Transferring Credit Before Matriculation to WPI
The Office of Admissions transfer admissions team coordinates the formal evaluation of credit with evaluators in each academic department for a WPI degree for coursework taken prior to matriculation. For incoming first year students, this process starts after the May 1st enrollment deadline for the upcoming fall semester. For transfer students, this starts after admission to the university. More information is available at www.wpi.edu/+transfercredit. Each WPI academic department has their own policy regarding transfer credit and designates a faculty evaluator to review coursework submitted. Courses taken at regionally accredited post-secondary institutions that are comparable to courses offered at WPI will be reviewed for course content and level by the WPI academic department offering the comparable course. In general, only those courses in which the student received a grade of C or better will be evaluated for possible transfer credit, with some department requiring a grade of B or better. Please note vocational, correspondence, pre-college or review courses are not transferable. Also, noncredit CEU courses, adult enrichment or refresher courses, and CLEP examinations are not recognized for transfer credit.
Transferring Credit After Matriculation to WPI
If you are currently a WPI student who wishes to take courses at a regionally accredited post-secondary institution, you must obtain a WPI Transfer Credit Authorization form from the Registrar’s Office. This form and the course description must be taken to the WPI department head or transfer faculty approved by the department head for approval before the course is taken. On the form, the department head specifies a minimum grade for transfer. This minimum grade depends on the institution at which the course is taken and how critical the course is to the department. Courses that have not been pre-approved may not receive transfer credit. The completed form must be filed in the Registrar’s Office before taking the course. After successful completion of the course, an official transcript should be sent to WPI. Students can check the web for posting of credit. Please note vocational, correspondence, pre-college or review courses are not transferable. Also, noncredit CEU courses, adult enrichment or refresher courses, and CLEP examinations are not recognized for transfer credit.
Transferring Consortium Courses
Courses taken through the consortium do not need to be transferred into WPI. Courses will automatically be part of the WPI transcript. However, if you are taking the course through the consortium to fulfill a WPI distribution requirement, you should check with the Registrar’s Office to see if the course has been pre-approved to satisfy the requirement. If not, you will need approval from the relevant department head before taking the course.
To apply for approval of a consortium course to satisfy a specific WPI distribution requirement, a student must obtain a WPI Transfer Credit Authorization form from the Registrar’s Office. This form and the course description must be taken to the WPI department head for approval before the course is taken. The WPI department head decides whether the proposed course meets the department distribution requirement. If it does, the department head specifies on the form a minimum grade for satisfying the distribution requirement. This minimum grade depends on the institution at which the course is taken and how critical the course is within the department. Courses that have not been pre-approved may receive WPI elective credit. The complete form must be filed in the Registrar’s Office before taking the course.
Advanced Placement
WPI awards credit to students who score a “4” or “5” on most Advanced Placement Examinations. The Office of Academic Advising will notify such students of their earned credit by mail to the home address during early August. You can visit the Registrar’s Office web site www.wpi.edu/offices/registrar/policies-procedures/ap-credit for a complete list of AP credits for exams taken.
Humanities
The Humanities and Arts Department will accept a maximum of 1/3 unit of AP credit towards the Humanities and Arts requirement. AP credit beyond one course (1/3 unit) in the Humanities and Arts may be counted toward other requirements such as free elective credit or particular majors and minors at WPI. For most humanities disciplines, students who score a 4 or 5 in the AP test will receive credit in the relevant discipline. Special cases in language and studio art are explained below.
AP credit in languages
Students who score a 4 or higher on the College Board AP exam in Chinese language and culture, German Language, Spanish language, or Spanish literature, automatically receive 1/3 unit of credit in the language. This can be applied to the breadth component of the HUA Requirement or to the HUA language track option. In either case, the student will receive credit for one of the following Elementary 1000-level language courses and cannot enroll in that course for additional credit: CN 1541, GN 1511, SP 1523.
Students who took Arabic, Chinese, German, or Spanish in high school – but who do not earn AP credit for it at WPI – can get 1/3 unit retroactive credit for that language if they meet the following 3 criteria: 1) studied it for three or more years in high school and maintained at least a B average for all three years and; 2) place into at least the 2nd term of the appropriate WPI language sequence; and 3) successfully complete two terms of that language at WPI, earning grades of B or higher in both courses. The exception is Spanish: students studying Spanish must complete Intermediate I (SP 2521) and Intermediate II (SP 2522) with a grade B or higher. To request 1/3 unit retroactive language credit, please use the appropriate form on the Humanities and Arts website (https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/humanities-arts/resources). Students may receive credit for either the AP exam or 3 years of high school language study, but not both. For questions about this policy, please contact the Humanities and Arts Department.
AP Credit in Studio Art
Students who score a 4 or 5 in the AP test in studio art are eligible for HUA credit after a successful portfolio review by art faculty.
Computer Science
Advanced placement in computer science can be earned for the “Computer Science AP A” exam. Credit for CS 1000 is granted for scoring a “4” or “5” on the CS AP A exam. No credit will be granted for “Computer Science AP Principles” exam.
The Computer Science department advises CS Majors who earn a “4” or a “5” on the CS AP A exam to enroll in CS 1102 (Accelerated Introduction to Program Design). Students who wish to pursue a CS Minor after earning a “4” or a “5” on the CS AP A exam may consider enrolling in CS 2119 (Application Building with Object-Oriented Concepts) or CS 2301 (Systems Programming for Non-Majors).
Students who took CS AP Principles exam and have substantial programming experience should consult with the CS course instructors as to which course to take.
Natural Sciences
Students who pass the advanced placement test in Biology or Physics B with a “4 or 5” will be awarded 1/3 unit of advanced placement credit. This credit will show on the transcript as “L”. For students who score “4 or 5” in Physics C (Mechanics) will be awarded 1/3 unit in Physics 1110/ 1111. Students who score “4 or 5” in Physics C (Electricity and Magnetism) will be awarded 1/3 advanced placement credit for Physics 1120/1121. For those students who pass Physics B will be awarded 1/3 unit in Physics 1000. Students who score 4/5 on the Chemistry Advanced Placement Examination or 6/7 on the Chemistry International Baccalaureate Exam are automatically awarded 1/3 unit of credit for CH 1010.
Mathematics
Students who pass the AB mathematics examination with a “4” or “5” will be awarded 2/3 unit of advanced placement credit for MA 1021 and MA 1022. Students with a “4” or “5” on the advanced placement BC exam will be awarded 1 unit advanced placement credit for MA 1021, MA 1022 and MA 1023. Retroactive credit is only possible for MA 1021 and/or MA 1022 via the following pathways. In the four-course 1021-1024 mathematics sequence, students who arrive at WPI prepared to start with the second (or third) course in the WPI sequence, and who successfully pass that course and the one that follows it, will be considered to have established advanced placement credit for the first one (or two) courses. Retroactive AP credit is awarded for MA 1021 and MA 1022 if a student arrives at WPI prepared to take MA 1024 and successfully passes that course and MA 2051. To qualify for retroactive credit, the two WPI courses must be passed on the first attempt by D-term of the student’s first year and the student must have no grades of NR in any course in the MA 1021-1024 sequence in the first year. The courses credited retroactively will be listed by number with an assigned grade of “L” and will count toward the distribution requirement in mathematics.
Project Lead The Way (PLTW)
WPI awards credit to current WPI students who completed a PLTW Engineering course in high school, received a minimum of a “B” in the course, and earned on the PLTW End-of-Course Assessment either a stanine score of 6 or higher (before July 2018) or a minimum scale score of 410 for IED, 410 for POE, 420 for CEA, 430 for CIM, 450 for DE. WPI also honors PLTW transfer credits from other select PLTW university partners, such as RIT. Please visit the WPI Project Lead The Way web site (www.wpi.edu/+pltw) for more information and to apply for credit. A staff member will notify students of their earned credit..