Transfer and Advance Placement Credit

Credit Limits
Advance Placement Policies
Transfer Policies

Credit Limits

• No more than 64 credits will be awarded to students for external work, regardless of whether from pre-matriculation study or post-matriculation study abroad, summer study etc.
• Credit is awarded only when official documentation (official transcript, official test score report) is submitted to the Registrar from the external institution
• All students are subject to a maximum of 8 credits for transferred summer work completed post-matriculation. (Students admitted as first-year Spring entrants may earn as many as 8 additional summer school credits, provided the total of these credits and any transferred credits earned elsewhere in the Fall semester before their entrance does not exceed 16.)

Advance Placement Work
A maximum of  32 credits will be granted for all advanced placement work.  Advance Placement credit cannot be applied toward college requirements.

Advanced Placement - 4 credits will be awarded per exam graded 4 or 5

Caribbean Advanced Examinations - 8 credits will be granted per CAPE exam for liberal arts subject units with a score 1, 2, or 3. One non-liberal arts subject may be awarded 4 credits.

French Baccalaureate - 16 credits will be granted for scores of 10 or above and the coefficient must be at least a 4.

General Certificate of Education (A-Levels) - A maximum of 32 credits can be granted if a student completes four or more exams with grades of C- or better in liberal arts subjects. Credit is not awarded for O-Levels, AS-Levels, nor for the General Paper.

German Abitur -   A maximum of 16 credits for receipt of this degree

International Baccalaureate - Credit may only be granted for higher level exams awarded a grade of 6 or 7.

• If the points total is below 36 or any grades are below a 6, the College may grant 8 credits per higher level exam graded 6 or 7.
• If three higher levels and grades in all exams taken (including subsidiary) are 6 or 7 and 36 or more total points are earned, 32 credits may be granted 

Transfer Work

Students should note that transfer credits are granted on a semester credit-for-credit basis (that is, a 3-credit course taken on a semester schedule will be awarded 3 credits at Mount Holyoke College). Credits earned at schools not on the semester calendar will be converted to semester credits (e.g. a quarter credit will be awarded .66 semester credits at Mount Holyoke College).

Grades for transferred courses will not appear on the Mount Holyoke College transcript, nor will they affect the Mount Holyoke GPA.

Academic credit is generally granted for liberal arts courses completed with grades of C- or better. Credit for one non-liberal arts course may be granted.

Academic credit is never granted for:

• internships
• on-line courses
• courses with a pass/fail grade
• physical education courses
• courses taken at U.S. schools without regional accreditation
• CLEP or placement exams given by other institutions
• courses not at college level (such as algebra, college skills)
• skills, craft or trade courses (such as EMT training, career exploration)

Academic credit is not usually granted for:

• independent study coursework
• non-liberal arts courses (such as pre-professional courses in management, veterinary science, nursing, etc.)
• computer science courses without written permission of the Mount Holyoke College computer science department
• music courses without written permission of the Mount Holyoke College music department; no credit will be awarded for performance studies, including individual instrument study, choir, orchestra, or other ensemble study