Transfer Credit Information

Current Student Transfer Credit Procedure

All transfer transcripts must come directly from the institution and cannot come from the student.

Graduate/Law students: Please work with your college/school dean's office to determine course transferability.

Undergraduate/Pharmacy students: Current students interested in transferring in credits from U.S. institutions must complete the Transfer Request Form.  Transfer credits will not be posted without the completion of this form. Entering students should not complete this form before attending. To access the form, click here.

Transfer Credit Resources

Drake offers a multitude of resources that help explain how credits will transfer.

Transfer Credit Policy

In general, students may receive credit for academic courses taken at post secondary institutions that were regionally accredited at the time the courses were taken. Courses accepted for transfer credit must parallel courses offered at Drake University or otherwise be appropriate for college-level credit. Other details include:

• Transcripts must come directly from the institution, we will not accept any transcripts from students.
• You must have earned a grade of "C-" or better in the transfer course.  Non-letter grades such as a "P," "S," or "CR" may be granted if the policy of the institution equates those grades to work completed at C- grade or better.*
  • G.P.A.s from transfer institutions do not transfer into Drake. Transfer courses are for credit only.
• Courses that are considered vocational or technical (career-specific) will be reviewed by the appropriate college/school dean's office for applicability.
• You will need to request that the college or university mail a transcript to the appropriate office on campus (please see list below).
• Credit will not be granted for courses that provide developmental or support topics, ESL courses, professional development certifications, test outs, or experiential learning granted by other institutions.
• For undergraduate students
  • A maximum of 16 semester hours of vocational-technical credit may be granted at the discretion of the Drake college or school in which you enroll.
  • A cumulative total of 66 semester hours of credit from all two-year institutions attended may be applied to a degree.
  • An overall maximum of 90 hours may be applied toward a Drake degree (181 hours for a Pharmacy degree).
  • A minimum of 30 hours must be completed at Drake.

*Special Note: In response to the disruption of COVID-19, Drake University will accept "P", "S", or "CR" grades, regardless if they are the equivalent of a C-, for all Spring 2020 coursework. This exception is applicable for Summer 2020, Fall 2020, and Spring 2021 coursework if the institution required students to convert to "P", "S", or "CR" grading.

General Education Articulation Agreement

Admitted students who have met the criteria outlined below will enter Drake University having fulfilled the Drake Curriculum general education requirements (Areas of Inquiry), with the exception of the Senior Capstone requirement in the student's major(s) area of study. Students within one year of high school graduation are required to complete a First Year Seminar.

Criteria

• Minimum 60 semester credits acceptable for transfer.
• Minimum 2.00 cumulative grade point average in transfer coursework.
• One of the following degrees from a regionally accredited institution:
  • Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree from a community college in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, or Missouri or Drake University's Bright College.
  • Associate of Science (A.S.) degree from a community college in Iowa.
  • Bachelor's degree from any regionally accredited institution.

Students are required to submit a final transcript with proof of their degree prior to the beginning of their second term (excluding summer or J-term) of enrollment. Students who fail to provide the appropriate documentation will be required to complete the general education requirements.

Students who do not meet the criteria above will have their credits evaluated on a course-by-course basis.

Transfer Credit FAQ

As a current student, I’d like to take a few classes over the summer or online during the semester. What do I need to know?

All current students should submit a Transfer Request Form before enrolling in a class at another institution. This ensures the course will transfer back to Drake and apply toward your program once it has been approved. Students can fill out the form here. 

Use the tools above to view course descriptions from other institutions and see their equivalent courses at Drake.

Transfer college work earns credit only and is not included in computing the Drake University cumulative GPA. Students cannot remove unsatisfactory grades received at Drake by repeating those courses at other institutions and transferring the credit to Drake.

Once transfer credit has been applied, students can view their equated course information their unofficial transcript.

I already have completed a course at another institution, and now I'm ready to transfer the credit to Drake.  What do I need to do?

You must contact the other institution and request that they send Drake your official transcript. Drake will not accept a transcript unless we receive it directly from the other institution. If you’d like to send your transcript electronically, please have the institution email it directly to registrar@drake.edu. If you would like to send it by mail, please use the following address and the appropriate Attention line per the table below. Current students must fill out a Transfer Request Form, before submitting their transcript. To submit your request, please fill out the form here. 

Drake University
Attn: (see table below)
2507 University Ave
Des Moines, IA 50311

I’m not seeking a degree at Drake, but I have taken courses at Drake and have credits from other institutions that I need to have validated. Can you post them to my record?

We cannot post transcript coursework for non-degree seeking students. Credits from international institutions may be reviewed by organizations such as the ECE or WES to assist you in validating and evaluating the courses.  They offer different levels of evaluation, so be sure to carefully read their list of services.

Can you mail a copy of my transcript from another institution when I request a Drake transcript?

A transcript is a snapshot of record at a single point in time, so only the originating institution knows the current details of your record there. Most organizations would not accept transcripts from a third party, so Drake does not release transcripts from other institutions. Please contact the originating institution for release of their records. If you attended an Iowa college or school of nursing that is no longer in existence, the University of Iowa maintains their records.