How many alternative credits can I transfer in?

It is our priority at CSU Global to support student learning while accelerating your degree completion. Alternative credit options allow you to demonstrate competency through a combination of knowledge, prior experiences, and independent learning in order to decrease cost and time when earning a degree. 

Undergraduate students must complete at least 30 residential credits to earn a degree - leaving room to transfer in up to 90 total credits. Please note: Other limitations may apply. Please see the academic catalog for more information. 

Within the 90 credit transfer limit you can transfer in a maximum of 60 credits from a variety of alternative, non-traditional sources such as CLEP, DSST, StraighterLine, Saylor Academy, and Prior Learning Assessments 

Please note: As of the 23-24 Winter catalog, CSU Global accepts a maximum of 75% of credit hours from a combination of all nontraditional sources. Please refer to your catalog or contact your Success Counselor to determine which transfer policy applies.

Internal Sources of Alternative Credit: 

  • Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)
    • You may complete up to 30 credits through Prior Learning Assessments
      • Up to (5) 3-credit courses in Major degree allowed (cannot be more than 50% of required major courses) and no more than 3 specialization course requirements can be fulfilled using alternative or transfer credit. 
    • Only 300-400 level courses are eligible to be completed via PLA

A couple additional notes about Alternative Credit:

  • Transferring these alternative credits to other Universities is at the discretion of the receiving institution.
  • Students should always consult with their Success Counselor prior to enrolling in any alternative credit options to ensure transferability.

Please note: Credit will not be accepted for courses that duplicate or significantly overlap each other in content and learning outcomes. Courses which by name, content, or description are developmental, remedial, or preparatory in nature will not be accepted in transfer. This may include courses which have been evaluated by faculty content experts and are found to have learning outcomes that do not match expectations for college level learning.