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. College level courses taken prior to admission to USD must be approved by submission of a Petition for Pre-USD Transfer Course Credit accessible in the portal under My Academics in the Transfer Credit/Articulation module. Follow the directions below to have courses taken after admission here pre-approved.

A Transfer Class Articulation form (formerly called the Petition for Transfer of Credit) must be submitted for each course that will be taken, even for those on the university's articulation agreements. It is available in the portal on the My Academics page (Take a Class Off Campus link under My Academics Resources). 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. Once complete, the form is sent to your academic advisor or preceptor and is then forwarded to the chair of this department. In the case of languages taught at USD, the chair will not approve any course if you need to take the Placement Exam or apply for a Waiver for 101.

Students will be notified of acceptance or denial by email. Courses taken despite denial or without pre-approval will not be accepted in transfer.

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.