Undergraduate External Transfer Course Pre-Approval/Approval Form

Fill out this form if you plan on taking courses at another accredited, degree-granting college, community college, or university in the United States and would like us to pre-screen your courses to see if they have already been approved for BU credit. Note, you can access the database that lists transfer courses that have previously transferred into Boston University, here. If you choose to check the database yourself, please still fill out this pre-approval form so that we can put the equivalency approval on file for you. 

If a course or courses you are interested in taking has not been approved for BU credit, you will need to fill out and submit a Transfer Course Equivalency Form to the department that best corresponds with the course material. The completed, approved form can then be submitted to the CFA Advising Office located at 855 Comm Ave, Suite 230, where we will put it on file for you.

Official transfer credit policies are available here.

This form is used to document equivalency for coursework to be completed outside of Boston University that is intended for use toward the College of Fine Arts degree. The following is a summary of guidelines:

  • Transfer credit must be taken in an accredited program at an accredited college or university.
  • A minimum grade of C is required in any course for which a student seeks transfer credit.
  • Courses receive no more than the number of credits earned at the host institution, (e.g. if a course is worth 3 semester credits at the outside college or university, it will transfer in as 3 credits to BU; courses taken on a trimester or quarter system will be converted to semester credits accordingly)
  • Courses must carry at least 2.5 Boston University credits in order to be equated to College of Fine Arts courses.
  • Only courses equivalent to those offered by the undergraduate schools and colleges of Boston University will be accepted for transfer.
  • During the fall and spring semesters, CFA students may not enroll concurrently at BU and another institution.
  • Upon completion of external course(s), students enrolled in the College of Fine Arts should request that an official transcript from the host institution be sent to the CFA Registrar’s office at the following address: 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 230, Boston, MA, 02215

Can I transfer in Hub units from another university? No. The BU Hub is offered only at Boston University and is an essential component of the BU undergraduate experience. While courses often may be transferred from other universities for major, minor, or elective credits, they may not be used to fulfill Hub requirements.

CFA Advising Transfer Credit Pre-Approval Request

  • Personal information

  • Without dashes (e.g. U12345678)

  • Academic Information

  • This can be found with the following path: StudentLink > Academics > Academic Summary.

  • External Transfer Course Information

  • Please indicate the semester/term in which you have taken, or plan to take, this course.
  • Please indicate a U.S. college/university where you have taken, or plan to take, this course.
  • Please indicate where the U.S. college/university is located.
  • The course number from the college/university where you have taken, or plan to take, this course.
  • The title of the course you plan to take at the college/university.
  • Max. file size: 100 MB.
  • Please indicate which CFA ONLY course you are intending to fulfill with this course.

  • Agreement

  • By checking the box below, I acknowledge I am a current CFA student and I understand that all courses taken outside of the United States (even if through a US college) must be approved through the External Programs office of Study Abroad. I understand that once this course is pre-screened, I may need to complete additional paperwork in order to have this course approved for transfer credit. I understand that I must have an official transcript sent to my BU school/college records office to complete the transfer credit process.
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