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Transfer Credit Guidelines

You may transfer an unlimited number of college credits to Purdue but must earn at least 32 Purdue credits to earn a degree from the University. 

There are a variety of ways you may earn Purdue credit for previous work. Purdue does not charge any fees to complete this evaluation; however, Purdue may prioritize evaluation of credit for those who have been admitted to Purdue as well as those with the nearest Purdue start date.

If you have questions about the process of transferring credit to Purdue, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@purdue.edu, or 765-494-1776.

  1. Courses Taken as a College Student
    When you are admitted to Purdue as a degree-seeking student, Purdue's Credit Evaluation Department will evaluate your official college transcripts for possible transfer credit. The evaluation will be available in your application portal. To be transferable, coursework must meet the following criteria:

    • It was earned at a regionally accredited institution.
    • It is college-level coursework (not remedial or developmental).
    • You received a grade of at least C-.

    To receive a Purdue degree, you must complete at least 32 Purdue credit hours of upper-division courses as part of the requirements for your plan of study. Only credit transfers your grades will not.

  2. Dual/Concurrent or Early College Credit Earned in High School
    You may earn Purdue credit from dual or concurrent high school coursework (courses you took in high school that also counted toward college credit – including Purdue's own dual credit program). To evaluate this for possible Purdue credit, we must have an official transcript from the college or university that administered the course; we cannot use your high school transcript to award Purdue credit.

    Credit earned through Purdue's dual credit program already exists on your Purdue student record (no need to submit a transcript).

  3. Credit from Testing
    There are a variety of national, international and Purdue-specific testing opportunities through which you may receive Purdue credit. These include the College Board's AP program, International Baccalaureate, A-Level, departmental proficiency examinations, and others. See more information in the Purdue Credit through Testing section below.

  4. Military Experience
    You can receive college credit for active duty military service. See the Military Experience section below.

We must have official transcripts with final grades to award credit (not copied, scanned, faxed or sent from a personal email). Transcripts must be provided by the college or university that administered the coursework. We cannot use high school transcripts to award credit for dual/concurrent credit courses. Coursework taken at a Purdue regional campus or as part of Purdue's dual credit program is already on your student record (no need to submit a transcript).

How to submit transcripts*:

  • Through an electronic transcript service (contact your institution's Registrar office). This is the quickest and most efficient method. Use admissions@purdue.edu for e-transcript services that require an email address. Do not use a Purdue staff member's individual email address.
  • Mail to Purdue from the institution that administered the course:
    Purdue University
    Office of Admissions
    2550 Northwestern Ave. Suite 1900
    West Lafayette, IN 47906
  • Deliver in person to the Office of Admissions in a sealed envelope on the institution's stationery.
  • Do not send duplicate copies via different methods.

*Be sure to request or send transcripts at least two weeks before the application deadline.

Transfer Credit Course Equivalency Guide — allows you to look up courses one by one to determine how they might transfer to Purdue. You should use this tool along with the plan of study for your desired major to assess how previous college credit may apply to your desired major. Courses taken at the Purdue regional campus ARE Purdue credit; this tool cannot be used for this purpose.

There are multiple ways you might earn Purdue credit based on scores from testing services:

Purdue participates in statewide transfer initiatives coordinated by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. In addition, the University has articulation (transfer) agreements for specific majors.

  • Purdue Core Curriculum — a set of common learning outcomes required of all Purdue undergraduate students. In some cases, transfer courses may be used to satisfy specific learning outcomes.
  • Indiana Core Transfer Library (CTL) — A list of courses that transfer among all Indiana public colleges and universities.
  • Indiana College Core (formerly STGEC)  — Core student competencies and outcomes required at public institutions in Indiana. Students who have successfully completed the core requirement at one Indiana institution will not be required to complete it at another institution if they transfer. A variety of courses may satisfy a specific core requirement and whether a requirement is satisfied may be independent of courses a student still must complete at Purdue.
  • Purdue Articulation (Transfer) Agreements — Purdue transfer agreements with other institutions.
  • Indiana Transfer Single Articulation Pathway (TSAP) — a program in which students in selected majors may complete an associate's degree at an Indiana community college and transfer into a related field at a four-year public university in Indiana where credits earned for the associate's degree will apply toward the bachelor's degree.

Military veterans or active duty personnel with six months to one year of military service will receive four hours of undistributed credit. Those with at least one year will receive eight hours of undistributed credit. You must provide your DD-214 (or an LES, if still on active duty) to earn credit.

Military credit programs and courses are not evaluated for specific course equivalencies but may be used by your Purdue academic department for degree requirements.

See the Credit Through Testing section above for information about DSST, UExcel, and other credit through testing.

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