Transfer Credit

1. Graduate students who have earned credits outside their current master's program (e.g., from a different university, in a different UBC master's program, as an undergraduate, or as an unclassified or Access Studies student) may transfer up to 12 credits or up to 40% of the total number of credits needed for completion of their current program (whichever is more), provided that:

  • a) the courses were not used to satisfy the requirements of another credential;
  • b) the courses were not used as a basis for admission to the graduate degree program;
  • c) at least a B standing (UBC 74%) was obtained in courses considered for transfer;
  • d) the courses considered for transfer credit have been taken within five years of commencement of the current degree program.

2. The 12-credit (40%) restriction applies to students in UBC-approved Exchange Agreements established by the UBC Go Global Office.

3. An exemption to Provision 1a above may apply where UBC graduate certificate programs ladder into a specifically affiliated UBC master's degree. In such cases, courses taken to satisfy the requirements of a UBC graduate certificate may be fully transferable to the affiliated master's program, even if the certificate has been or will be awarded, provided that:

  • a) The graduate certificate admission criteria are the same as the master's degree admission criteria. Note that students in a graduate certificate program will need to apply and be accepted to the master's program.
  • b) The graduate certificate offers the same courses that comprise part of the master's course requirements.
  • c) The passing grade for the graduate certificate program is the same as for the master's program.
  • d) The courses that comprise the graduate certificate program are 500-level courses that have been approved by the UBC Senate.

4. No more than 6 credits of transfer credit may be at the undergraduate level (300-/400-level).

5. Requests for transfer credit must be accompanied by a memorandum from the home graduate program addressed to the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The memorandum must provide an academic justification for allowing the transfer credit on a course by course basis.


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