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If you have attended schools other than Seattle University , you will naturally want previous pertinent work to apply toward your SU degree. Being properly credited for such work is usually straightforward. It is your responsibility to have complete, official, transcripts sent to the Admissions Office (if you are a new transfer student) or the Evaluations Unit of the Registrar's Office (if you are already enrolled). If you are enrolled in another school at the time you apply for admission to Seattle University, be sure to have updated, complete transcripts sent when you complete your last term's work. Specialists will evaluate the transcript(s) and indicate which course requirements for your Seattle University degree have been satisfied. Failure to submit all previous transcripts at the time of application for admission (if you are a new transfer student) or in the allowed period of time (if you are already enrolled) may mean that courses will not be transferred. This process seems simple, but probably no other interaction with the university causes as much distress and misunderstanding among our students as does the issue of transfer credits.
Upon admission and whenever you submit transcripts from other schools, you will receive an academic evaluation for the degree audit that indicates transfer credit granted. A copy of this form is included in Appendix I. When you receive a degree audit, study it carefully to make certain that all transfer credit has been correctly applied. If you think there are discrepancies, discuss them with the transfer evaluator in the Registrar's Office to whom you have been assigned and with your adviser. When you are admitted to Seattle University, you should begin working with the department chair and your adviser to make sure that you understand exactly how much of your previous work has been credited and what degree requirements remain to be completed. It is best to be cautious on this point. Do not assume that you will receive transfer credit until it has officially been granted.
New transfer students are sometimes surprised to learn that not all of their course work from other schools can be applied to their degree at Seattle University in the way they expect. Particular courses that sometimes cause difficulties in terms of transfer are in the areas of mathematics, physics, and mechanical engineering. Guides that list the Washington State community college courses and the equivalent courses at Seattle University can be found at www.seattleu.edu/regis/ .
Mathematics: The BSCE curriculum requires three quarters (15 credits) of basic calculus, 3 credits of multivariable (advanced) calculus, 3 credits of linear algebra, 4 credits of differential equations, and 5 credits of probability and statistics.
Physics: Each of the required engineering-oriented physics courses (PHYS 200, 201, 202) contains a laboratory component. Students transferring physics without laboratories will be required to take separate one-credit laboratories - PHYS 296, 297, 298. These are taken pass/fail (credit/no credit).
Mechanical Engineering: Civil and Environmental Engineering students are required to take four mechanical engineering courses: MEGR 105, 210, 230, and 381.
Specific rules governing the transfer of credit to Seattle University from other institutions include the following:
a) Credit can be transferred only for courses whose content is substantially equivalent to those within the curriculum of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Seattle University . You must have earned at least a grade of C or better (2.0 on a scale of 4.0) for each course to be transferred.
b) If a course is transferred and it is of fewer credits than the equivalent course at Seattle University , the shortfall in credits must be made up with courses in the same general area so that you graduate with the proper number of total credits (presently 192). Note: To be considered equivalent, the transfer course must be within one credit of the corresponding course at Seattle University .
c) A maximum of 90 quarter credit hours can be transferred from community colleges. A maximum of 147 credit hours can be transferred when work from four-year colleges or universities is included. (Two semester hours are equivalent to three quarter hours.)
d) Recognition of content: Once you have attained upper division standing (90 or more total Seattle University and transfer credit hours) you may not transfer additional credit hours from any two-year schools. In some instances, however, a course taken beyond the 90-credit limit may be recognized for its content in such a way that you will not be required to take the equivalent course at Seattle University . In such cases you will be required to make up the credits so that you graduate with the correct total (192).
e) The evaluation specialists in the Registrar's Office look at transcripts for transfer students chronologically. That is, courses taken at other schools are considered in the order in which they were taken. Once these total 90 credit hours, no further course work from two-year institutions can be transferred for credit. This is regardless of whether or not all of the first 90 could be counted toward your BSCE degree. For example, assume that you have 97 college-transferable credits from XYZ Community College . Of the first 90 credits taken, 53 were transferred and 37 did not relate to your chosen degree program in civil and environmental engineering. Despite the fact that only 53 credits helped you toward your degree requirements, none of the last 7 credit hours (those beyond the 90-credit limit) will be transferred for credit regardless of what they were. They may, however, be recognized for content as described in Item d). If, however, the last 7 credits were from ABC University they will be transferred if they are applicable toward your degree.
f) No course work from engineering technology programs can be transferred. No work-related experience can be counted toward your degree requirements. (See Section 14 for rules governing credit by examination.)
g) You may not simultaneously take courses at Seattle University and another school and expect them to count toward your SU degree without prior permission . Except during summer quarter, permission is normally granted only to relieve scheduling conflicts that would impede your progress in your degree program and delay your graduation. To request simultaneous enrollment, complete a Transfer Verification Form, available at the Registrar's Office and included in Appendix II, well in advance of the quarter for which the simultaneous enrollment is planned. Your adviser must sign the form. Final approval is determined by the Associate Dean of the College of Science and Engineering.
h) The final 45 credits counted toward your degree must be taken at Seattle University .
i) Students transferring with 90 or more credits and who have no religious studies courses transferred for the theology and religious studies (TRST) requirement may have one religious studies course waived. The one TRST course that will be required of such students must be in Phase II (200 level). The waived TRST course must be replaced with humanities/social sciences, not technical courses such as mathematics or engineering. Regardless of background, all transfer students are required to have at least one religious studies course.
j) Students transferring with 90 or more credits and who have no philosophy courses will have PHIL 110 waived as a requirement, but it must be replaced by a humanities or social science course. Also, in place of PHIL 220, such students should take the PHIL 210 bridge course listed for junior and senior transfer students in the quarterly Schedule of Classes. Details are given in Seattle University Policy #76-14 (revised 9/92).
k) Students who have earned a transferable associate degree from a Washington State community college prior to first admission to Seattle University will have ENGL 120, HIST 120, and Social Science I waived in addition to the religious studies and philosophy courses described above. A more complete description of possible waivers from the University Core can be found in Appendix I. Not all associates degrees are transferable. A list of all recognized transferable associates degrees from community colleges in Washington State is in Appendix I. Consult the Registrar's Office if you have questions. As in items i) and j), the credits for the waived classes will have to be earned through course work in similar areas. This is frequently accomplished by using transferable humanities and social science credits from your community college record.
l) Students who have previously attained a baccalaureate degree at another American university will have the University Core waived except for the Phase II religious studies course and the philosophy course in ethics. Students whose first baccalaureate degree was from a foreign institution must satisfy the entire University Core either through transfer credits or courses taken at Seattle University .
m) Waived courses are indicated on your degree audit. This is a waiving of the content of the course. As described above, the credits for a waived or not required course must be made up in some way by a course of similar type. All students must have received at least 45 college level credits in history, social science, and humanities, and fine arts to fulfill the Core requirement. If a specific course in the Core is waived, the 45 credits must be reached by additional courses in one of the Core areas or foreign language. It is also possible to simply take the waived course itself to fulfill the credit requirement.
n) Students with Advance Placement scores of 3 or higher from high school mathematics, English, chemistry, etc. will receive credit for courses according to Seattle University Policy #75-16.
o) Once admitted to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, students may not normally transfer civil engineering courses from other institutions. Occasionally, students will transfer from other schools after having already taken a number of civil engineering courses. These will be evaluated by the department on a case-by-case basis.
p) Deadlines are established for submitting transcripts for courses taken at other institutions. These deadlines are the same for work in progress at other institutions at the time you are admitted, work done during a period away from SU (usually during the summer), or work completed while simultaneously enrolled at SU and another institution. These deadlines are:
- Courses completed Summer Term December 1
- Courses completed Fall Term March 1
- Courses completed Winter Term May 1
- Courses completed Spring Term August 1
New students frequently neglect to send a final transcript from the last school attended. If you believe that your program evaluation is incomplete, go to the Admissions Office to be sure that all transcripts have been received and evaluated. Work reflected on transcripts received after the above deadlines will not be transferred without a Petition for Exception to Policy initiated by your adviser.
Seattle University has established these and other rules regarding transfer credits primarily to safeguard the integrity of its degree programs. All colleges, both public and private, have similar sets of rules. Each institution has its own philosophy of education and Seattle University is no exception. The only way that we can be sure that our students are exposed to the Jesuit traditions of liberal education and service to society is to make sure that the courses that they take reflect this viewpoint.
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is accredited by a national organization (the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology or ABET) that sets the standards for engineering education in the United States . More precisely, it is the program, or curriculum, of the department that is accredited. Our ABET accreditation would be seriously jeopardized if our students were allowed to freely substitute courses from other schools in place of our own offerings.
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