Admission Information for Transfer Students

Admission with advanced undergraduate standing is granted to a student transferring from another regionally accredited college or university, provided the applicant meets two conditions. First, the applicant must be in good standing at the educational institution last attended; and second, official transcripts must be presented from each college or university attended. Transfer applicants must have compiled an overall GPA of at least 2.5 on all acceptable transfer credits and must place into college-level English and mathematics courses or have completed college-level English and mathematics courses prior to transfer. An applicant transferring to the university with fewer than 24 acceptable transfer credits is required to satisfy both the transfer and high school graduation admission requirements.

Students who graduate from an NSHE community college with a transferable associate degree will be admitted to the University of Nevada, Reno. Applicants from regionally accredited institutions ordinarily are granted credit for all college-level work completed at their previous institution(s). Credit is evaluated by the Office of Admissions and Records and granted in accordance with established university regulations, as well as the following guidelines:

1. The accreditation of the institution and the listing published in the current American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers “Transfer Credit Practices” govern the acceptance of the student’s transfer credit.
2. Transcripts are initially evaluated in the Office of Admissions and Records. Allow three weeks for completion of the evaluation process. The results of the initial evaluation are made available to students in the Transfer Credit Report in student self-service, https://my.NEVADA.unr.edu.
3. Students may appeal the initial evaluation of their transfer work using the Core Substitution/Waivers or Request for Major/College Substitution form.
   1. Requests for review of coursework to meet Core Curriculum requirements must be routed to the Core Curriculum Office. All requests must include the appropriate substitution form and a course syllabus. If the student disagrees with the Core Director’s decision on a proposed Core substitution, the student may appeal. Appeals are considered by disciplinary committees made up of academic faculty, who make recommendations on the proposed substitution. Based on this recommendation, the Core Director will render a final decision.
   2. Requests for review of major and/or minor coursework must be routed to faculty within the university department that offers comparable coursework. All appeals must include an official transcript including a final grade for the course to be reviewed, a course description, and a course syllabus. If the student disagrees with the faculty reviewer’s evaluation of a non-Core course, the student may appeal to the chair of the department in which the faculty member resides. The chair’s decision is final.
4. Elective credit is granted for individual courses that are not offered in the university program, provided the courses are clearly baccalaureate-level. These courses receive a lower-division elective (LELC) or an upper division elective (UELC) designation on the Transfer Credit and Academic Advising Reports available in the Student Center in MyNEVADA. A college or departmental advisor may choose to use these courses to satisfy specific college or major requirements by completing a Request for Major/College Substitution form.
5. Only Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory credit is awarded for physical education activity courses completed at regionally accredited institutions.
6. The specific credit that may be applied toward satisfying degree requirements in the assigned college is determined by the advisor and/or dean of the college.
   • Half of the credits for the degree must be earned from a regionally accredited, four-year educational institution.
   • 30 upper-division semester credits must be earned in residence at the University of Nevada, Reno. Major requirements must include at least 15 upper-division credits in residence. Minor requirements must include at least 6 upper-division credits in residence.
   • College or departmental advisors may substitute lower-division courses from other four-year institutions for comparable upper-division courses at the University of Nevada, Reno to meet college and major requirements. Such credit may be applied toward the individual college’s upper-division credit requirement if approved by the dean of the college concerned. Only courses completed at the upper-division level may apply to the University’s upper-division course requirement for graduation.
   • Repeated credit is not allowed.
   • Graduates from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy are granted a maximum of eight semester credits applicable toward the criminal justice program. Documentation is required for evaluation by the Office of Admissions and Records.
   • A summary of acceptable, advanced-standing credits earned at each of the institutions the student has attended previously, and the student’s transfer grade-point averages (computed relative to the university grading system), are noted on the University transcript. The credit and grade-point totals earned at the University of Nevada, Reno are recorded separately.
   • Grade-point averages earned at other universities are not reflected in the University of Nevada, Reno cumulative GPA.
   • Course-level detail on transfer work is included on the Transfer Credit Report in MyNEVADA.
   • The College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno will accept credit for upper-division courses from business schools that are fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Other courses will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
7. All degree-seeking undergraduate students are required to declare a major or be admitted into a program before or upon completion of 60 credits.

Regionally Accredited Institutions: Credits earned at regionally accredited institutions, or at institutions that are approved candidates for regional accreditation, by one of the following regional accrediting associations recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), are normally transferable, provided the courses are comparable to those offered by the University of Nevada, Reno, or other regionally accredited colleges and universities, and the courses are relevant to the student’s academic program.

• Middle States Association of College and Schools (MSA), Middle States Commission on Higher Education;
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC-CIHE), Commission on Institutions of Higher Education;
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA-HLC), The Higher Learning Commission;
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU);
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), Commission on Colleges;
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASCACCJC), Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges;
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASCACSCU), Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities.

Nationally Accredited Institutions: Credits earned in specialized nationally accredited institutions offering associate, bachelor’s, or advanced degrees, or are approved candidates for national accreditation, by one of the following national accrediting associations recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), are evaluated on an individual, course-by-course basis with transfer credit granted for those courses comparable to those courses offered by the University of Nevada, Reno, or by other regionally accredited colleges and universities.

Such courses must be relevant to the student’s academic program. Joint approval by the dean of the college concerned, in consultation with the appropriate department chairman and the director of admissions and registrar, is required to grant transfer credit from these specialized institutions.

• Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE);
• Commission on Accreditation (formerly the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC);
• Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC);
• Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS);
• Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools (AARTS);
• Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS), Commission on Accrediting;
• Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools Accreditation Commission (TRACS).

Unaccredited Institutions: Credits earned in U.S. institutions of higher education not accredited by one of the regional or national accrediting associations recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), are not accepted in transfer by the university. The policies permitting advance course placement and the earning of credit for nontraditional learning provide adequate opportunities for the objective evaluation of knowledge acquired through a variety of learning experiences, including military schools.

Correspondence Study and Continuing Education: A maximum of 60 semester credits earned in acceptable, correspondence study courses, completed through a regionally accredited correspondence division [including U.S. Armed Forces Institute (USAFI)/Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES)] and/or in extension or off-campus courses, may be applied toward a baccalaureate degree.