Transfer Credits to Westminster

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How to Transfer Credits to Westminster

An official determination of transfer credit will be considered after admission to a degree program. Credits normally must have been earned in an accredited graduate theological school and must be reported on an official transcript. 

Westminster does not transfer more than the number of credits required for a student’s degree and emphasis. Therefore, approved transfer credit reduces accordingly the number of credit hours required at Westminster. Conversely, courses taken at Westminster that are the equivalent of courses for which transfer credit was previously approved will reduce accordingly the approved transfer credit. Transfer credit approval is dependent upon the nature and quality of the work, contingent upon a student’s successful matriculation into a degree program, and not effective or applied until successful completion of a student’s matriculation semester or term. Credits from undergraduate programs will not be accepted for transfer.

Steps to Seeking Transfer of Credit: Residential Students

• Review the transfer credit policy below.
• Review the catalog’s description of programs and courses to compare Westminster’s requirements to work done at the other institution.
• Consult with the appropriate office (Admissions Office for anticipated residential students and Student Success for current residential students) regarding any questions related to Steps 1 and 2 above.
• Submit the Transfer of Credit Request form to Student Success. 

Transfer credit for residential programs is reviewed on an ongoing basis by the Student Success team and the Chief Academic Officer. Students will be notified of the result of their request through email.

Steps to Seeking Transfer of Credit: Online Students

• Review the complete transfer policy below, including the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF) transfer credit policy for all courses being transferred from CCEF.
• Review the catalog’s course and program descriptions to determine requirements of Westminster courses and to compare the work done at the other institution.
• Submit official transcripts and course syllabi of the courses seeking to be transferred.
• Complete the Transfer Request Form, including all requested information. 

Students must complete at least one term in their program before requests will be reviewed. Transfer credit requests are reviewed on an ongoing basis by the Student Success team and the Dean of Online Learning. Decisions will be communicated to the student via email.

Transfer Credits from an Accredited Graduate Theological School

We welcome students who have strong academic backgrounds and allow transfer of credits from other accredited graduate institutions.

Credits normally must have been earned in an accredited graduate theological school and must be reported on an official transcript.

Master's Programs

• No transfer credit is granted for the Certificate programs.

• With the exception of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF), up to two courses may be transferred from an outside institution toward the MAC or MATS degrees.

• Shared Credit (transfer credit from an institution from which the student has completed a master’s degree): Ordinarily, the Seminary may accept up to one-half of the credits earned for a first theological master’s degree toward a degree at Westminster, not to exceed one-half of the credits required for the MAC, MATS, MDiv, and MAR degrees at Westminster. 

• Transfer Credit (from an institution from which the student has not received a Master’s degree): The Seminary may accept up to one-half of the credits earned at another institution as transfer credit toward a degree at Westminster. If a student changes their program at Westminster before earning a degree, all of the credits that they have completed will be evaluated for transfer into the new program. 

• Only courses in which a grade of C or above was received will be considered for transfer credit into a master’s program. 

• Grades are transferred only from courses from a Westminster program in which no degree was earned or from courses taken at Jerusalem University College (JUC). (See Holy Land Studies in Chapter 7 of Academic Catalog.)

• Credits on a quarter system are figured as a two-thirds equivalent of Westminster’s semester system.

• Courses might be transferred as required or elective credit. It is more likely that, if approved, course credit will be applied to elective hours rather than to required courses (since the content or perspective of the transferred course might not be equivalent to that of the required Westminster course).

• Greek and Hebrew language courses completed at another institution will not be considered for transfer credit. Greek and Hebrew language courses completed at Westminster will count toward MDiv or MAR degree requirements in the case of reinstatement but will not count in the case of readmission. Students whose language courses do not count toward the MDiv or MAR degree requirements must take the language courses or place out of some or all of them by means of a placement exam. See Chapter 8 for placement exam information.

• Unless otherwise noted elsewhere, courses completed at Westminster or at another institution that are more than ten years old prior to initial matriculation or readmission are normally not considered for transfer credit or applicable to a present Westminster program. This limitation does not hold in the case of reinstatement. However, please refer to the Seminary’s maximum time limit policy for individual programs. Questions about the eligibility of specific courses for transfer can be directed to the Student Success team.

ThM, PhD, and DMin Programs

• Only courses in which a grade of B or above was received will be considered for transfer credit to a ThM, PhD, or DMin degree program.

• Study completed at Westminster or another institution more than five years prior to initial matriculation in the PhD, ThM, or DMin program cannot be applied for transfer credit to the program that the student is entering. This limitation does not hold in cases of reinstatement or readmission. Credit for study completed in Westminster’s PhD, ThM, or DMin program prior to reinstatement or readmission is subject to the approval of the appropriate field committee.

• Normally, up to two approved ThM/PhD level courses from another institution may be transferred to the ThM program, only one of which may count toward the three required courses in the ThM candidate’s concentration. A ThM candidate who has completed the MDiv degree at Westminster may petition to transfer a third approved ThM/PhD level course, as long as at least two courses in the candidate’s concentration are taken at Westminster. However, for PhD students, the number of non-classroom courses taken at Westminster (e.g., online courses, external courses) will reduce the maximum number of courses eligible for transfer credit within the PhD. See Chapter 8 for non-classroom course limits.

• Transfer credit toward the PhD program for courses completed in Westminster’s ThM program is given depending upon the nature and quality of the work. However, individuals who have obtained a ThM degree from Westminster may be given shared credit for up to four courses. For PhD candidates in the Hermeneutics and Biblical Interpretation field, credit for non-NT or OT courses is not granted unless by exception.

• Shared credit toward the ThM degree for ThM/PhD work completed in Westminster’s MDiv or MAR degree is also limited to four courses; however all courses transferred into the PhD require review by the appropriate field committee .

  
  
  
• PhD candidates in the field of Hermeneutics and Biblical Interpretation: Ordinarily, transfer credit will not be granted for courses completed at other institutions prior to enrollment. With written permission of the advisor, the candidate already matriculated at Westminster may take courses at other graduate institutions to transfer as elective credit. Transfer credit will not be approved for required courses.

• PhD candidates in the field of Historical and Theological Studies: Up to four courses of advanced work beyond a first theological degree may be approved for transfer credit, if the advanced work is not credited toward an earned degree. However, approved transfer credit is limited to two courses if the advanced work is pursued prior to completion of a first theological degree. With the exception of a ThM from Westminster, work credited toward an earned degree is not eligible for shared credit.

• A maximum of 2 courses may be accepted for elective transfer credit for the DMin program. See Chapter 8 for further restrictions.

Pre-approval of Transfer Credits

A current MDiv, MAR, ThM, PhD, or DMin student who has received pre-approval to take a course at another institution for transfer credit must make arrangements for enrollment at the other institution and report to Student Success at Westminster in writing before the beginning of the semester when he/she will enroll at the other institution. If no Westminster course is taken in the semester the student is enrolled elsewhere, the student is withdrawn for that semester and will not pay a fee to Westminster. See Automatic Withdrawal section for exceptions. Failure to conform to these stipulations may result in withdrawal of the student from the program and in the refusal of Westminster to count these courses toward degree requirements. 

Sharing a Credit with another Westminster Degree

Students wishing to complete more than one master’s level degree may be able to share up to half of the credits required for the lesser degree (i.e. the one with fewer credits) between the two programs. Courses must have been completed within the past ten years of a student’s entrance term for the second degree and the student must have received a grade of C or higher to be considered for shared credit. Students should discuss their plan for shared credit with the Student Success team, who will review the request in conjunction with the Chief Academic Officer and/or the Dean of Online Learning

Transfer Credits from an Unaccredited Institution

Students in the MDiv or MAR program who seek transfer credit from courses earned in an equivalent degree program at an unaccredited, graduate level theological institution must supply the following:

• A copy of the course syllabus stating the instructor’s name and the course requirements for each course for which transfer credit is requested.
• At least one sample of coursework submitted in fulfillment of course requirements for each course for which transfer credit is requested.

All decisions are made on a course-by-course basis. Acceptance of one course from an unaccredited institution for transfer credit carries no implication regarding the acceptance of other courses from that institution. 

Only courses in which a grade of B or above was received will be accepted for transfer credit. 

No more than 15 semester credit hours from an unaccredited institution will be accepted for transfer credit toward a student’s degree program at Westminster.

Students in the online MAC and MATS programs are ineligible to transfer credit from an unaccredited institution other than CCEF.

Transfer Credits from CCEF

Upon approval, coursework completed at CCEF can be recognized for credit in the MDiv, MAR, MAC, and MATS programs. Only courses in which a grade of C or above was received will be approved. Independent studies done at CCEF are not eligible for credit at Westminster.

A maximum of 35 credits may be recognized from CCEF, subject to the specifications listed below, the general transfer credit limitations stated above and also the requirements of the student’s degree program. (See "Transfer Credit from Accredited Theological Schools")

CCEF courses completed BEFORE September 1, 2017:

• Up to 35 credits may be approved with a fee of $100 per course.

CCEF courses taken AFTER September 1, 2017:

• Up to 15 credits may be approved with a fee up to $1300 per course, which is the approximate difference in current tuition between the CCEF course and its corresponding MAC course.

All CCEF courses must be counted toward a student’s degree program before their final term. Students must take at least one Westminster course during the final semester of coursework.

Transfer Credits from Greystone (GTI)

Upon approval, courses completed at GTI can be recognized for credit in the MDiv and MAR programs. The following courses will be accepted for Westminster credit:

Other courses may be counted for credit upon review by the faculty. For MDiv students, no more than 23 credits for work completed at GTI may be counted towards the student’s degree.  MAR students can have no more than 18 GTI credits counted towards the student’s degree at WTS.  In either case, no more than 25% of a student's WTS credits may come from GTI courses.

Transfer Credits from Reformed Episcopal Seminary

The transfer credit policy agreement with RES is aimed at allowing Westminster MDiv students who are seeking ordination in CANA/ACNA or REC the ability to take the required coursework for licensure in their denomination.

• Upon approval by Student Success, credit earned for RES courses listed below is transferable to the MDiv (General Ministries) program for elective credit.
• Only courses in which a grade of C or above was received will be accepted for transfer credit.
• The following courses may be transferred:
  1. AN 503 Liturgics - 2 hrs.*
  2. AN 512 Creeds and Councils - 2 hrs.
  3. AN 615 Anglican Studies - 2 hrs.
  4. AN 703 Thirty-Nine Articles - 2 hrs.*
  5. AN 603 Book of Common Prayer - 2 hrs.*
  6. AN 714 Anglican History and Polity - 2 hrs.

* May count towards the elective hours required in Pastoral Theology