Transfer Students

To receive a bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota, you must complete a minimum of 30 hours of USD credit, including at least 15 of the final 30 hours completed immediately prior to the degree. At least 50% of the coursework required for your major must be earned through USD.

Transfer Credit Review

Following your acceptance to USD, you will receive a tentative credit evaluation based on your official transcripts using the following guidelines:

• Academic courses completed for credit at an accredited institution are generally accepted for transfer.
  • Credits from non-accredited institutions may be accepted for transfer subject to approval of the dean of the college or school in which you plan to enroll.
  • College credit earned while a student is still enrolled in high school may or may not be eligible for transfer. Consult your admissions counselor for further information.
• Accepted academic courses will transfer as meeting graduation requirements as determined by the school or major department if:
  • the courses parallel requirements for the degree
    OR
  • the courses meet electives required for degree
• Courses repeated for credit are evaluated using the last grade earned.
• A maximum of 60 semester hours of transfer credit from a two-year college may apply toward graduation, and may not exceed one-half of the total semester hours required for completion of your USD degree.
• Transfer credits are accepted with the same grade and credit as recorded on the original transcript from your previous institution.
• Grades of "F" or the equivalent in a course otherwise transferable will be incorporated in calculating a student's cumulative grade-point average.
• Remedial courses, vocational courses, orientation, life experience and high school level courses are not generally accepted for transfer credit.

If you are transferring credits from a non-U.S. institution, continue reading below for more information.

Looking for more resources?

Check out the following website for additional information to help you through this process. Contact your admissions counselor with any questions.

South Dakota Board of Regents Transfer of Credit Policy

We've created a tool to help you get an idea of which courses are transferable from your old college or university. Click the link below to get started, and be sure to contact your admissions counselor with any questions.

Course Equivalency Calculator

When a student transfers coursework from another college or university to the University of South Dakota, the course is evaluated to determine one of the following:

• The course transfers as directly equivalent to a specific USD course.
• The course transfers as a discipline-specific course and may count as an elective toward graduation requirements.
• The course is not accepted toward a USD degree.

With additional information and appropriate documentation, courses originally processed as "discipline specific" may be reevaluated to the equivalent of a specific USD course. If you believe you have taken a course that has transferred to South Dakota as "discipline specific," but may actually be directly equivalent to a specific USD course, you can petition to have this change made to your transcript using the Transfer Equivalency Request Form.

If you wish to transfer credit from a non-regionally accredited institution outside of the United States, please note the following:

• You should have your transcripts evaluated by World Education Services or Educational Credential Evaluators.
• Credit from a non-regionally accredited institution outside of the United States may only transfer as equivalent to a specific USD course. USD does not accept coursework as transfer elective credit.
• Courses transferred are not included in your USD grade point average.
• You may have your courses evaluated to determine equivalency to USD courses by completing the Transfer Equivalency Request Form and attaching appropriate course materials, course syllabi or course descriptions, in English.
• Your academic advisor can help you determine which courses you may wish to submit for review to fit into your intended program at USD.
• If you are able to provide course information, you may send your Transfer Equivalency Request forms directly to the respective departments, or you may forward those to the Office of the Registrar.

It is often difficult to obtain course materials for coursework taken at a foreign institution. If you are unable to obtain the information required for review, you will need to contact the USD department chair directly for each course you wish to have reviewed. The department chair will let you know what information they will require in lieu of a syllabus or course description to determine course equivalency.

For additional information on transferring credit from non-U.S. colleges, contact the USD Office of the Registrar.