Transfer Credits

Domestic Transfer Information

For courses taken at other institutions in the U.S. The general instructions concerning transfer credit are available at the Trinity policies site. The process for obtaining graduation credit for courses taken at another domestic institution involves two parts. The chemistry department has to certify that the course content is/is not essentially equivalent to the corresponding Duke course and then your Dean must approve the actual transfer of credit.

Chemistry Department Policy

The Chemistry Department transfers courses from other academic institutions in two ways: 1) as courses equivalent to Duke courses, and 2) as elective courses in Chemistry. For a course to be transferred as equivalent to a Duke course, there are three requirements:

  1. the institution at which the course is taken must be accredited by the American Chemical Society (the list is available here)
  2. the course must be part of the ACS approved curriculum, and
  3. the course must involve at least 35 contact hours of class time and 35 contact hours of lab time (if the Duke course has a lab component).

Courses that meet all of the above criteria except that they have less than 35 contact hours of lab time will be transferred as elective courses in Chemistry. The elective courses are numbered as Chem 100 for introductory courses (such as Chem 101DL or 110DL) and Chem 300 or 400 for advanced courses (such as Chem 201DL, 301, 401, etc). The elective courses numbered Chem 100, 300, and 400 count as courses toward the 34 needed for graduation. They also count as courses that fulfill the Natural Science area requirements and may fulfill pre- or co-requisites for majors. Having elective courses in Chemistry on your Duke transcript should not have any negative consequences as far as admission to Medical Schools is concerned. You are required to submit not only your Duke transcript but also the transcript(s) from all other institutions that you attend. The external transcript(s) provide the grade(s) and the course description(s) required by the Medical School.

Transfer Credit for Chemistry Courses

To submit a chemistry course for approval for transfer, do the following.

  1. Go to the Trinity policies site and print a copy of the Transfer Request Form that can be found under the section on Transfer Credits.
  2. Complete the form and bring it to the DUS (1222 of French Family Science Center). If you are not on campus, you may mail to Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Box 90347, Durham, NC 27708.
  3. After the form has been signed by the DUS, take it to your academic dean for approval of the transfer credit.

Policies Concerning Pre-Matriculation Credit

Information on the University policies for graduation credit for advanced placement exams, international placement exams, and previous college courses that you may have taken can be found at the Trinity policies site.

Fulfilling Physics Requirements with Approved Transfer Courses

PHYSICS 100 may be substituted for required physics courses: PHYSICS 141L-142L, PHYSICS 151L-152L; or 161L-162L, in either the A.B. or B.S. chemistry major, provided the physics course(s) are (1) calculus-based, (2) taken at an institution that is accredited by the American Chemical Society, and (3) are the courses that are required for an ACS-certified degree at that institution.