Credit by Transfer

There is no automatic transfer of graduate credit, but the student’s advisory committee has the prerogative to recommend to the Dean of the Graduate School the acceptance of transferable semester credit hours.

Only graduate coursework completed at regionally accredited institutions may be considered for transfer. TWU does not accept life or work experience for graduate credit. A student may apply for consideration of transfer of semester credit hours after satisfactorily completing a minimum of nine semester credit hours of graduate credit at Texas Woman’s University and upon filing a Degree Plan or filing a Graduate Degree Plan Substitution form when there is an active Degree Audit. The rule governing the time limit for doctoral work also applies to transferable credits outside of a completed degree.

Any credit hours not equivalent to semester credit hours (such as quarter credit hours) will be converted to semester credit hours.

Only graduate courses in which a grade of B or higher has been earned are acceptable for transfer. No credit toward a graduate degree may be obtained by correspondence, and no credit toward a graduate degree may be obtained by extension work from another institution.

At least fifty percent of the work counted toward a doctoral degree program must be composed of TWU courses.

Credit for Prior Learning Assessment

Credit for Prior Learning Assessment (CPLA) is the process for awarding course credit for specific knowledge and skills the student has acquired outside a degree program, prior to beginning the student's program of study at Texas Woman’s University. CPLA must always be tied to official student learning outcomes of a specific course at TWU and that course requirement is then waived for the student.

Students will need to submit documentation of the prior learning to the ACA of the program by submitting the Credit for Prior Learning form. The prior learning work for which a student is seeking credit must be deemed graduate level by the faculty who are content experts and who typically are instructors of the course, as well as the ACA of the program the credit will be applied towards. The work must meet or exceed graduate "B" level work. Credit earned for prior learning will count against the maximum transfer credits allowed to apply to the doctoral degree requirements. Students must also pass a comprehensive exam, turn in a portfolio, or complete another form of assessment over the material covered in the course for which they plan to receive credit. Specific assessment requirements, as well as other specific program guidelines related to credit for prior learning, are described in the program’s catalog entry.