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 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.

The following rules apply:

• Credit is awarded for courses taken at regionally accredited colleges and universities, so long as the course is taken predominantly among other matriculated students of the college or university, is comparable to courses offered for credit at the Claremont Colleges and has been approved by the relevant department chair at Pomona College.
• Credit is not awarded when the course is included in the high school record and was used for fulfillment of any high school diploma requirement.
• Credit is not awarded for courses taken abroad while on leave status during the fall or spring semester.  (Transfer credit for work completed abroad during the summer may be granted, but only with approval from the appropriate department chair.  The amount of credit awarded may not follow credit designations where the course was taken.)
• Credit is not awarded when the grade received was not equivalent to C- or above.
• Credit is not awarded when the student has already received credit for the same material at Pomona College or elsewhere.
• Credit is not awarded for more than 16 transfer courses.  (A maximum of 16 courses can be applied to the 32 courses required for graduation, including the maximum of two pre-college matriculation transfer course credits, including Advanced Standing work, such as AP or IB. See the section on Credit Requirements.)
• Credit is not awarded for more than the equivalent of three Pomona course credits for summer work, inclusive of credit earned through a summer reading/research independent study course at Pomona College.
• Credit is not awarded for more than the equivalent of two Pomona course credits if the summer program is the final one for the completion of the requirements for the degree.
• Breadth of Study credit is only awarded to students admitted as transfer students, and only for transfer credit awarded for pre-matriculation work.

Conversion of semester and quarter units to Pomona courses uses the following equivalencies. 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. A form for the purpose is available on the registrar’s web page at www.pomona.edu/registrar.