Accepted Student Transfer Credit FAQs

Gonzaga’s Undergraduate Catalog is the best resource to find answers to your transfer credit questions and we encourage all students to become familiar with its contents.

The transfer credit articulation report is divided into three main sections:

1. Transfer Credit Summary
2. Transferable Courses
3. Gonzaga Course Equivalencies

Review your transfer credit summary. The summary will reflect:

• The institutions or exam scores where credit was earned.
• An applicable attendance period at that institution.
• Any transferable degrees completed.
• Total credits accepted from the institutions or exam boards.
• Total Gonzaga credits awarded (converted to semester credits).

Examine your transferable courses. Are all courses accounted for? If not, refer to the FAQ titled “Why didn’t I receive credit for a transfer course?”.

Review the Gonzaga course equivalencies and credits awarded. There are three distinct equivalency types that appear on transfer credit reports: General Electives, Discipline Electives, and Direct GU Equivalencies.

General Electives: TRAN 101, TRAN 102, TRAN 103, and TRAN 104. These equivalencies are typically awarded when a transferable course cannot be matched to a specific Gonzaga offering at the time of credit evaluation or the course was earned with a non-letter grade (P, CR, or S). These equivalencies do not fulfill specific degree requirements but do count toward the minimum credits required for graduation.

Discipline Electives: TRAN Lxxx (lower division) or TRAN Uxxx (upper division). When a course is consistent with a discipline offered at Gonzaga but cannot be determined as having a direct equivalent to a Gonzaga course – or requires faculty review of a course syllabus – the course may be allocated as elective credit in the discipline. These equivalencies do not fulfill specific degree requirements but do count toward the minimum credits necessary for graduation.

Direct Gonzaga Equivalencies: If a course has a direct GU course equivalent, your transfer credit report will reflect a specific GU course number and title. A direct equivalency might appear as ENGL 101 (Writing) or MATH 147 (Precalculus), for example.

In addition to direct equivalents, there are a few “TRAN” equivalencies that fulfill Core Curriculum requirements. These are as follows:

• TRAN FINE – Fulfills the Fine Arts/Design Core Requirement
• TRAN SCI + SCIL – Fulfills the Scientific Inquiry Core Requirement
• TRAN 1LIT, TRAN 2LIT – Fulfills the Literature Core Requirement

Important Note: Direct equivalencies toward a Gonzaga major, minor, concentration area, and select Core Curriculum requirements will require a syllabus review by department faculty. See FAQ titled “How can I appeal for Gonzaga credit?”.

This question is typically answered by an academic advisor; however, there are a few resources which may prepare you for that conversation.

Degree Worksheets: When used in tandem with your transfer credit report, a degree worksheet can help you visualize what courses you may have fulfilled and what remains to be completed at GU. Many degree worksheets can be found here and on specific undergraduate program webpages.

Undergraduate Catalog: Gonzaga’s undergraduate catalog provides an abundance of information on every program offered and often contains a sample degree progression. For example, a first-year student admitted to Gonzaga’s Nursing program can view an eight semester sample degree progression here.

Zagweb Degree Evaluation: Students who have confirmed their Gonzaga enrollment have access to a Zagweb Degree Evaluation report that will reflect degree requirements fulfilled by transfer credit. Instructions for running a Degree Evaluation can be found here (log into MyGU using your Gonzaga login credentials). As a Gonzaga student, you are encouraged to run a degree evaluation prior to registration each semester and discuss remaining requirements with your faculty advisor.

There are a few different possibilities to address why credit may not have been awarded:

1. The course did not meet the minimum grade of C (2.0) required or did not meet the minimum exam score required for credit.
2. The course did not meet criteria for transfer credit; it may have been below college level, experiential, technical, or vocational in nature.
3. Your final official transcript has not been received.
4. You have reached the maximum transferable credit from a two-year institution.

Note: If you have coursework in progress or credit awarded by a different institution, submission of additional official college transcripts may be required. Please order and issue new official transcripts for delivery to the Office of Admission.

If you detect a potential error, or need further explanation of your report, please submit a detailed email inquiry to transfercredit@gonzaga.edu.

Transfer credit evaluation is often a multi-step process. The transfer credit report you received may only be the first of many iterations. Perhaps you notice that your major or minor related courses show up as elective credit and you want these courses reviewed by faculty. Maybe you noticed that some of your credit is not included in your report, and you want to understand why. The transfer credit appeal process can be a helpful tool in these situations.

Once you receive your transfer credit report, you have 60 days to initiate an appeal request. Appeals must be submitted via email to transfercredit@gonzaga.edu and should contain as much detail as possible. Students appealing for specific Gonzaga course equivalencies must include an original course syllabus that contains learning outcomes, textbooks, topics covered, and lab schedules (for sciences). If all required materials are provided with the written appeal, department staff will facilitate the faculty review process. In some cases, decision turnaround time for an appeal can take several weeks; however, students will receive an email confirmation when the review process is complete.

Gonzaga University has several existing agreements to accept transferable associate degrees from select states and institutions. A student enrolling with a transferable degree below will generally receive junior credit standing (not to be confused with major-standing) and fulfill most of Gonzaga’s Core Curriculum.

Washington State Community Colleges:

• Associate of/in Arts – Direct Transfer Agreement (AA-DTA), including DTA’s for Major-Related Programs in Business and Computer Science
• Associate of Science Transfer (AS-T), Engineering – Track 2

Idaho State Public Universities and Community Colleges:

• Associate of Arts (AA)
• Associate of Science (AS)

Oregon State Community Colleges:

• Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer (AAOT)
  

California State Community Colleges:

• Associate in Arts with Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (AA with IGETC)

Arizona State Community Colleges:

• Associate in Arts with Arizona General Education Curriculum A (AA with AGEC-A)

Core requirements that remain to be completed at GU upon transferring with an approved associate degree above include:

• Major-related Mathematics (where applicable)
• Three Philosophy Courses (PHIL 101, 201, and 301)
• One Religious Studies Course (Christian/Catholic Tradition)
• First Year Seminar
• Core Integration Seminar

To receive the benefits of a transferable degree, a final, official college transcript containing the conferred degree must be issued to the Office of Admission.

Important GU policy reminders:

• Gonzaga does not participate in Reverse Transfer (using Gonzaga credit to fulfill associate degree requirements).
• A maximum of 64 semester credits is transferrable from a two-year institution.
• Students with an earned transferable associate degree may not transfer any further coursework from a two-year institution.

Service member education received while in the Armed Forces is eligible for transfer credit at Gonzaga University. To receive a credit evaluation, submission of an official Joint Service Transcript (JST) to the Office of Admission is required. Transfer credit eligibility is applicable to Military Courses only; Military Experience, College Level Test Scores, and Other Learning Experiences included in the JST are not considered for credit.

Credit for military training and education is evaluated according to available American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations. Upon transcript evaluation, Gonzaga University may offer up to 25 general elective credits for successfully completed Military coursework. Up to 8 of these 25 elective credits may be granted for physical fitness and activity courses.

General elective credit awarded may reduce remaining credits required for graduation but do not fulfill direct equivalencies in Gonzaga’s Core, major, minor, or concentration area requirements. Military courses considered for direct equivalency must be comparable to a GU course offering in content, level, depth, and duration. Faculty review of ACE course learning outcomes will determine if direct course equivalency may be offered. To request learning outcome review, please direct detailed appeals to transfercredit@gonzaga.edu.

Graded college-level coursework that is academic in nature and earned at an accredited institution, such as the Community College of the Air Force or the Defense Language Institute, will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis. Vocational and technical level coursework is non-transferable. No more than 64 semester credits may be granted for academic credit from institutions only offering two-year degrees.

Post-bac students who have earned the equivalent of U.S. recognized bachelor degree will enroll with the same Core Curriculum waivers offered to transferable associate degree holders. Fulfillment of upper division major requirements are at the discretion of respective department chairs and may require syllabus review.

Gonzaga does not offer transfer credit for the original bachelor degree curriculum; however, any college coursework completed after the original earned bachelor degree may be transferrable on a course-by-course basis.

Post-bac students must complete a minimum of 30 semester credits at Gonzaga, as well as all outstanding major/minor degree requirements, to qualify for a second bachelor degree.

You have spent valuable time and money toward earning college credit before enrolling at GU – don’t let that effort go to waste. There are several benefits to submitting all official college transcripts and credit-eligible exam scores to the Office of Admission. Receiving transfer credit before you begin classes can offer the following benefits:

• Confirm you are registered in proper classes.
• Ensure that you are not repeating any requirements.
• Shorten your time-to-degree.
• Provide flexibility for study abroad or adding an additional minor.