Transfer Credit Approval Form

Courses taken at a California community college must be transferable to the University of California (UC) system.

If you choose to enroll in coursework at other accredited colleges and universities while attending Saint Mary’s, the courses must be pre-approved. Click here to view the catalog language regarding transfer work.

Step 1. Please view the pre-approved course list.

You can view the pre-approved courses in the Transfer Equivalency Portal (TES) to ensure they are transferable. If you find the course you wish to transfer, you should not submit a TCA. It will be processed after you request the official, graded transcript after you complete your course.

Step 2. Please take this step if there is no Saint Mary’s equivalent listed in the transfer TES portal linked above. You will submit this request for the course(s) you wish to transfer.

If you wish to take courses outside of the pre-approved course list, please consult with the department chairs first and then submit the Transfer Credit Approval form. You can find the list of department chairs here.

If the course is not pre-approved, this form must be submitted to have the credit approved for the degree at Saint Mary’s. One form is required to be submitted per course. If you are adding a science course, you can add the lecture and lab together. The syllabus of the course requested is strongly recommended to be attached to the form for the department chairs to evaluate (A syllabus is requested/required in most cases).

At the end of each term at the transfer institution, the student should immediately order official transcripts from the institution they attended to be sent directly to the Office of the Registrar at Saint Mary’s so that the transfer credit can be recorded. 

All transfer credit accepted by Saint Mary’s College is included on the student’s Saint Mary’s transcript and is computed into the student’s cumulative grade point average (GPA).

Students may transfer up to 74 CU of lower division (100 and 200 level) coursework from other institutions. Courses taken at the lower division (e.g. 100- and 200-level) at other institutions will transfer in as lower division courses (e.g. 100- and 200-level) even if the course content at SMC is taught at the upper division (300+ level), and hence will not automatically satisfy any upper-division requirements. Courses taken at a California community college must be transferable to the University of California (UC) system. Additionally, the minimum requirements to transfer in a grade it must have .77 semester credit value and receive a minimum C- final grade. 

Course Information