Students who have graduated from or otherwise left high school or secondary educational institutions and completed at least twelve credit hours at an accredited post-secondary institution (college or university) are considered transfer students. Such students may be considered for transfer to the University of Dayton provided they are in good standing socially and academically (minimum of a C average - 2.0 cumulative grade point average). Possession of the minimum grade point average for consideration does not imply admissibility to the University. Most areas of study prefer a 2.5 or higher grade point average for admission.

Transfer students will be considered for admission after they have followed the regular admission procedure. Applicants for transfer admission may submit the University of Dayton's online application or the Common Application. All transfer candidates must submit official transcripts from all institutions previously attended. ACT or SAT scores may be requested by the Office of Recruitment and Admission during the application review. The dean's office of the appropriate college or school will evaluate the transcript(s) to determine the number of transferable credits.

In general, all college credits earned with a "C-" (1.7 on a 4.0 scale) or higher from any regionally accredited college or university or an institution recognized by the foreign country's minister/head of education will transfer and be included on the University of Dayton transcript. No credit will be given for a course in which the student earned below a "C-". The evaluation to determine which courses will be accepted toward the degree will also be completed by the dean's office of the appropriate college or school.

Official transcripts must be sent directly to UD from the university and must contain an official seal of the university's office of academic affairs. Other requirements may be necessary given the specific course in question.

A student with transfer credit from a two-year institution will be required to have at least 54 semester hours from a four-year institution for any baccalaureate degree. A transfer student is considered for a degree only if the last 30 semester hours have been taken from the University of Dayton and other requirements for graduation have been met.

Additional admission or transfer credit criteria may apply depending on the major in which the transfer student intends to major:

• For a list of College of Arts and Sciences majors, please see: http://catalog.udayton.edu/undergraduate/collegeofartsandsciences/academicprograms.
• Students who are interested in a major within the School of Business Administration must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and have successfully completed a college-level math class.
• Students who are interested in a major within the School of Education and Health Sciences must have a minimum of 3.0 GPA to be considered for admission for education majors and 3.2 GPA to be considered for admission for health science majors. 
• Students who are interested in a major within the School of Engineering should have met the following minimum requirements in college courses to be considered for admission:
  • 3.0 cumulative GPA
  • Completion of Calculus 1 with a grade of B
  • Completion of College/General Chemistry with a grade of B
  • Completion of calculus-based Physics 1 with a grade of B for engineering programs or algebra-based Physics 1 with a grade of B for engineering technology programs.

Policy on retaking courses in which prior credit was awarded

At the University of Dayton, students may encounter various circumstances, including the stale credit policy, that prompt them to enroll in a course for which they have previously been awarded credit through transfer, advanced placement (AP), CLEP, or other means. It is important to note that a student may not receive credit for the same course more than once. When a student chooses or is asked to retake such a course, and subsequently earns a grade deemed sufficient to fulfill degree or major requirements, the Registrar's office will take action to update the student's academic record accordingly.

Specifically, the Registrar's office will mark the credits affiliated with the transfer or AP course as "excluded." While the course listing will remain visible on the student's academic record, the credits associated with the retaken course will no longer apply towards the student's degree program requirements nor contribute to the calculation of "total hours applied."

This policy ensures that students can fulfill academic requirements in alignment with their educational goals and program standards while maintaining the integrity and accuracy of their academic records.

The University of Dayton is committed to supporting students in navigating their academic journey effectively and transparently.

Process:

At the end of each semester, after the traditional end-of-term processing is complete, the Registrar's office will run the Cognos report titled Transfer Course Information with Duplicates to identify students who have earned UD credit in courses for which they had acquired prior learning credit. 

When the grade on the UD course is C- or higher, the Office of the Registrar will automatically mark as EXCLUDED the course for which the student had been awarded prior learning credit and the most recent attempt will apply towards the student's degree program requirements. When the grade on the UD course is D, the Office of the Registrar will consult with the student’s academic dean’s office to determine which attempt will best serve the student’s interests and will mark the other course as EXCLUDED. 

The course(s) marked as EXCLUDED will remain on the student’s transcript and will be indicated with an (E). Additionally, courses that have been excluded will appear in the “Insufficient” section of DegreeWorks. Please note, that a course that has been EXCLUDED that appears in “Insufficient” is not a reflection of the student’s academic performance in the course. It is merely a technical classification of DegreeWorks. 

Stale transfer credit policy

This “stale transfer credit” policy applies to all University of Dayton undergraduate students. 

To understand this policy best, please refer to these terms:

Acceptance of credit is the decision process performed to determine which credit the University will post to the student’s official academic record. Acceptance of transfer credit should not be confused with the application of credit to a specific program or degree. Accepted transfer credits will contribute to a student’s total credits earned; however, they may not be applied to specific academic requirements. 

Application of credit is the decision process to determine if and how accepted credits will be used to satisfy program and degree requirements. Sequentially, application of credit takes place after the decision to accept credit.

Stale transfer credit refers to previously earned credits that are no longer considered current or relevant. These credits may be accepted by the University, but not applied to satisfy program and degree requirements. 

To ensure that students receiving a degree or certificate are up-to-date in their discipline, UD does not accept coursework towards satisfying requirements for the major, minor, or certificate if the course was taken more than ten years ago. Generally, course credit earned more than ten calendar years prior to matriculation is considered stale transfer credit. This means that for 2024-25, credits earned before 2014 will not be accepted. However, certain discipline-specific course transfer credits earned less than ten years prior to matriculation may be accepted but no longer be considered current or relevant and not be applied to major, minor, or certificate requirements. See the catalog for specific areas. See your Assistant Dean if you have any questions.

Requests for exceptions to the Stale Transfer Credit Policy may be made by the student’s respective Dean’s office when deemed appropriate and in the best interest of the student’s education. These requests will be reviewed by a committee of representatives from each academic unit and the Provost’s office. Decisions will be made promptly, typically not exceeding ten business days.

Second Bachelor’s Degree Policy

If a student is seeking a second bachelor’s degree, the Stale Transfer Credit Policy does not apply to courses completed as part of an earned bachelor’s degree. There are no time restrictions for accepting and applying credits earned as part of a completed bachelor’s degree, except in the discipline-specific cases described in the Stale Transfer Credit Policy. For details, refer to the academic catalog. See your Assistant Dean if you have any questions.

If the student’s prior bachelor’s degree was earned at the University of Dayton, Common Academic Program (CAP) requirements will be waived. 

If the student’s prior bachelor’s degree was earned at a university other than the University of Dayton, the student must complete any Common Academic Program requirements mandated by the “CAP Tier 90 Requirements”. For more information, see the “CAP Tier 90 requirements”.

Eligibility for financial aid is limited for students pursuing a second bachelor's degree. Students should contact the Office of Financial Aid to explore eligibility.