Transfer Credits

General Information

  • Pacific operates on a semester basis; credits transferred from a quarter system institution are converted to semester credit by multiplying by 2/3 (6 quarter credits equals 4 semester credits).
  • Transfer grades are not calculated into the Pacific GPA.
  • Evaluation of transfer work is made only after official transcripts have been received by the Registrar's Office; official transfer equivalency reports are generated for prospective students at the time of admission.
  • Work taken after matriculation is evaluated and processed on request. It is strongly encouraged that students discuss possible transfer coursework with their advisor or program director and the Registrar's Office prior to enrolling in the course.
  • Pacific does not award credit for vocational, remedial or developmental courses.

Certain courses taken elsewhere can be transferred into Pacific and substituted for specific Pacific courses.  Transfer equivalencies are revised frequently; they are to be used as a guide only and do not guarantee that a specific course will transfer to Pacific and/or replace a particular Pacific course. Please refer to a current Pacific catalog when considering specific course requirements or prerequisites. 

Undergraduate Students

Only courses letter-graded with a "C-" or better can be considered for transfer. There is no limit to the total number of transfer credits Pacific may accept.  However, degree-seeking students must meet Pacific's residency requirement of completing 30 of the last 40 credits counted towards their degree at Pacific University.

Course Equivalencies

Some courses are awarded credit but do not substitute for a specific Pacific course.  These are identified on the transcript in the following way:

  • 2TR in place of an actual course number, e.g., HIST-2TR.  This means that lower division History credits have been awarded.
  • 3TR in place of an actual course number, e.g., ARTST-3TR.  This means that upper division Art Studio credits have been awarded.
  • The prefix "GE" stands for General Education and is used when no specific department prefix applies, e.g. "GE-2TR" or "GE-3TR".

Pacific accepts the Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer (AAOT) degree as satisfying Bachelor or Arts or Bachelor of Science core requirements with the provision that a student must meet the Foreign Language and Cornerstone core requirements. Pacific also accepts the Washington DTA/MRP, California, and Hawai'i states' equivalent of the Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree with similar, but slightly different, provisions. Questions about applying transfer courses to a specific major may be referred to a department chair for evaluation.

Pacific has articulation agreements with a number of local colleges and universities.  Click for more information.

Students seeking credit from international institutions must provide an official credential evaluation in English from a Pacific-approved credential evaluation service, such as WES.

Advanced Placement

Four credits are awarded for a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement (AP) test in any field, except that 8 credits are awarded for a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Calculus BC exam. Actual placement in Pacific courses depends on the student's preparation and is arranged through the appropriate department.

Students may earn credit for a score of 4 or 5 on an AP exam, or for community college course that was also a High School AP course, but not both.

International Baccalaureate Degree

Students completing the IB Diploma with a score of 30 or higher receive several benefits, including sophomore standing. Eight semester credits also are awarded for each higher examination passed with a score of 5 or higher and four credits for standard examinations passed with 5 or higher. 

Students may only earn credit once for each course. If Pacific has transferred credit previously awarded from a college or university for a high school IB class then the student cannot have additional credit awarded for the IB diploma or test score of 5 or higher.