Transfer Credit Policy

Transfer Credit Policy

The College awards transfer credit for courses that are equivalent or comparable to liberal arts courses offered at The Claremont Colleges, subject to approval of the department chair of the department offering courses in the discipline of the transfer course. All credit for transfer work is calculated on the basis of four semester units or six quarter units equaling one Pomona College course. Credit is awarded for courses taken at regionally accredited colleges and universities, so long as the course is taken on- site, among other matriculated students of the college or university. Online courses are not eligible for transfer credit. In order for the credit to be accepted as transfer credit, a grade of C– or better must be earned and the student can’t already have received credit for the same material at Pomona College or elsewhere. No more than 16 transfer courses can be applied to the 32 courses required for graduation, and a maximum of two pre-college-matriculation transfer courses are allowed. See the section on Credit Requirements.

A maximum of two Advanced Standing credits will be applied to the 32 credits needed for graduation.  Advanced Standing credit includes AP, IB, and A-level exam credit, and/or college credits taken prior to acceptance and matriculation to Pomona College or other college or university as a regular, degree-seeking undergraduate.  (College credit completed prior to admission and matriculation to Pomona or other college is limited to work completed during the senior year of high school and must have been taken on the college campus in courses offered for regularly admitted students.  Such credit is not eligible to satisfy Breadth of Study credit requirements.) See the section on Advanced Standing.

Conversion of semester and quarter units to Pomona courses uses the following equivalencies:

Breadth of Study credit is not awarded for transfer work completed after matriculation to the College. Matriculated students who wish to study at other regionally accredited colleges or universities in the United States for the purpose of transferring credit to Pomona should obtain prior approval for the specific courses they plan to undertake. Transfer credit is not allowed for courses taken abroad while on leave status during the fall or spring semester. Transfer credit for work done abroad during the summer may be granted, but only when prior approval is obtained from the appropriate department chair. In all cases, students must submit a transfer credit application form that has been approved by the chair of the department (or other designated faculty member) that offers the most similar course at Pomona, as well as the registrar, in order to be granted transfer credit. 

The maximum credit a student may earn in any one summer is three courses, including credit earned through a summer reading or research course at Pomona College. If the summer program is the final one for the completion of the requirements for the degree, the maximum credit allowed is two courses, or their equivalent in semester or quarter units.