Transfer & Credit Policies

  • Transfer credit from another institution will be allowed for no more than 12 credits total toward the M.A., and an additional 6 toward the Ph.D.
  • In certain cases (for example, when the credits are old or from an institution with which the department is not familiar), the matter of transfer credit is decided only after the first semester of work or by examination.
  • M.A. transfers from other institutions may be required to take the Departmental M.A. examinations, should their training prove inadequate for doctoral-level work. Until such time as these examinations are successfully passed, the student will be considered to be on provisional status in the Ph.D. program. What constitutes "inadequate training" is to be decided by Departmental committee.
  • Credits earned in five-year Russian or East European programs will not be counted toward graduate credit unless a) a particularly strong case is made by the candidate; b) the departmental M.A. examinations are passed within one year of study, in which case the credit provisions of point 1 apply, i.e., a maximum of 12 credits toward the M.A. and 6 credits toward the Ph.D. will be allowed, justified on a course-by-course basis.
  • Students desiring to spend an academic semester abroad in pre-approved programs may have credit from such programs applied at the rate of no more than 9 credits per term of study. Typically, such study is undertaken to establish a second area or to improve language ability. Students whose fulfillment of specific course requirements is made more difficult by participation in approved study-abroad programs may apply to the graduate committee for a waiver of requirement, to be considered on a case-by-case basis.