7. Transfer Students

7.1 Transfer Credits - All Faculties

At Dalhousie transfer credits may be granted for courses which are offered by a recognized university or equivalent institution of higher learning and which are judged to be comparable to courses offered at Dalhousie and to be appropriate to a student’s academic program at Dalhousie. Transfer credit will be granted for any course in which a final mark of C or higher was obtained.

Transfer credits are subject to the approval of the appropriate department/school/college. For courses not within the purview of a Dalhousie department/school/college, the Registrar’s Office will assess transfer credits. Students may appeal, in writing, a negative decision and should justify the inclusion of such courses in the student’s proposed program. Copies of calendar descriptions are necessary. Such descriptions are not normally included with university transcripts, and it is the student’s responsibility to provide them.

Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Management require course syllabi that includes the length of the course, topics covered, evaluation, textbook used, and required reading.

College of Arts and Science and Faculty of Management courses that are more than 10 years old may not be used to fulfill degree requirements unless a waiver is granted. See Regulation 15 for information on other faculties.

Transfer credits may be counted towards fulfilment of the concentration, major or honours or Commerce/Management core area requirement of a bachelor’s degree with specific advance approval from the appropriate department/school/college at Dalhousie.

To obtain a first degree or diploma, at least half of the credit hours, including at least half in the field of concentration or major or minor, must normally be taken at Dalhousie.

For the BComm Co-op degree, a minimum of 60 credit hours (plus three workterms) must be taken, of which at least 48 must be in the core area and include the three workterm credits.

For the BMgmt degree, a maximum of 60 credit hours may be counted towards the program.

In the Faculty of Health to obtain a first degree, all or most of the advanced work of the program (e.g. at least half the credit hours taken in the second and subsequent years of study) must be taken at Dalhousie.

Note: Transfer credits will not be awarded for work completed while a student was academically ineligible.

7.2 Architecture and Planning

For the BEDS degree, at least one third of the credits required in the third and fourth years must be taken while registered in the BEDS program at Dalhousie. Courses taken to qualify for admission are not converted to transfer credits unless they are equivalent to BEDS courses. For the Bachelor of Community Design, at least half of the credits must be taken at Dalhousie, including half in the major field.

7.3 Computer Science

For the BCSc, BACSc and BINF degrees, at least half of the credit hours must be taken at Dalhousie. 60 credit hours of CSCI courses, including 36 of the third and fourth year CSCI courses, must be taken at Dalhousie.

7.4 Engineering

For the BEng degree, at least half of the credit hours, including the final two study terms with a full course load, must be taken at Dalhousie. For the Bachelor of Applied Science, at least half of the credit hours for the degree must be taken at Dalhousie, including half in the major field

7.5 Procedures

Once the student’s record has been assessed the Registrar’s Office will inform the student which transfer credits have been awarded. If more credits have been approved than can be applied to the student’s program, the Registrar’s Office will decide the appropriate transfer credits. Transfer credits awarded on admission appear on a Dalhousie transcript as credits only; no marks are shown.

If by registration time the student has not received written confirmation of transfer credits, the student should check with the Registrar’s Office. Information, although incomplete, may be available and may be helpful in choosing Dalhousie courses.

Before selecting courses the student should consult with the appropriate department/school/college to determine how the transfer credits will fit into the student’s specific academic program at Dalhousie.

7.6 Courses Taken at Other Universities on Letter of Permission

A student who wishes to take courses at other institutions while registered at Dalhousie must obtain approval in advance on a form available online at www.dal.ca/lop. A Letter of Permission will be provided if all the following conditions are met:

• the student is in good academic standing, e.g. students who have been academically dismissed or are on probation are not eligible
• the student has not exceeded the allowable number of transfer credits
• the course at the other institution is acceptable for transfer to Dalhousie
• the workload will not exceed Dalhousie’s limitations
• the course is not offered at Dalhousie in the term in which the student wishes to take it; or the student has a scheduling conflict; or the course is full; or the student is living outside the local area.

The departments of French, German, Russian Studies, and Spanish and Latin American Studies have special arrangements whereby up to 30 credit hours taken at other universities may be considered as part of a student’s program at Dalhousie (see Regulation 13).

No credit will be given for any courses taken at another university while a student is not in good standing at Dalhousie. See Definitions section of this calendar for the definition of “good standing”.

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