Transfer Policies & Resources

General Policies for All Transfer Students

  • UNC Asheville accepts transfer credit for undergraduate courses that are completed with a grade of C or better at accredited institutions and that are compatible with UNC Asheville’s programs. Transfer credit earned 10 or more years ago is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
  • Accredited institutions are those recognized by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). College level coursework completed at other US Department of Education nationally accredited colleges/universities which are not listed above may also be considered for transfer credit.
  • Only courses similar to those offered at UNC Asheville are accepted. Examples of coursework that is generally not accepted include technical/vocational areas such as dentistry, drafting, electronics, horticulture, interior design, nursing, and recreation.
  • Transfer Credit for Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory coursework will be awarded only if the transcript specifically states that the passing or satisfactory grade represents a grade of C or better.
  • Transfer credit is not automatically awarded for First Year Seminars, independent study, practicums, internships, field experience or service learning courses. Petitions to receive credit for such courses will be considered if accompanied by syllabi or similar documentation.
  • Diversity Intensive: Transfer credit is not automatically awarded for the two Diversity Intensive requirements. A petition to receive credit for these requirements may be submitted to the DI Coordinator and will be considered if accompanied by syllabi and other documentation noted on the Petition for Substitution of a Course for the Diversity Intensive Requirement form.
  • LANG 120: If transfer credit is not awarded for LANG 120, Academic Writing and Critical Inquiry, but if you can demonstrate competent writing skills, a petition to waive the LANG 120 requirement may be submitted to the First-Year Writing Coordinator. The LANG 120 Petition for Waiver Guidelines outline the documentation needed to submit a request.
  • Arts & Ideas: If you would like to have a course considered for the Arts & Ideas (ARTS) requirement, please review and submit the ARTS Course Petition Request form.
  • All transfer credits that do not meet general requirements or major requirements will be treated as elective credits.
  • Transfer credit is not awarded for life experiences.
  • UNC Asheville transfers the credit hours for previous course work but not the grades. You have no grade-point average (GPA) when you begin your studies at the university. Only the course work you complete at UNC Asheville will be used to compute your GPA.
  • Credit at UNC Asheville is awarded on a semester-hour basis. If you attended a school using the quarter system, every quarter hour of credit is equal to two-thirds of a semester hour. All credit accepted is recorded as semester hours, even though it may have been earned as quarter hours.
    • 5 quarter hours = 3 1/3 semester hours
    • 4 quarter hours = 2 2/3 semester hours
    • 3 quarter hours = 2 semester hours
    • 2 quarter hours = 1 1/3 semester hours
    • 1 quarter hour = 2/3 semester hours

University Requirements

  • All students must complete at least 60 semester hours from 4-year institutions.
  • All students must complete 30 semester hours from 300- and 400-level courses
  • All students must complete their final 30 hours in residence at UNC Asheville
  • Students must complete at least 1/2 of their major and/or minor requirements at UNC Asheville
  • Students seeking a second degree must complete at least 2/3 of their major requirements at UNC Asheville.

Two Year College Transfers

  • Students transferring from a 2-year institution must complete a minimum of 60 semester hours at UNC Asheville.
  • Students transferring with credit from more than one institution must complete at least 60 semester hours from 4-year institutions regardless of the amount of credit transferred from the 2-year school(s).

North Carolina Community College Transfers

Transfer Guides for all majors offered at UNC Asheville can be found at unca.edu/transferguides. These list the recommended courses students should take while attending a North Carolina Community College.

Please note the following Liberal Arts Core requirements are not covered by the CAA:

  • Upper level Humanities (HUM 324/LA 378 and HUM 414/LA 478)
  • Diversity Intensive requirements (DI and *DI-R)
  • 2nd Language requirement (students can take these classes at the NCCC)

*It is strongly recommended that transfer students take LA 378 to fulfill both the 300-level Humanities requirement and the DI-R requirement.

Transfer Evaluation Process Overview

If you have not applied for admission to UNC Asheville, you may utilize the Transfer Credit Equivalencies tool to determine how courses from other institutions transfer into UNC Asheville. If a course is not listed or you have questions regarding transferring credit, please email ASC@unca.edu.

After you have been admitted to UNC Asheville, your transcript(s) will be evaluated within two weeks from the time of acceptance. You may view your transfer credit evaluation through your UNC Asheville OnePort account (Log into OnePort, then click on ‘GradPlan’ on the left side menu, under ‘Academic Links’ to view how your transfer credit was applied to your program.).

All transfer credits that do not meet general requirements or major requirements will be treated as elective credits.

You may discuss the results of your transfer evaluation with the transcript evaluator in the Office of the Registrar. Use this link to make an appointment.

CAA Transfer Credit Appeal Procedure

If a student from a North Carolina Community College believes UNC Asheville has not honored the terms of the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA), the student may invoke the CAA Transfer Credit Appeal Procedure.

UNC System Common Numbering System (CNS)

The UNC System created a Common Numbering System to ease transfer across the 16 public UNC System universities, as well as the School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM). If you used the CNS to plan your transfer, but your official credit evaluation is not showing as you expected, you can initiate the UNC CNS Transfer Credit Appeal Procedure by clicking here.