Transfer Credit FAQ

No, there is not a limit, however, in order to graduate, students must complete a minimum of two years and 16 course units in residence. No more than 50% of a major, minor, or certificate may be taken elsewhere. This means that you will need to complete a minimum of 16 units (typically two years) at Illinois Wesleyan after transfer to earn a degree.

IWU is on a unit system where one unit course at IWU is equal to four semester hours. Therefore, a three semester hour course will count as .75 units (and one course count) toward the 32 units typically required for graduation.

Classes with grades below a C will not transfer to Illinois Wesleyan. Courses graded as Pass/fail or credit/no credit will not transfer except from institutions that define “pass” as C or better.

Grades earned for transfer coursework are not calculated into your IWU GPA. However, the grade(s) will appear on your IWU transcript.

To earn college credit for your dual credit courses, you must send an official transcript from the college/university that granted the credit. A high school transcript will not allow us to evaluate the course for college credit.

Please have your official transcript sent from the college/university you attended directly to Illinois Wesleyan at IWUadmit@iwu.edu

As of Fall 2023 IWU accepts AP scores of 3 and above. An Advanced Placement score of 3 and above will earn one unit of credit. Visit the IWU AP webpage for information on how each AP score will transfer. To submit AP scores for credit, visit the College Board website and AP send your scores directly to Illinois Wesleyan, college code 1320.

As of Fall 2023 Higher Level International Baccalaureate scores of 4, 5, 6, and 7 only, will generally receive one course unit of elective or Shared Curriculum credit. No laboratory credit will be awarded. Credit is not awarded for subjects passed at the subsidiary level.

Visit the Illinois Wesleyan IB webpage for information on how each IB score will transfer. Contact International Baccalaureate directly to send a transcript of your scores directly to Illinois Wesleyan.

As of Fall 2023 Cambridge International Exams at the A-Level with scores of A*, A, B, C, D, and E will generally receive one course unit of elective credit. No laboratory credit will be awarded. Credit is not awarded for AS-Level examinations. Visit the IWU Cambridge webpage for information on how your courses will transfer. IWU is able to access your results through our Cambridge account with your permission. Please contact the Registrar’s office at Registrar@iwu.edu for more information.

Illinois Wesleyan participates in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI). If you complete an Associate’s of Arts Degree (A.A.) at a regionally accredited Illinois community college, Illinois Wesleyan will accept your General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) as meeting IWU’s general education requirements. Students who have completed the Associate’s in Arts will still be required to satisfy other graduation requirements including major, graduation, and shared curriculum requirements.

Each of your courses will be evaluated individually for transfer. IWU students typically complete four units (16 semester hours) each semester and enter their junior year with 16 units which is equivalent to 64 semester hours of credit. The number of credits that are accepted for transfer will determine your class standing; and will determine if you enter Illinois Wesleyan as a sophomore or a junior.

If you are earning college credit at an Illinois community college through your high school and have the option to complete your Associate’s in Arts, you should do so. Completing the AA will automatically complete your Illinois Wesleyan general education requirements.

Each of your courses will be evaluated individually for transfer. IWU students typically complete four units (16 semester hours) each semester and enter their junior year with 16 units which is equivalent to 64 semester hours of credit. The number of credits that are accepted for transfer will determine your class standing; and will determine if you enter Illinois Wesleyan as a sophomore or a junior.

If you have completed an Associate’s degree (not an Associate’s in Arts degree) at an Illinois community college you may be eligible to use the reverse transfer process to use your degree to complete the IWU general education requirements.  Please contact the Registrar’s Office at registrar@iwu.edu for more information.)

Each of your courses will be evaluated individually for transfer. IWU students typically complete four units (16 semester hours) each semester and enter their junior year with 16 units (64 semester hours) of credit. The number of credits that are accepted for transfer will determine your class standing; and will determine if you enter Illinois Wesleyan as a sophomore or a junior.

There are some courses that are not considered transferable. The department chair of each academic department determines if a course will transfer. The IWU Math department considers College Algebra, College Trigonometry and Precalculus to be below the level of coursework taught at IWU and therefore those courses will not be accepted for transfer. Additional course that are not considered transferable for academic credit are Intro to College Workshops and Intro to MS Office. Courses for major or minor credit must be reviewed by the appropriate department chair.  

Four semester hours is equivalent to one unit at IWU. Students typically enroll in 4 units (equal to 16 semester hours) each semester. Three semester hours is equal to .75 units. A total of 32 units are required for most degrees.

Six quarter hours are equivalent to 1 Unit at IWU.

Completing your Associate’s in Arts Degree would be beneficial and is recommended.

Illinois Wesleyan participates in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI). If you complete an Associate’s of Arts Degree (A.A.) at a regionally accredited Illinois community college, Illinois Wesleyan will accept your General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) as meeting IWU’s general education requirements. Students who have completed the Associate’s in Arts will still be required to satisfy other graduation requirements including major, graduation and shared curriculum requirements. (If you will earn the Associate’s in Science instead of the Associate’s in Arts, this does not meet the GECC. Please contact the Registrar’s Office at registrar@iwu.edu for more information.)

Information regarding graduation requirements, general education, majors and minors can be found in the Illinois Wesleyan University Catalog at www.iwu.edu/academics/Catalog.html. 

If you took coursework while attending high school, those courses will be reviewed individually for transfer. Dual credit refers to academic credit earned while in high school and includes college courses completed through your high school as well as credit by exam options such as AP, IB, and Cambridge.

• As of Fall 2023, IWU accepts AP scores of 3, 4 and 5. An Advanced Placement score of 4 or 5 may also earn Shared Curriculum attributes or be equivalent to a 100-level or 200-level IWU course. Visit the AP webpage for information on how each AP score will transfer.
• To earn college credit for your dual credit courses, you must send an official transcript from the college/university that granted the credit. A high school transcript will not allow us to evaluate the course for college credit.

Classes with grades below a C will not transfer to Illinois Wesleyan. Courses graded as Pass/fail or credit/no credit will not transfer except from institutions that define “pass” as C or better.

Grades earned for transfer coursework are not calculated into your IWU GPA. However, the grade(s) will appear on your IWU transcript.

You must send an official transcript from the college/university that granted the credit. Typically, you can visit the website of the college/university and search "Transcript" to find directions on how to send a transcript. 

Please have your official transcript sent from the college/university you attended directly to Illinois Wesleyan at IWUadmit@iwu.edu

If you are currently enrolled at IWU and plan to take coursework to transfer to IWU here is the process:

• Complete a Transfer of Credit request form and send it to registrar@iwu.edu. Download form, enter your information, save it, then email it to registrar@iwu.edu) You may list several classes on the form to give yourself options; you are not obligated to take the classes you list.
• Use Transferology to find a replacement course to transfer to IWU.  You’ll set up a free account and use the Find a Replacement Course feature in the top right corner of the page.
• The Assistant Registrar of Transfer and Articulation will send you information about how your coursework will transfer.
• Complete the coursework with a grade of C or better. Courses graded credit/no credit or pass/fail will not transfer except from institutions that define “pass” as C or better.
• Once you have completed the course(s), and grades have been posted, please have a final transcript sent to the IWU Registrar's office.
• Your Official Transcript should be sent from the college/university where you took the class directly to IWU at registrar@iwu.edu
• Your coursework will be added to your academic record and you should see it on your degree audit. (This process can take time, depending on the time of year your transcript arrives).

Once enrolled at IWU, a student may earn no more than four units of general education credit through transfer work, including dual credit, AP, IB, and Cambridge credit transferred after the student has enrolled. (This does not apply to courses in approved off-campus study programs.)

Students must complete a minimum of two years and 16 course units in residence. No more than 50% of a major, minor, or certificate may be taken elsewhere.

Classes with grades below a C will not transfer to Illinois Wesleyan. Courses graded as Pass/fail or credit/no credit will not transfer except from institutions that define “pass” as C or better.

Grades earned for transfer coursework are not calculated into your IWU GPA. However, the grade(s) will appear on your IWU transcript. 

Coursework will not be added to your transcript if it results in an overload unless permission to overload was granted for the term. The normal limit of courses is 4.75 units per semester. School of Music students have a normal limit of 5.5 units. NOTE: Five academic courses is considered an overload, even if the fifth course is a community college course of .75 units and the total unit load for the semester is 4.75.

Students with sophomore standing and a GPA of 3.25 may request permission to overload and if approved, may enroll in one course unit in addition to the normal load. This policy also applies to courses taken elsewhere for transfer.

Students who do not meet the 3.25 gpa requirement may apply for an overload by submitting a petition for an academic exception with their request for permission to overload.

According to University policy, all lab and language courses must be completed in an in-person classroom setting. No hybrid or online courses will be accepted for transfer. However, you may petition to have this catalog ruling waived. Keep in mind that the World Languages Department requires that online language courses must be taken synchronously as opposed to asynchronously.

If you have submitted a Transfer of Credit request form and been approved to transfer a science class/lab or a second language course which is taught in an in-person format, you will need to provide verification that the course was taught in person. To do so, you should complete the top portion of the verification form and ask that the Registrar where you took the course complete the second portion of the form and return it to the Illinois Wesleyan Registrar’s Office.

Current IWU students are expected to complete Gateway. Therefore, a Composition course completed after a student is enrolled at IWU would not transfer and complete the Gateway requirement.

You should submit a Transfer of Credit request form before you enroll in a course that you hope to transfer to IWU. This process will allow you to know in advance how your class will transfer.

Only coursework with a grade of C or better is accepted. Courses graded as Pass/fail or credit/no credit will not transfer except from institutions that define “pass” as C or better.

Courses are evaluated for transfer and must be offered by a regionally accredited institution and be equivalent in rigor to the transfer course at IWU. Some classes are not transferable. These non-transferable courses include but are not limited to Medical Terminology, College Algebra, College Trigonometry, and Precalculus.

If you are a current IWU student who completed the coursework before attending IWU it is likely that you submitted a high school transcript but never sent a college transcript. Even if you took the class at the high school, you must send the college transcript in order to earn college credit for the course.

Prior to Fall 2023 the faculty guidelines in the catalog placed limits on the amount of dual credit as follows. Students may earn a maximum of 8 course units from a combination of credit by exam and college courses taken while completing high school. A maximum of four course units can qualify for Shared Curriculum credit. Speak with your advisor if you are considering changing your catalog year to Fall 2023 or later.

To earn college credit for your dual credit courses:

• First, please email the Assistant Registrar for Transfer at registrar@iwu.edu and indicate that you plan to send your official transcript for classes taken while in high school.
• Typically, you can visit the website of the college/university and search "Transcript" to find directions on how to send a transcript.
• Please have your official transcript sent from the college/university you attended directly to Illinois Wesleyan at registrar@iwu.edu.
• You will be contacted once your transcript arrives and has been evaluated.