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DigiPen welcomes applicants from all educational backgrounds. Applicants who have officially documented college-level, AP, or CLEP-related studies are automatically considered for transfer credit during the application process. Please make sure your application is complete by sending all official transcripts and any available test scores for consideration.

General Policy

Transfer credit evaluations are completed on a course-by-course basis. The Office of the Registrar will evaluate college-level credit earned at other accredited institutions with respect to a student’s degree program at DigiPen. To be considered for transfer credit, courses must have been taken within the last 10 years and must appear on an official transcript from an accredited institution with a grade of B- or better. DigiPen reserves the right to accept or reject credits earned at other institutions. Courses transferred or waived are entered on transcripts, but no grades or quality points are awarded. Transfer grades are not calculated into the student’s GPA at DigiPen. Please note that transfer credits at DigiPen typically serve to help lighten the load of a semester. Depending on transfer load, most applicants entering with transfer credits graduate from our programs in three or four years.

For transfer credit to be accepted, it must satisfy a course requirement for your degree program. To understand how your transfer credit might apply, it is important to become familiar with your program’s degree requirements:

Semester Calendar

DigiPen operates on a semester calendar system. When considering transfer credit from institutions that operate on a quarter calendar system, credits must be converted. In most cases, a transferable five quarter-credit course may transfer to satisfy a three semester-credit requirement.

Advising for Transfer Students

Enrolled transfer students should meet with a Student Success Advisor prior to starting their first semester at DigiPen to learn how their transfer credit may impact their recommended course sequence and plan a program of study.

Transferring schools may affect the amount and type of financial aid available to you. We encourage you to contact the Office of Financial Aid if you have questions about financial aid as a transfer student.


Special Types of Credit

Advanced Placement

Transfer credit may be granted for a score of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement (AP) Exams of the College Board according to the equivalency chart below. AP Exams must have been taken within the last 10 years and must have been taken prior to the applicant’s graduation from high school. Applicants must request to have an official AP score report sent to DigiPen.

AP EXAMMINIMUM SCOREDIGIPEN COURSECREDITS
Art History4ART 1993
Computer Science A4CS 1153
English - Language and Composition4ENG 1103
English - Literature and Composition4ENG 1103
History - US History4HIS 1993
History - World History4HIS 1003
Japanese4JPN 1013
Microeconomics or Macroeconomics4ECN 1993
Statistics4MAT 1053
Calculus AB Subscore4MAT 1504
Mathematics - Calculus AB4MAT 1504
Mathematics - Calculus BC4MAT 2004
Music Theory4MUS 120 and MUS 120L2 and 1
Physics 14PHY 1153
Physics C - Mechanics4PHY 200 and PHY 200L4 and 1
Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism4PHY 270 and PHY 270L3 and 1
Psychology4PSY 1013

College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Transfer credit may be granted for CLEP Subject Examinations with a B-level score or higher only according to the equivalency chart below. Exams must have been taken within the last 10 years and must have been taken prior to the applicant’s completion of a total of 40 hours of college credit. Applicants must request to have an official score report sent to DigiPen.

CLEP SUBJECT TESTMINIMUM SCOREDIGIPEN COURSECREDITS
College Composition59ENG 1103
Introductory Psychology55PSY 1013
Precalculus61MAT 1063

Washington Community and Technical Colleges

Students transferring from Washington community and technical colleges may refer to the Course Equivalency Guides.


Notable Restrictions on Transfer Credit

  • Developmental courses, orientation courses, or courses that receive a “pass” or “credit” grade are not eligible for transfer credit.

  • Courses considered for transfer to a student’s major are subject to review by academic department offices and may require a validation examination, portfolio review, and/or additional documentation to be approved.

  • In general, designated project courses may not be satisfied with transfer credit.

  • Undergraduate Students: A minimum of 50% of undergraduate degree program requirements must be completed at DigiPen.

  • Graduate Students: Graduate programs may accept up to 15 credits in transfer from other colleges and DigiPen programs.

Students transferring to DigiPen under an established articulation agreement may be subject to policies that vary from those stated here.


International Transfer Students

If you have studied college-level courses outside of the United States, you must provide course descriptions for review with your transcripts. If the course descriptions are not in English, please provide official translations in addition to the original documents. (See the For International Applicants page for more details on translating application materials.)


Prospective Students

Prospective students who have completed or would like to complete courses at another postsecondary institution prior to enrolling at DigiPen are welcome to request course equivalency information from admissions@digipen.edu. Please include the following information:

  • Institution name
  • Course code(s) and title(s)
  • Your prospective DigiPen degree program

Course equivalency is subject to change and does not guarantee transfer approval. Please allow two to four weeks to process requests for transfer credit information.


Current Students

Current students who wish to complete courses at another institution for transfer to DigiPen should seek transfer approval from their Student Success Advisor and the Office of the Registrar prior to enrolling in any course for which transfer approval might be sought. Please note that there is a transfer fee of $25 per credit for courses completed at another institution after a student has matriculated at DigiPen.


Transfer Course Equivalency Guides

Washington Community and Technical Colleges

Washington community and technical colleges have adopted a common course numbering (CCN) system for selected courses, indicated by an “&” symbol in the course code. CCN courses represent equivalent courses offered at multiple institutions across Washington state. Please see the CCN Course Equivalency Guide below for information about CCN courses that are eligible for transfer to DigiPen.

The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges lists the following institutions which may offer CCN courses:

  • Bates Technical College
  • Bellevue College
  • Bellingham Technical College
  • Big Bend Community College
  • Cascadia College
  • Centralia College
  • Clark College
  • Clover Park Technical College
  • Columbia Basin College
  • Edmonds Community College
  • Everett Community College
  • Grays Harbor College
  • Green River College
  • Highline College
  • Lake Washington Institute of Technology
  • Lower Columbia College
  • North Seattle College
  • Olympic College
  • Peninsula College
  • Pierce College Fort Steilacoom
  • Pierce College Puyallup
  • Renton Technical College
  • Seattle Central College
  • Shoreline Community College
  • Skagit Valley College
  • South Puget Sound Community College
  • South Seattle College
  • Spokane Community College
  • Spokane Falls Community College
  • Tacoma Community College
  • Walla Walla Community College
  • Wenatchee Valley College
  • Whatcom Community College
  • Yakima Valley College

Transfer equivalency is subject to change. Courses must appear on an official transcript with a grade of B- or better and must have been taken within the last 10 years. Please review our transfer credit policy for more details.

Transfer credit is evaluated with respect to a student’s degree program at DigiPen. For transfer credit to be accepted, it must satisfy a course requirement for the student’s degree program. To understand how your transfer credit might apply, it is important to become familiar with your program’s degree requirements.


Community College Transfer

We work with several community colleges in our area to help facilitate students wishing to transfer in credits toward a DigiPen degree program. To determine if your current community college participates, use our interactive Community College Transfer tables and find out the specific prerequisites and a sample course sequence for transfer students.

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