Transfer Policies
Transferring Credit from other Institutions
Courses completed at colleges and universities accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, or similar regional associations, are acceptable for transfer to the University of Iowa. If your course work was completed at a school not regionally accredited, the recommendations by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers or the American Council on Education will be used.
Your Transfer GPA
The university builds on the transfer GPA rather than starting fresh. All grades, including Ds and Fs, on transfer course work will be calculated to find your transfer GPA. Grades from career-technical courses are not figured into your transfer GPA.
Course-Repeat Policy
If you repeat a course at the same institution, or an approved equivalent course from another college, the first grade is not counted in your cumulative transfer GPA. If the course is completed at the University of Iowa, the repeat must also be taken at the University of Iowa. See your Iowa advisor for more information.
Credit from Two-Year Colleges
Course work earned at a two-year college or as part of an associate degree program may be applied toward up to one-half the credits required for a bachelor’s degree from Iowa. Excess credit and grades will be used in computing your grade-point average (GPA) and may be used to satisfy course requirements, but they will not count toward the total hours needed for graduation from the university.
Associate of Arts (AA) Degree Articulation Agreements
The University of Iowa has AA articulation agreements with all Iowa community colleges, Waldorf College in Iowa, and Black Hawk College in Illinois.
AA Degree Articulation Agreements
Associate of Science (AS) Degree Articulation Agreements
The University of Iowa has an AS articulation agreement with all Iowa community colleges.
AS Degree Articulation Agreement
Iowa Regents Articulation Agreement
Students who have satisfied general education requirements at the University of Northern Iowa or the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University may transfer to the University of Iowa's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with all General Education Program requirements (except world language) fulfilled. Contact the Office of Admissions for information on the validation procedure.
Credit by Exam
Iowa offers credit for a variety of exams.
Credit for Military Service
The Office of Admissions evaluates military transcripts according to the guidelines in the American Council on Education’s Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services when that recommendation is for vocational certificate and lower and/or upper division baccalaureate degrees.
Career-Technical Credit
Up to 16 semester hours of career-technical credit can be used as elective credit toward a degree in the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Education, or Business. Career-technical credit, however, comes in as ungraded credit and does not count toward the 24 transferable hours needed for admission.
Noncollegiate Sponsored Instruction
The university reserves the right to independently evaluate credit granted by external agencies and noncollegiate sponsored programs.
