Course transfer process - student overview
General Rules
- Grade must be A or B (or equivalent).
- Requests should be made one semester before the Plan of Study is due.
- Submit your request via my.cs.purdue.edu/graduate/transfer within the first 6 weeks of a Fall or Spring semester.
Requests will be processed by the end of the semester. - Courses cannot have been used to meet requirements for:
- Any undergraduate degree (no exceptions)
- Any previous master’s degree (except the special case below)
- Special exception — Courses used for a doctoral degree may be included on a master’s Plan of Study if that doctoral plan does not include any course used for another master’s degree.
- Service or industry-related courses are not transferable.
If you answer “No” where it says “Stop!” → your request is not eligible.
- Grade — Did you receive an A or B (or equivalent)?
- Yes
- No → Stop!
- Level — Is it a graduate-level course?
- Yes
- No → Stop!
- Credits — At least 3 credit hours?
- Yes
- No → Stop!
- Type — Is it service or industry-related?
- Yes → Stop!
- No
- Undergraduate Use — Used for an undergraduate degree?
- Yes → Stop!
- No
Additional Checks Based on Degree Objective
MS Plan of Study
You may transfer up to 6 semester-hours (usually 2 courses) of graduate credit from other institutions with approval from both: Graduate Committee and Graduate School. If on a quarterly system, one quarter hour is 2/3 semester hour.
- Undergraduate Use — Used for an undergraduate degree?
- Yes → Stop! Transfer not possible.
- No
- Number of courses/credits to transfer:
- 1-2 courses, 3 credits each
- More → Stop! Max = 2 courses / 6 credits.
PhD Plan of Study
- Advisor/advisory committee approval?
- Yes
- No → Stop!
- Used for a previous master’s degree?
- Yes: OK only if your doctoral plan does not end up including courses used for more than one master’s degree.
- No
- Requesting to be approved as a PhD core course?
- Yes → Stop! It will not be approved as a core course.
- No
Combine all items into one PDF in this order. Upload a PDF file in your transfer request.
- Course Comparison — An optional page comparing the course you wish to transfer to the Purdue course you believe is similar, if applicable. Use the catalog description and learning objectives from myPurdue, "Course Catalog Resources" to inform your comparison:
- Topics/modules
- Time spent per topic
- Readings/texts
- Learning outcomes
- Assessments
- Course Description — original objective summary of course content, objectives and scope.
- Syllabus/Outline — Include weekly schedule, grading criteria, textbooks (from original instructor).
- Assignments & Exams required — PDFs/scans of all homework, projects, labs, quizzes, midterms, finals.
- Official Transcript — Sealed/stamped or official digital version from former university showing the course & grade.
- A page that says Supplementary Information — Any other helpful details for reviewers, otherwise leave it blank.
- Prerequisite Descriptions — From course catalog (if not on syllabus).
- Graduate-Level Proof — Catalog entry, department letter, syllabus, or transcript showing graduate course code/level.
- Degree Use Certification — Proof the course was not counted toward:
- Your undergraduate degree
- Another master’s degree (unless exception applies)
Submit request and pdf file in my.cs.purdue.edu/graduate/transfer