understanding transfer credit

did you apply and receive transfer credit for your previous studies? let us help you determine your next steps.

if you have been awarded transfer credit from your previous studies at university or college, your transfer credit assessment will be issued as part of your offer of admission. sometimes the transfer credit assessment will be conditional upon successful completion of your previous course work. other times, your assessment will be firm if your studies are already complete. make sure you read your offer carefully!

once you accept your offer, and it is time to register for your courses, you will also see your transfer credit on your lakehead transcript. credits received will be signified by the term "adv" rather than by a numeric grade.

how to read your transfer credit

depending on the type of course in which you've received transfer credit, your credits may be direct equivalencies to lakehead courses. a direct equivalency would mean that you received transfer credit for a specific course offered by lakehead (e.g. psyc 1100 means you've received an introduction to psychology credit ). 

if the course work does not quite match, you may receive unspecified transfer credits in a specific subject (e.g. huma 1-00 means you've received a humanities credit). 

we attempt to find direct equivalencies whenever possible, which is why we request course descriptions from you as part of the application process. 

using your transfer credit

depending on the transfer credit you've been awarded as well as the program you enter, the use of your transfer credit may vary. you may or may not be able to use all the transfer credits you've been awarded. this is often the case if you've applied to more than one program as we will grant you credit you are able to use towards all options. this means that when it is time to select your program, only some of the credits may work within your program requirements. 

the good news is that programs often have electives. normally, you have the ability to use transfer credits to fulfill those elective requirements. other times, if you have received direct equivalencies, they may be direct fits with your program requirements. for example, if you enrol in the honours bachelor of sociology program, soci 1100 is a required first year course. if you received soci 1100 as transfer credit, you do not need to take this course as you already have the credit. 

it is important to review the program requirements for the program you plan to study - this can be found in the academic calendar. under programs & faculties, you can find your program and then review the program requirements which includes all the courses you will be required to take over the years. here you can see compare and contrast the courses you've received as transfer credit to see if there is a match. 

also, it is always a good idea to review how your transfer credits fit within your program by speaking with a student central professional or your program chair/faculty advisor. discuss early and set up an academic plan to make sure you are set up for success.