Transfer of Gen Ed Courses

Transfer Credit

Credits: Keep in mind that if you entered the University in Fall 2010 or later as a Freshmen, each of your Social, Biological or Physical World requirements must be satisfied with one 4-credit or two 3-credit course with the appropriate designation. For example, if you transfer in a 3-credit Sociology course with an SB designation, you would still have to complete one more 3-credit SB course to satisfy the requirement.

Quick Tips On Identifying Transferable General Education Courses

The purpose of general education is to broaden one's personal perspective.So...

  • Most introductory level courses which are broad in scope will satisfy Gen Ed requirements (e.g. "Intro to Environmental Science," "Intro to Political Science").
  • Courses which focus on a narrow range of subject matter generally will NOT satisfy Gen Ed requirements (e.g. "Solar Energy," "Marxism").


Introductory courses (100- or 200-level) in the areas listed below are acceptable choices for fulfilling general education requirements.

Literature (AL)
Survey Lit courses covering one century or more; Genre Lit courses (Poetry, Short Story, Drama, etc.); Theme Lit courses (Women in Lit, Children's Lit, etc.); Intro Philosophy.

Arts/Literature (AT)
Intro Visual Arts, Design, or Basic Drawing;Art Appreciation or Art History (covering one century or more); Music Appreciation or Music History (covering one century or more); Ethics.

Historical Studies (HS)
Survey History courses (covering one century or more; may be history of groups of countries).

Social/Behavioral Studies (SB)
Intro, Lifespan, or Child Psychology; Psychology of Women, Personality, or Aging; Intro Sociology; Social Problems, or Sociology of the Family, Intro Cultural Anthropology; Intro, Micro-, or Macro-Economics; Intro Political Science or International/World Politics; U.S. or State/Local Government.

Interdisciplinary (I)
Women's Studies; Comparative or World Religion.

Biological Sciences (BS)
Intro Biology; Ecology; Nutrition; Environmental Science; Anatomy & Physiology; Intro Microbiology; Intro Biochemistry; Intro Botany; Intro Zoology.

Physical Sciences (PS)
Intro Chemistry; Intro Physics; Intro Earth Science; Intro Geology; Intro Astronomy; Intro Oceanography; Intro Meteorology.

Basic Math Skills (R1)
Intermediate Algebra (non-credit R1);College Algebra;Pre-Calculus.

Analytical Reasoning (R2)
Computer Sciences (3+ credit courses only) (PASCAL, BASIC, Data Structures); Microcomputer courses covering wordprocessing, spreadsheets, and databases; Statistics; Calculus; Logic; Linguistic Theory; Finite Math.

NOTE: Click here to familiarize yourself better with the University's R1/R2 policy.

Diversity (DG: Global or DU: U.S.)
Courses that previously received Diversity designations in transfer will continue to receive them. Courses that have not previously received Diversity designations in transfer must be evaluated individually. Students should send a copy of the course syllabus (not a course description) to Janet Danylieko, Assistant Registrar for Academic Requirements and Transfer Credit, at jdanylie@umass.edu.
 

Global:

  • African
  • Latin or South American
  • Near or Middle Eastern
  • Asian         

U.S.:

  • Native American
  • African American
  • Latino
  • Asian American
  • Women's Issues

College Writing (CW)
First-year non-remedial composition course.  Students who did not satisfy the requirement prior to matriculation are strongly encouraged to take this course during their first year here.