Transferring Courses into your MSU record
GUIDELINES on this page for:
I. Current MSU Students
II. Students Entering (transferring into) MSU from Another Institution
I. Current MSU Students:
1. You will be able to bring credits from a 2 year school (community college, etc.) until you reach a maximum of 56 crs. at MSU. After that, you must go to a 4 year school.
2. You must receive a 2.0 in each course at that school in order to transfer the course back.
3. How other schools' courses transfer to MSU:
- Green columns = MSU courses. Grey columns = courses at the other school.
- The course must transfer into MSU [green] as a specific department code AND number in order to meet a requirement.
- This web page lists many MI schools. Out-of-state schools may not be listed here. Equivalent course not listed at school you want? See # 4 below.
4. If there is no course listed from that school which matches the MSU course you need, you may be able to identify one at the other school that is equivalent to the MSU course:
- Compare the other school's course descriptions to see if one closely matches the MSU course description.
- Take the description of both courses to the relevant MSU dept. [e.g. for a physics course, go to MSU Physics dept., etc.] If that department approves the course, it will fill out the paperwork necessary to get the course into your MSU transcript.
5. Apply to that school:
- For MI schools, generate a "Guest Application Form" from the MSU Registrar's web page
- For non-MI schools, find out about registration, fee payment, deadlines, etc. from that school. You might be able to obtain application forms [and other information] from the Registrar of that institution.
- Take or send the form(s) to the institution.
Plan ahead. Summer registration, for example, often begins in late February or in March.
6. Contact the MSU Admissions Office for more specific information on appropriate schools, bringing in transfer courses and other procedures.
7. To have transfer credit appear on your MSU transcript, you MUST request that the other institution send an official transcript to MSU. Check with the school to see if this can be done electronically. Otherwise, the snail mail address is
Office of Admissions and Scholarships
250 Administration Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
As soon as you finish the course, request that an official transcript be sent. If the course is not in your MSU record and it is a prerequisite for a MSU course, you will be denied enrollment for the MSU course.
II. Students Transferring into MSU from Another Institution:
You will be able to bring in a maximum of 60 crs from a 2 year school (community college, etc.); up to 90 from a 4 year school. You must obtain a 2.0 in each course at the other institution in order to transfer it to MSU.. Contact the Admissions Office with further questions about either of these issues.
1. See the requirements for the undergraduate Zoology degrees.
2. As you will see, you have three sets of requirements to meet to finish the MSU ZOL degree:
- University,
- College of Natural Science, and
- Zoology Department.
3. For most MSU students, the first two (2) sets of requirements [University & College of Natural Science] usually take up the first 2 - 2.5 years of schooling.
4. At the beginning of junior year, most MSU Zoology students start into the 3rd set of requirements [Zoology Department]. Whether or not you will be able to take the courses depends upon whether you have the appropriate prerequisites. Prerequisites are listed in each course's description.
5. The sets of courses most easily transferred from other schools are some of the University & College ones. The content of these introductory level courses is fairly uniform at most colleges and universities, so they are more likely to transfer into MSU as specific courses. Courses must transfer into MSU with a specific department code AND number in order to meet MSU requirements.
6. To see how other schools' courses transfer to MSU:
- Green columns = MSU courses. Grey columns = courses at the other school,
- The course must transfer into MSU [green] as a specific department code AND number in order to meet a requirement.
- This web page lists many MI schools. Out-of-state schools may not be listed here. Equivalent course not listed at your school ? See # 9 below.
7. At minimum, consider transferring in the following MSU courses:
UNIVERSITY:
WRA:
[1 course from range of 110 to 150]
IAH:
[one A ( IAH from range of 201 to 210) and one B (any other IAH, numbered 211 +) ]
ISS:
one 200 level course
IAH/ISS NOTE 1: The IAH and ISS courses here at MSU are 4 credits. In the past, MSU has allowed transfer students to bring in 3 credit courses and count them toward the 4 credit MSU courses. That is NO LONGER the case. Be sure any course you wish to transfer into MSU to substitute for a 4 credit IAH or ISS is 4 credits at the school you transfer from.
IAH/ISS NOTE 2: Integrated Studies Diversity Requirement: Among the 4 required IAH and ISS courses, must have one "I" and one "N" course. A "D" course may substitute for either ONE "N" or ONE "I" course, but not for both. I, N or D is in parentheses at the end of the course title in the MSU Course Descriptions catalog.
MATH:
MTH 124 or 132
COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE:
BS 110; BS 111; BS 111L
MTH 126 or 133 OR STT 201 or 231 or 421
CEM 141; CEM 161 ; CEM 251 ; CEM 252 ; CEM 255
PHY 231 ; PHY 232 ; PHY 251 ; PHY 252
8. Obviously, you will need to find the other school's equivalent to these MSU courses. See # 6 above.
9. The school that you are attending [or course you are taking] may not be listed on the website above in # 6.
- In that case, you will need to match the course description for your course(s) as closely as possible to the description of an MSU course.
- Once you are here at MSU, take the description of both courses to the relevant MSU dept. [e.g. for a chemistry course, go to MSU Chemistry dept., etc.] If that department approves the course, it will fill out the paperwork necessary to get the course into your MSU transcript.
10. Contact the Admissions Office for more specific information on bringing in transfer courses and other application procedures.
11. MSU campus tours are available through Admissions