DigiPen welcomes applicants from all educational backgrounds. Applicants who have officially documented college-level, AP, or CLEP-related studies are automatically considered for transfer credit during the application process. Unofficial documents are not considered for transfer credit, so please make sure your application is complete by sending all official transcripts and any available test scores for consideration.
General Policy
Transfer credit evaluations are completed on a course-by-course basis. The Office of the Registrar will evaluate college-level credit earned at other accredited institutions with respect to a student’s degree program at DigiPen. To be considered for transfer credit, a course must have been taken within the last 10 years and must appear on an official transcript from an accredited institution of higher education with a grade of B- or better. DigiPen reserves the right to accept or reject credit earned at other institutions. Transfer credit is entered on transcripts, but no grades or quality points are awarded. Transfer grades are not calculated into the student’s GPA at DigiPen. Please note that transfer credit typically serves to help lighten a student’s credit load in a given semester rather than reduce the number of required semesters. Most applicants entering with transfer credit graduate from our programs in three or four years.
For transfer credit to be accepted, it must satisfy a course requirement for your degree program. To understand how your transfer credit might apply, it is important to become familiar with your program’s degree requirements:
Semester Calendar
DigiPen operates on a semester calendar system. When considering transfer credit from institutions that operate on a quarter calendar system, credits must be converted. In most cases, a transferable five quarter-credit course may transfer to satisfy a three semester-credit requirement.
Advising for Transfer Students
Students transferring from another school who are confirmed to attend DigiPen should meet with a Student Success Advisor prior to starting their first semester at DigiPen to learn how their transfer credit may impact their recommended course sequence and plan a program of study.
Transferring schools may affect the amount and type of financial aid available to you. We encourage you to contact the Office of Financial Aid if you have questions about financial aid as a transfer student.
Special Types of Credit
Advanced Placement
Transfer credit may be granted for a score of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement (AP) Exams of the College Board according to the equivalency chart below. AP Exams must have been taken within the last 10 years and must have been taken prior to the applicant’s graduation from high school. Applicants must request to have an official AP score report sent to DigiPen from the College Board.
| AP EXAM | MINIMUM SCORE | DIGIPEN COURSE | CREDITS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art History | 4 | ART 1000 | 3 |
| Computer Science A | 4 | CS 115 | 3 |
| English - Language and Composition | 4 | ENG 110 | 3 |
| English - Literature and Composition | 4 | ENG 110 | 3 |
| History - US History | 4 | HIS 199 | 3 |
| History - World History | 4 | HIS 100 | 3 |
| Human Geography | 4 | HSS 199 | 3 |
| Japanese | 4 | JPN 101 | 3 |
| Microeconomics or Macroeconomics | 4 | ECN 199 | 3 |
| Statistics | 4 | MAT 105 | 3 |
| Calculus AB Subscore | 4 | MAT 150 | 4 |
| Mathematics - Calculus AB | 4 | MAT 150 | 4 |
| Mathematics - Calculus BC | 4 | MAT 200 | 4 |
| Music Theory | 4 | MUS 120 and MUS 120L | 2 and 1 |
| Physics 1 | 4 | PHY 115 | 3 |
| Physics C - Mechanics | 4 | PHY 200 and PHY 200L | 4 and 1 |
| Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism | 4 | PHY 270 and PHY 270L | 3 and 1 |
| Psychology | 4 | PSY 101 | 3 |
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
Transfer credit may be granted for CLEP Subject Examinations with a B-level score or higher only according to the equivalency chart below. Exams must have been taken within the last 10 years and must have been taken prior to the applicant’s completion of a total of 40 hours of college credit. Applicants must request to have an official score report sent to DigiPen.
| CLEP SUBJECT TEST | MINIMUM SCORE | DIGIPEN COURSE | CREDITS |
|---|---|---|---|
| College Composition | 59 | ENG 110 | 3 |
| Introductory Psychology | 55 | PSY 101 | 3 |
| Precalculus | 61 | MAT 106 | 3 |
Washington State Community and Technical Colleges
Students transferring from Washington state community and technical colleges may refer to the Course Equivalency Guides.
Notable Restrictions on Transfer Credit
Developmental courses, orientation courses, or courses that receive a “pass” or “credit” grade are not eligible for transfer credit.
Courses considered for transfer to a student’s major are subject to review by academic department offices and may require a validation examination, portfolio review, and/or additional documentation to be approved. Students intending to petition for major-related transfer credit should submit these requests to the appropriate faculty no later than July 1.
In general, designated project and performance courses may not be satisfied with transfer credit.
Undergraduate Students: A minimum of 50% of undergraduate degree program requirements must be completed at DigiPen.
Graduate Students: Graduate programs may accept up to 15 credits in transfer from other colleges and DigiPen programs.
Students transferring to DigiPen under an established articulation agreement may be subject to policies that vary from those stated here.
International Transfer Students
If you have studied college-level courses outside of the United States, you can request a transfer evaluation by providing course descriptions for review with your official transcripts. If the course descriptions are not in English, please provide official translations in addition to the original documents. (See the For International Applicants page for more details on translating application materials.)
Prospective Students
Prospective students who have completed or would like to complete courses at another postsecondary institution prior to enrolling at DigiPen are welcome to request course equivalency information from admissions@digipen.edu. Please include the following information:
Course equivalency is subject to change and does not guarantee transfer approval. Please allow two to four weeks to process requests for transfer credit information.
Current Students
Current students who wish to complete courses at another institution for transfer to DigiPen should seek advisement from their Student Success Advisor to identify which courses may be good candidates for transfer.
For approval, current students should reach out to the Office of the Registrar prior to enrolling in any course for which transfer approval might be sought. To have your completed credit evaluated for transfer, please request to have an official transcript sent to DigiPen. Please note that there is a transfer fee of $25 per credit for courses completed at another institution after a student has matriculated at DigiPen.
Transfer Course Equivalency Guides
Washington State Community and Technical Colleges
Washington state community and technical colleges have adopted a common course numbering (CCN) system for selected courses, indicated by the “&” symbol in the course code. CCN courses represent equivalent courses offered at multiple institutions across Washington state. Please see the CCN Course Equivalency Guide below for information about CCN courses that are eligible for transfer to DigiPen.
The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges lists the following institutions which may offer CCN courses:
Transfer equivalency is subject to change. Courses must appear on an official transcript with a grade of B- or better and must have been taken within the last 10 years. Please review our transfer credit policy for more details.
Transfer credit is evaluated with respect to a student’s degree program at DigiPen. For transfer credit to be accepted, it must satisfy a course requirement for the student’s degree program. To understand how your transfer credit might apply, it is important to become familiar with your program’s degree requirements.
Community College Transfer
We work with several community colleges in our area to help facilitate students wishing to transfer in credits toward a DigiPen degree program. To determine if your current community college participates, use our interactive Community College Transfer tables and find out the specific prerequisites and a sample course sequence for transfer students.