination of transfer credits from an accredited university and prior learning credits.
Important: Start your transfer credit evaluation as early as possible to avoid unnecessary credit repeats
*Students at international locations, please contact your program coordinator regarding transfer credit conversion.
You can apply for relevant transfer credit from other regionally accredited universities to your CMU degree if the following requirements are met:
- You earned a B or higher in your transferring credits
- You are in good standing at the institution where you took the courses
- You earned the credits within seven years of when you'll graduate with your master's from CMU
What do I need for the transfer credit evaluation?
- Official transcript sent by the institution
- Copies of course descriptions
- Copies of course syllabi OR course outlines
Prior learning credit
Adult students bring a level of experience and knowledge to academic programs that most younger students don’t have. Your knowledge has been acquired through work, training or life experiences. We recognize the value of that learning and award academic credit for it through our Prior Learning program.
To learn more, view the prior learning overview.
Your academic advisor will be able to answer any questions you might have about using prior learning credit.
