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Transfer Credit Policy

Transfer of Credit

Kentucky Postsecondary Education Transfer Policy

The General Education Transfer Policy facilitates the transfer of credits earned in general education and twelve hours of course work in a major for students moving from one Kentucky public college or university to another Kentucky public college or university. The general education core transfer component reflects the distribution of discipline areas universally included in university-wide lower division general education requirements for the baccalaureate degree. Under this agreement, a student may satisfy the general education discipline requirements at their current college and have that requirement completion accepted at the university or college to which they may transfer. In addition, the Baccalaureate Program Transfer Frameworks identify 12 hours of course work in a major which may be successfully transferred. Each framework represents a specific guide to the exact courses a student needs; therefore, students who plan to transfer from one public institution to another to complete their Baccalaureate degree should work closely with their advisor to take full advantage of the Policy. For more specific information about the Policy, contact the Registrar’s Office, 12 Funkhouser Building, (859) 257-9532.

Credit Earned at Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges and Other Institutions

The University accepts collegiate-level degree credits earned at a fully accredited college or university. “Fully accredited” means that the institution is a member in good standing of one of the six regional academic accrediting associations. Transfer work from institutions outside the United States is evaluated on an individual basis from the official transcripts.

The Office of Undergraduate Admission and University Registrar generally determines the transferability of completed course work. Then, the dean of the college in which the student enrolls will determine how the transferred course work applies toward degree requirements. When the student attends the Advising Conference, an advisor will explain how the transfer work has been applied. However, students may want to consult individual departments in advance, so they may become familiar with degree requirements in their prospective program.

The transferability of course credit earned at two-year institutions is limited to a total of 67 semester hours.

Transfer applicants should note that regardless of the number of transfer hours the University may accept, all candidates for a bachelor’s degree must complete 30 of the last 36 hours of their program at UK.

A minimum grade of D- is required on all courses transferred to UK. Some colleges and departments may require a higher grade in order for the course to satisfy degree requirements.

Grade point averages (GPA's) from other institutions do not transfer to the University of Kentucky. When students begin at UK, a new GPA is established after the first semester of classes. However, all grades, all courses and all previously attended institutions are included and counted in the admission process.

Transfer Admission to the University of Kentucky
Students at other colleges or universities, including community colleges, are eligible to transfer to UK if they:

  1. would have been selectively admitted to UK when they entered the first institution attended provided they have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or better for all college-level work attempted. Applicants must also have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or better for all college-level work attempted at the last institution attended, provided at least 12 credit hours (or the equivalent thereof) was attempted there.
    2. or
  2. would not have been selectively admitted to UK but have completed 24 semester hours or more and achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or better for all college and university work attempted. Applicants must also have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or better for all work attempted at the last institution attended.

Please note that grade-point averages are computed by the Office of Undergraduate Admission and University Registrar and reflect the grade and credit for each course attempted, regardless of the practice of the offering institution of waiving the low grade for a repeated course.

Grade point averages (GPA's) from other institutions do not transfer to the University of Kentucky. When students begin at UK, a new GPA is established after the first semester of classes. However, all grades, all courses and all previously attended institutions are included and counted in the admission process.

Transfer Equivalency Database
The University of Kentucky currently has almost 500,000 established course equivalencies from many colleges and universities around the country. To find a complete listing of the course equivalencies already established from your institution, please visit our Transfer Equivalency database. Please note that if your institution and/or courses are not listed here, it does not mean that credit will not be awarded. Please contact the Transfer Equivalency Office at (859) 257-9532 for more information.

Transfer Equivalency Guide
Want to know more about how your transfer courses are equated to UK courses? Should you bring a syllabus for any of your transfer courses? What does GEED mean on my UK transcript? Click here to find out more about the Transfer Equivalency process.

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