Transfer Credit

How many credits will you have when you start Loyola?

Transfer students who are veterans of the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, or Coast Guard may receive credit for their experience and training that can be applied toward their Loyola degree. Joint Service Transcripts (JST) from the American Council on Education (ACE) must be submitted for credit evaluation.

For international transfer students, the process is a little different. Find out how. 

Transfer students who attended a college or university outside of the United States from a non-U.S. institution may receive credit for prior coursework that can be applied toward a Loyola undergraduate degree.

They will need to submit their transcripts to Educational Perspectives (EP) for evaluation and request that a Catalog Match Evaluation report be sent to Loyola University Chicago. The report will provide the student and Loyola with information on whether international credit will transfer.

Transfer students who meet Loyola's score guidelines may receive credit in select subjects for Advance Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), and Cambridge International Examinations.

These score guidelines vary from institution to institution. Students must submit official copies of their AP, IB, CLEP, and Cambridge test results directly to Loyola for review and credit approval.

Visit our credit by examination page to see credit guidelines.

• AP Credit Guidelines
• IB Credit Guidelines
• CLEP Credit Guidelines
• Cambridge Guidelines

Incoming freshman and transfer students can receive credit for college courses completed during high school, referred to as dual enrollment credit.

• The college course must have been conducted in conjunction with a regionally accreddited institution of higher education. Students are required to produce an official transcript from the partner higher education institution. High School transcripts will not be accepted for transfer credit.
• The student must have earned a grade of B or higher in such transfer courses. Grades of B- or below, P, S, or CR will not be granted credit.
• Students awarded such transfer credit are limited to a maximum of 36 semester hours for the combined total of AP credit, IB credit, CLEP and/or transfer credit.
• The transfer credits will be applied toward the normal 120 credit hour graduation requirement and be consistent with transfer articulation rules in effect for Core, Major, School, or Elective credit.
• An exception may be granted to students who attended a high school in which students may earn an Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree while in high school; students who earn an AA or AS degree while in high school may be granted up to 64 semester hours of eligible credit.** (An Associate of Applied Science or other terminal associate's degree does not qualify for this exception.)
• Completion of an AA or AS degree does not exempt new first-time freshman from Loyola's Core Curriculum. Credits with a grade of B or higher will be evaluated course by course and applied to individual Core requirements if applicable. Students will need to take additional Core classes to complete their Core requirements.
• This policy will be administered by the Office of Registration and Records.
• For questions concerning core requirements, please contact your Academic Advisor.
• AP/IB/CLEP information can be found at: https://www.luc.edu/undergrad/academics/creditbyexam/
• Course equivalency information can be checked using the MyList tool in LOCUS or Transferology.

Loyola awards transfer credit for college-level, academic courses completed at other regionally accredited two-year and four-year post-secondary institutions.

• Loyola University Chicago is a participant in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), a state-wide agreement that allows transfer students to complete the IAI General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) in lieu of a receiving institution’s core curriculum.
• Credit is awarded in semester hours. Courses completed in quarter hours will be converted into semester hours.
• A maximum of 64 semester credits is accepted from two-year colleges. There is no maximum number of credits from four-year institutions.
• A minimum of 120 total semester hours must be completed in order to graduate with a bachelor's degree.
• Transfer students have two options to earn a degree. They can take their final, uninterrupted 45 hours of instruction at Loyola, or they need to take a minimum of 60 hours in-residence at Loyola.
• Once enrolled as a degree-seeking student at Loyola, students must request permission to take courses and earn college credit elsewhere.
• An exception may be granted to students who attend a high school in which students may earn an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree while in high school; such students may transfer up to 64 credit hours. Credits will be evaluated course by course with a grade of B or higher. Students may still need to take additional core classes to complete mission specific or other degree requirements. (An Associate of Applied Science degree does not qualify for an exemption.)

• Courses completed at another post-secondary school with a grade of D- or higher may be eligible for credit transfer. Freshman students must have a grade of B or higher.
• Grades lower than a C- will not be accepted in the major requirements
• Students are required to meet other minimum grade requirements to satisfy any necessary prerequisites or curriculum. This could be for the Loyola's Core Curriculum or for a specific major or school.
• In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the action taken by many universities to provide the option of P/NP grading, Loyola University Chicago will accept grades of "P" as transfer credit to satisfy Core, major, and minor requirements for undergraduate classes taken in Spring 2020 only*. Additionally, Dual Credit classes with a grade of “P” will also be accepted for transfer credit if the class was completed in Spring 2020. (*Students entering the School of Education undergraduate programs will not be included due to licensure requirements.)