There are a number of courses from other universities and colleges that have already been assessed and appear on our Transfer Credit Equivalency Table.  Refer to this Table and list any courses you want credit for and their equivalency as they appear on the table.

If your course(s) does not appear on our transfer credit equivalency table, it could mean that we have not received a request to have the course assessed before.  To assess courses, we need to gather course information from you.  While a full course outline/syllabus rather than a course description found on a schools website is ideal for all departments, we do have departmental assessors who can only review a course if a full course outline/syllabus is provided. The departments that require more than the course description are:

• Anatomy                   
• Architecture
• Commerce
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Food Science
• Health
• Health and Human Performance
• Health Promotion
• Journalism
• Kinesiology
• Leisure Studies
• Management
• Microbiology and Immunology
• Physiology
• Planning

A course outline/syllabus should have been provided to you either in class or electronically from the instructor who taught the course. Course descriptions are often provided on the school's website. You can provide us with links to websites or save the course information as a PDF and submit these with your form.

We will review each course for potential transfer credits as quickly as possible to complete your assessment. This can take some time to complete, as we work with Faculties, Departments and Schools to review the course information.

If your course descriptions or course outline/syllabus are not in English, they will need to be translated by a certified translator. For translation resources, please visit ATINS.

Course information should clearly list the course title, course code, credit hours and the year the course was completed. Sometimes course numbers and titles can change slightly. If this is the case, arrange to have your post-secondary institution confirm that this information is the same, and if possible, why it is listed differently.

If you provide us with website links to your course information, please be sure that the link is not to the  school’s general website. Rather, it should lead directly to the individual course information.

Course information can come to us in paper copies, photos or scans. If you need this information returned to you, please inform us of this at the time of submission. Otherwise, this information becomes university property and cannot be returned unless otherwise indicated.

Q: How do I know what classes are applicable to my degree?

Degree requirements can feel complicated, especially if you are coming from a school where the degree requirements are different from ours. We have several advisors on campus who can provide you with general degree information. They can also meet with you once your transfer credits have been finalized to assist you with choosing classes required for your degree.

Q: Are there courses you will not assess?

Common classes we cannot review for credit are:

• Photography, drawing, painting
• Physical education
• English as a second language
• Co-op
• Experiential learning
• Project classes
• Military theory

Q: I’m an engineering student. Why did I receive so few transfer credits?

We offer several programs that are accredited and have very strict rules on what material must be completed as part of the degree. Our BEng programs have been specifically designed to satisfy the criteria of the Profession and are evaluated regularly by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) of Engineers Canada. 

Engineering transfer credits can only be considered for transfer credit if they were taken from a school that is accredited by CEAB or, if it is a non-Canadian school, have accreditation through the Washington Accord or ABET.  Credits from high school and/or college are restricted to allow a maximum of 2 math credits (6 hours) and 2 science (6 hours).

Q: How will I know when everything is finalized?

Once a review of your transfer credits is complete, you will receive an email to notify you of this.  If you have questions or concerns, contact the Assistant Registrar, Degree Audit and Transfer Credit by email at Transfercredits@dal.ca or (902) 494-2450.

Q: Some of the grades are listed on my Dalhousie transcript as “PEND” instead of TR. What does that mean?

If the transcript we received earlier in the term had classes listed that were in-progress, we assessed and assigned a neutral grade of PEND while we wait for the official, final transcript to arrive.  Once the final grades arrive, the PEND grade is changed to TR, provided the grade is C or better.

Q: What happens if I don’t provide the transfer credit form right away?

We strive to have files assessed as quickly as possible.  Our heaviest volume of work is from May to October, so we recommend that you start the transfer credit process early. While your previous work is under review, we recommend that you avoid registering for courses that may transfer. If you register in a course that later transfers as an identical course, you will then not be able to gain this transfer credit.

If you have studied at a university or college that is recognized by Dalhousie, you may receive credit for course work already completed. To be assessed for and receive credit you need:

• To have confirmed your offer of admission
  
• A final course grade of 'C' or higher
• A course that is equivalent to one offered at Dalhousie
• A course that applies to your program of study
  
• To have completed the course within the time period to transfer to Dalhousie

How does it work?

You can view university and college work that has been assessed for transfer credit in the past on our Transfer Credit Equivalency Table. If any of your courses are not listed on the transfer credit equivalency table, we will ask for a course description or course outline/syllabus.

Please provide us with links to the course description or course outline/syllabus on the school website or have a school official email attachments to transfercredits@dal.ca. Emails must be forwarded from a school official to ensure the information is authentic.

We will review each previously completed course for potential transfer credit and work as quickly as possible to complete your assessment. This can take some time because we need to:

• Determine a grading scale and credit weight
• Determine if any previous course work has already been assessed
• Determine what non-assessed course work can be reviewed
• Work with faculties, Departments and Schools to review course descriptions and outlines.

If your course descriptions or course outline/syllabus are not in English, they will need to be translated by a certified translator. For translation resources, please visit ATINS.

When your transfer assessment is complete, we will let you know which courses you will receive transfer credit for in your new program. The appropriate credits will be added to your student record.

Please remember to send in transcripts with final grades for any completed courses as soon as they are available.