Transfer Credit

Resources

Guidelines for Transfer Credit

The below rules apply to coursework completed outside of UM-Ann Arbor before or during the BBA program:

• Only courses with a grade of C or higher are transferable (courses with a grade of C- or below do not transfer). Note, transfer credit is posted to the UM transcript with a grade of “T” and is not averaged into the BBA cumulative grade point average.
• Courses elected on an optional Pass/Fail grading basis courses must be accompanied by official documentation of a C grade or better.
• A-Level courses: only non-business coursework transfers.
• No business coursework is accepted for transfer, with the exception of courses taken at UM-Ann Arbor.
• For coursework completed in Spring 2014 or later: students may transfer in coursework completed at a community college regardless of credits completed, as long as coursework meets all other Ross guidelines.
• Any transfer credit applied to a student’s record will not be removed.
• Students will be awarded the number of credit hours earned at the other U.S. institution. Note that we use semester credit hours (i.e., 1 quarter hour = 2/3 semester hour).
• Please note: As a result of numerous institutional responses to the Covid-19 virus across the country, effective Winter 2020 and through Summer 2021, classes taken outside of UM Ann Arbor that were previously required to be taken in-person in order to be eligible for transfer will be accepted in an online format. Courses must already be evaluated by UM for eligibility to transfer, and students are encouraged to submit a Transfer Credit Preliminary Evaluation form prior to registering for any non-UM coursework. All other transfer credit policies, as outlined in the BBA Bulletin and the Transfer Credit page on iMpact still apply. 

Important: The Ross School of Business requires external coursework to have an existing evaluation in the Transfer Credit Equivalency Database to be eligible for transfer credit.

Effective Fall 2025: Any course listed in the database as transferable under the TRGENCR subject code will not be accepted for transfer credit towards a BBA degree, including any TRGENCR transfer coursework added to a prior UM career (e.g. LSA) before transferring into Ross.

If a course has not been previously evaluated by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, it is the student’s responsibility to submit an online Transfer Credit Equivalency Request with the University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions prior to enrolling in the course. This process requires a course description, which must be from an official source, such as the program’s website or course catalog. In approximately 10-15 business days, the student should receive a response from OUA, giving transfer equivalency for the course, as well as any further instructions for additional information that they may need.

For completed courses that do not have an existing evaluation, it is the student’s responsibility to seek an evaluation from the relevant department here at the University of Michigan. If at any point during this process you are redirected to the OUA form above or are having trouble interfacing with a department, please contact bbacrediteval@umich.edu for assistance.

• MATH course evaluation requests should be submitted directly to the Math Department, and questions can be directed to math-transfer-credit@umich.edu
• BIOLOGY, EEB, or MCDB course evaluation requests should be submitted directly to the Biology Department, and questions should be directed to lsa-biology-transfer@umich.edu
• CHEM or BIOCHEM course evaluation requests should be submitted directly to the Chemistry Department, and questions should be directed to ChemUndergrad@umich.edu
• PHYSICS course evaluation requests should be submitted directly to the Physics Department, and questions should be directed to physics.sso@umich.edu
• STATS or DATASCI course evaluation requests should be submitted through the Statistics Department website
• SI course evaluation requests should be submitted to the School of Information via the SI Course Evaluation Form or sent to umsi.registrar@umich.edu
• Engineering or Computer Science courses should be submitted to the College of Engineering, and questions can be directed to engincredit@umich.edu. Please follow the instructions for non-engineering students on this page.
• First Year Writing – If you have had a course transfer as ENGLISH 101X or ENGCMPTC 101X and believe it should fulfill your First Year Writing requirement, you may submit the course to the Sweetland Center for Writing to request an exception.
• For all other departments please follow the links at the bottom of this website and contact bbacrediteval@umich.edu if you run into any issues.

Once an evaluation for a course has been received, it should be scanned and saved as a PDF file, and submitted via email to bbacrediteval@umich.edu.

Types of transfer credit

1. Equivalent Course: If the course descriptions match closely, students will receive credit for the specific equivalent course at the University of Michigan. (Ex. ECON 102)
2. Departmental Credit: If the course description does not closely match a U-M course, but still clearly falls within a certain department, the credit will be called departmental credit. (Ex. PSYCH 101X)
3. Inter-Departmental Credit: If the course description indicates that the course had a very broad range of topics, incorporating several different departments, but still falling mostly in one of the general areas of study — Humanities, Social Science, or Natural Science — you will receive interdepartmental credit.

Transferring Credits Earned Prior to the Start of the BBA Program

Ross First-Year Students

The BBA program will apply a maximum of 30.0 transferable credits earned prior to the start of the BBA program toward the 120.0 credits required for the BBA degree, even if a student has earned more than this.  Individual courses may be applied to general degree requirements, such as distribution and the 54 non-business credit requirement beyond this 30.0 credit hour cap.

Students who enter the BBA program at the start of their Sophomore year

The BBA program will apply a maximum of 45.0 transferable credits earned prior to the start of the BBA program toward the 120.0 credits required for the BBA degree, even if a student has earned more than this.  Individual courses may be applied to general degree requirements, such as distribution and the 54 non-business credit requirement beyond this 45.0 credit hour cap.

Dual-Enrollment While In High School

Effective Fall 2022, Ross allows transferable dual enrollment credits to count toward BBA requirements. Ross will review dual enrollment credit for transfer credit and will post accepted courses to a student’s U-M transcript. This includes all dually enrolled courses taken at accredited institutions of higher education, regardless of format or location. Students should work with their academic advisor to determine how transfer credits work toward their degree requirements.

Important!

• Students are responsible for notifying their Academic Advisor and the Ross Registrar’s Office of any potential dual-enrollment credits that may be outstanding.
• All Business credit is non-transferable.
• Any transfer credit applied to a student’s record will not be removed. 

Test Credit

The receipt, processing, and posting of AP, IB, and A-level credits are handled exclusively by the University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Please visit their website for more information.

For students that submit their AP or IB scores after the beginning of the Fall term of their first year, this credit will not be automatically applied to your record. Please contact bbacrediteval@umich.edu after submitting your score report so that we know to process this credit and add it to your record. Important: If you submit your score report after the completion of your first year, adding this credit may push you into the upper lever tuition bracket (55+ CTP) a term earlier than expected. In this case, we require the student to acknowledge in writing (email to bbacrediteval@umich.edu from your @umich.edu account is fine) that you understand and accept the retroactive tuition implications before we add this credit to your record.

AP Credit
Ross School of Business awards AP credit hours according to LSA Guidelines, and accepts a maximum of 30.0 credit hours completed prior to the start of first-year (inclusive of test and transfer credit) towards the BBA degree. If you have not yet submitted your AP scores to the University of Michigan, please visit the College Board website for information regarding additional score reports. U-M code is 1839.

IB Credit
To receive credit for International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations, an official transcript of examination grades must be officially sent by the IB Office, directly to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Please note, OUA only awards credit for IB Higher Level examinations.

Earning Non-UM Credit as a BBA Student

All Current BBA Students

Current BBA students may request permission from the Ross Registrar’s Office to transfer in up to 9.0 credit hours total in non-business courses from another accredited U.S. institution during their time in the BBA program.  This could be after the First-Year, Sophomore, or Junior year, during summer sessions. 

Declared dual degree students are eligible to transfer in up to 15.0 non-business credit hours total from another accredited U.S. institution during their time in the BBA program. A dual degree student whose home school isn’t Ross would be subject to their home school’s transfer credit policy, however transferred business credit would still not be applied to their degree.

Important: Credits earned from coursework completed concurrently during a time that overlaps with the Fall or Winter terms after starting at the Ross School of Business will not be accepted for transfer credit. Students should not enroll concurrently with another college or university while enrolled in a regular term at UM Ross School of Business.  BBA students are expected to be registered only at UM Ross School of Business during the Fall and Winter terms.  Ross School of Business will only accept transfer credit that comes from an accredited U.S. school of record.  Note: the only exception to this policy is credit for the equivalent of ECON 102 at the London School of Economics, England, which does not need a U.S. school of record.

Steps to Take

1. Determine Equivalency
The Ross School of Business requires external coursework to have an existing evaluation in the Transfer Credit Equivalency Database to be eligible for transfer credit. For courses that do not have an existing evaluation in the TCE, please see the instructions above under the “Guidelines for Transfer Credit” header.

2. Submit a BBA Transfer Credit: Preliminary Approval Form
Prior to enrolling in a course, students are responsible for submitting a completed BBA Credit Transfer Preliminary Approval Form to bbacrediteval@umich.edu, in order to verify that the course is eligible to transfer.

3. Provide In-Person Verification (Fall 2019 and Earlier)
Prior to the Winter 2020 term, certain courses required in-person verification in order to be eligible to transfer. This included all Math, Economics, Chemistry, and Physics courses. In-person verification is met with a syllabus from the course from the semester in which it was taken. This syllabus should be submitted as a PDF file to bbacrediteval@umich.edu prior to the first day of the class. Important: Effective Winter 2020 and beyond, classes taken outside of UM Ann Arbor that were previously required to be taken in-person in order to be eligible for transfer will be accepted in an online format.

4. Submit an Official Transcript
Upon completion of the course, students are responsible for having an official transcript sent directly to the Ross Registrar’s Office by the institution in which the course was completed. Please note, per the University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions, “Transcripts sent from students are not accepted as official.” Official transcripts should be sent electronically to: bbacrediteval@umich.edu.

IMPORTANT: If you are using Parchment to have your official transcript sent to the University of Michigan Ross School of Business/ Ross Registrar please note – to get it to the right location, be sure to choose the “Enter Your Own” button at the bottom and input the following email address: bbacrediteval@umich.edu. Choosing any of the University of Michigan options that appear in the search will have your transcript sent to the wrong office and will significantly delay the processing of your transfer credit.

If your institution does not offer an electronic transcript, hard-copies may be sent to:

BBA Credit Evaluation
Ross Registrar’s Office 
700 E. University Ave, K3521
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1234

5. Turn on Notifications
It may take the Ross Registrar’s Office and the Office of the Registrar up to a few weeks to process your transcript and the subsequent paperwork. If you have not already done so, we recommend that you enable notifications in Wolverine Access, so that you will receive an email when a change is made to your record:

1. Log into Student Business in Wolverine Access
2. Click on “Campus Personal Information”
3. Choose “Notification Preferences”
4. Activate the “Enable Email Notifications” checkbox
5. Save!

Frequently Asked Questions

How can AP, IB, and Dual-Enrollment credit be used?

Some credit earned prior to the start of the BBA program (AP credit, IB credit, and dual-enrollment credit from colleges and universities earned while in high school) may be eligible to count towards your college credits!

If transferred, these types of credits will count towards your overall CTP (credits towards program), and may help you to receive an earlier registration time as you progress through the BBA program. IB credits and dual-enrollment credits may be eligible to fulfill certain Distribution requirements (please see your academic advisor), the 54 non-Business credit requirement, and can count as prerequisites for courses that you may want to take at the University of Michigan.

Can AP, IB, and Dual-Enrollment credit affect Tuition/Financial Aid?

It is important to note that the University of Michigan Ross School of Business has different tuition rates for lower (First-Year and Sophomore) and upper (Junior and Senior) division students. You can find more information about these rates on the Michigan Ross website at: https://michiganross.umich.edu/programs/bba/tuition-financial-aid

Class standing is determined by the total number of credits earned toward a degree:

First-Year: Fewer than 25 credits

Sophomore: 25 through 54 credits

Junior: 55 through 84 credits

Senior: 85 credits or more

Can I remove Test or Transfer Credit?

Per the BBA Bulletin (/academics/michigan-ross-student-bulletins):

• First semester Ross BBA First-Year students should consult with their academic advisor to fill out a Test Credit Removal Request form if they wish to remove test credit.
• BBA First Years must submit this test credit removal request form before 11:59 pm (Eastern) on February 28th of their first Winter term. Any test credit applied will not be removed if the request is received after this date and time.
• Students admitted as Sophomores into the BBA program cannot have test credit removed.
• Any transfer credit applied to a student’s record will not be removed.

Can I earn transfer credit from a non-UM study abroad program?

Per the BBA Bulletin (/academics/michigan-ross-student-bulletins): “Students may explore UM and non-UM study abroad options for Spring or Summer term of any year if that is a better fit due to the set sequence of BBA core courses. Students may also receive general (non-business) elective course credit for non-Ross, UM-sponsored study abroad programs. All coursework should be reviewed for approval prior to departure. … Courses taken outside UM-Ann Arbor are subject to all transfer credit rules and policies.”

Students should review all information regarding non-UM study abroad programs as listed on iMpact, and schedule an appointment with their academic advisor to review their degree plan and discuss all relevant policies. 

Please take particular note of the following: “Ross School of Business will only accept transfer credit that comes from an accredited U.S. School of Record.” It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all transfer credit policies are met, prior to enrolling in any non-UM study abroad program. This includes obtaining verification from the study abroad provider that all coursework will be posted to a transcript from an accredited U.S. School of Record.

No credit will be granted for coursework that does not receive a transcript from an accredited U.S. School of Record.

Learn more about the guidelines for a School of Record here: https://www.hlcommission.org/Publications/guidelines-school-of-record.html

Where should I have my transcript(s) sent?

Please have your official transcript(s) sent electronically to: bbacrediteval@umich.edu

IMPORTANT: If you are using Parchment to have your official transcript sent to the University of Michigan Ross School of Business/ Ross Registrar please note – to get it to the right location, be sure to choose the “Enter Your Own” button at the bottom and input the following email address: bbacrediteval@umich.edu. Choosing any of the University of Michigan options that appear in the search will have your transcript sent to the wrong office and will significantly delay the processing of your transfer credit.

If your institution does not offer an electronic transcript, hard-copies may be sent to: 

BBA Credit Evaluation
Ross Registrar’s Office 
700 E. University Ave, K3521
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1234

It is important to know that transcripts that are not sent to the email address above are not guaranteed to be received by the Ross Registrar’s Office, and may not be processed in a timely manner. The University of Michigan is a large and decentralized campus, and other units may not share or communicate the receipt of official transcripts with our office. If you have sent a transcript to the wrong address, please send an email to bbacrediteval@umich.edu, letting us know where the transcript was from, when it was sent, and which office or address it was sent to. We will do our best to locate it, however, you may be asked to order a new transcript if it cannot be found. 

Where do I send Guest Student Applications/Transient Forms?

The Ross Registrar’s Office is unable to complete guest student application forms, as they require a higher level of authorization than we are able to provide. You will need to submit it to the University of Michigan Office of the Registrar for completion. Please contact Wolverine Services for assistance.