Wonder how your credits may transfer? Use our Transfer Guides to help you identify courses that will meet Wheaton requirements.
Acceptable Transferrable Credits
Most credits earned at another accredited college will transfer to Wheaton if the courses are applicable to a liberal arts program.
Courses which are NOT transferable include:
- Courses of a vocational or technical nature
- Courses in which a D grade was earned
We accept credit from nationally accredited colleges or universities as lower division coursework only, with a maximum of 30 credit hours. This includes TRACS and all other national accreditations.
We do not have these limits for regionally accredited institutions like Wheaton College which is accredited by its regional accreditor the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Most colleges are regionally accredited.
Courses taken at an unaccredited college may receive some credit with the approval of the Registrar. The College reserves the right to decide the acceptability and applicability of degrees and credits earned at other institutions. Grades for credits accepted for transfer courses are not included when determining a student's cumulative grade point average at Wheaton.
Community College Credit
Students who transfer from a community college can transfer a maximum of 62 semester hours of credit. Courses taken at two-year colleges may not be used to satisfy Wheaton's upper division course requirement.
Correspondence/Extension Credit
A maximum of 30 semester hours of credit earned by correspondence or extension may be applied toward a degree. Such work should be taken only from well-recognized correspondence programs through accredited institutions. Students interested in taking correspondence courses should receive approval from the Registrar's Office before registering for the courses.
Transfer Courses and Degree Requirements
Accepting courses for transfer and applying them toward degree requirements are separate considerations. Courses may transfer as elective credits but not be applicable to specific requirements. Transfer students are expected to meet all graduation requirements and general education requirements as listed in the appropriate sections of the catalog. Students may be requested to supply specific course information for a department in order to receive transfer credit. In some cases, students may be requested to take additional courses if the department determines that the necessary areas of study were not included.
Transfer Credits and General Education Curriculum
Christ at the Core, Wheaton College's general education curriculum, is designed to give students flexibility to study their interests while preparing for a vocation in the 21st century. Learn more about the Christ at the Core curriculum, including Core Competencies, Shared Core requirements, and Thematic Core requirements.
Transfer credit is available for Core Competency requirements based on registrar assessment. Wheaton College's Core Competencies include demonstrating foreign language competency. If some foreign language has been taken at another college, students may continue that language at a level recommended by the department. Passing the final exam in an intermediate foreign language course at Wheaton will meet the competency requirement. Students who have completed one semester of intermediate language at another college must verify competency by taking Wheaton's competency exam. Transfer students who, before enrolling at Wheaton, completed at least one year at the intermediate level will be considered to have met the competency requirement. Once initial enrollment at Wheaton occurs, the competency exam must be passed even if the student takes an advanced level language course at another college.
After enrolling, transfer students are expected to meet the Shared Core general education requirements at Wheaton College. Transfer students who have taken in-person courses at a residential Christian College may meet two of the Bible/Theology (BITH) requirements with transfer credit.
Transfer credits can also be used to satisfy Thematic Core requirements. Out of the Thematic Core general education requirements or thematic "tags", each transfer course may receive maximum of one tag. Some courses at Wheaton will have more than one tag. No more than four themes may be met with transfer credit for first-year and sophomore transfer students. Junior transfer students may meet up to six themes. Up to three themes may be applied to meet both Thematic Core requirements and major requirements.
Transfer students seeking Illinois teacher certification are expected to take all required 300- and 400-level education courses at Wheaton. Exceptions may be granted with departmental approval.
Courses that have been taken more than eight years prior to transferring to Wheaton are subject to department approval for transfer if they are to be used to meet any general education, major, minor, or teacher education requirements.
*A complete description of the General Education Requirements is found in the Wheaton College Catalog.