Transferring Credits from Non-Claremont Institutions

Courses from other institutions may be transferred for HSA credit under the following circumstances:

• up to two summer school courses taken with prior approval from the student’s HSA advisor;
• courses taken in an approved study abroad program or in an approved exchange program with U.S. institutions;
• courses taken during a leave of absence or following a withdrawal or ITR when a student has been approved for readmission;
• courses taken at a previous institution when a student is transferring to HMC.

When a student is transferring to HMC or returning after a withdrawal or ITR, the department chair approves transfer of courses for HSA credit or for credit towards graduation only. New transfer students may take up to half of their remaining HSA courses at the other Claremont Colleges, but the departmental requirement is not reduced for students returning after withdrawal or ITR without the approval of the chair. In cases of advanced admission or readmission to HMC where few, if any, required HSA courses remain, the Department requires the student to take one HSA course per semester, up to half of which may be taken at the other Claremont Colleges.

Any courses transferred from other institutions for HSA credit must be largely comparable to courses at the Claremont Colleges and must fulfill the following requirements:

• courses must be at approved academic institutions;
• each course must represent a minimum of four weeks of work, unless transferring as a half-course or less;
• courses must not be online courses;
• courses taken at two-year institutions in the U.S. must be transferable to four-year institutions within that state system (e.g., courses taken at California community colleges must be “UC transferrable”);
• summer school courses must receive a grade of “B” or better, and all other transfer courses (including study abroad) must receive a grade of “C” or better;
• courses cannot have been taken prior to college matriculation.

When a course transfers from two to four units, it is treated as a single course within the HSA curriculum. For example, three four-unit transfer courses satisfy the equivalent of three rather than four HSA course requirements, even though all 12 units will count toward graduation. Students who receive high grades on Advanced Placement or similar tests or who have taken college-level course work while in high school may not need to fulfill prerequisites for advanced courses in the same subjects, but the Department does not waive any of its requirements in these cases.