Transferring Credit for Language Requirements

Students who wish to take classes at another college or university are permitted to do so as long as they get approval in writing before taking the class. Students in violation of this policy risk not receiving credit for the course taken.

1. The departmental placement policy applies to classes taken off campus.
2. The department does not allow the transfer of any online or hybrid courses. (Hybrid courses are understood here as those courses in which any normal contact hours are replaced with online content.)
3. The number of face-to-face, in person contact hours for a given course must be equal to or greater than the number of contact hours of the department's courses. In addition, the contact hours of any transferred course must be distributed over at least five class days for each unit of credit. A three-unit course, for example, must have class sessions on at least 15 days, with the contact hours distributed evenly over those class days.
4. Courses listed in the articulation agreements below must also adhere to the above two policies.
5. We do not grant credit for classes taken at private language schools, such as Berlitz.
6. The department does not accept transfer of ASL courses from other colleges or universities. Please see our policy. 

A Petition for Transfer of Credit (MySanDiego access required) must be submitted for each course that will be taken, even for those on the university's articulation agreements. You will need to have the course catalog for the institution (not the schedule of classes) in order to complete the information required: course title, number (e.g. Chinese 101) and the verbatim description of the class. Your academic advisor or preceptor must sign the petition before you drop it off in Founders 121 where it will be reviewed to verify that prerequisites have been satisfied. The chair will review only fully completed forms. Petitions will not be approved if you need to take the placement exam or apply for a waiver.

We will contact students only if a petition is denied or if more information is needed. Those that are approved are hand-delivered to Lynne Stearns in the office of the Registrar and the only thing you need do is have an official transcript sent to the Registrar upon completion of the course.

Following is a chart of course equivalents and languages offered at the institutions our students commonly favor. The links lead to course descriptions.

Please be advised that course numbers may change and approval is at the discretion of the department chair. Use the link below to determine what your obligation is.