Transfer Students

The Office of Academic Advising (OAA) is committed to helping make transfer students’ transition to Rice University and its academic system easier. Depending on the specific situation and the number of credits completed at the previous institution(s), transferring to Rice can involve a degree of work on your part with our guidance to fully determine your “starting point”. You will be able to make the process go as smoothly as possible by saving syllabi of your courses at your previous institution.

For work completed prior to matriculation, the Office of the Registrar in conjunction with the academic departments determine whether courses are appropriate for transfer to Rice either as Rice equivalent courses or as TRAN, general elective hours. TRAN will be indicated either as lower- (TRAN 100) or upper-level (TRAN 300) and will count toward the total credit hours needed for graduation. If the TRAN credit is designated by the Office of the Registrar as upper-level, it will also count toward the upper-level credit hour requirement. If courses initially transferred as TRAN credit are subsequently granted Rice equivalent course credit by the Office of the Registrar and the corresponding academic department, the Rice equivalent course is listed on the student’s transcript instead and may be used to satisfy the same university and major requirements as the course offered at Rice.

In an effort to better facilitate the registration process for qualifying transfer students who have completed at least 2 years elsewhere and can demonstrate a firm, realistic commitment to a plan to graduate after 2 years at Rice, students who qualify will be assigned to the next higher registration group for course registration. All transfer students will receive an email from the Office of Academic Advising outlining the petition process. An eligible transfer student may petition for registration priority by submitting a complete academic plan to the OAA. The OAA will apply the following criteria to determine if a student qualifies:

1. Has the student completed at least two full academic years (four semesters or six quarters with at least 60 hours completed that do not include AP or IB credit) elsewhere?

2. Does the student intend to complete the bachelor’s degree at the end of four full semesters at Rice?

3. Has the student declared a major?

4. Has the student satisfied all prerequisites for any courses needed in the upcoming semester?

5. Does the student have an academic plan demonstrating the ability to complete the bachelor’s degree at the end of the fourth full semester at Rice without an overload in any semester?

Students who wish to petition must submit a complete academic plan no later than 12:00 PM on the deadline outlined by the OAA email. The OAA will review your petition and inform you of a decision.