Transfer Policy

The American Academy of Art College will consider the transfer of credits for completed course work from other institutions, provided they are submitted for evaluation before the student enters the program.

The Academy is interested in saving the student both time and tuition expenses if he/she has already taken similar courses, but it must also ensure that students be placed in the proper level of the program. Therefore, it is likely that transfer students will receive more humanities and science course credits than credits in the Academy’s fundamentals course work.

To be eligible for transfer of credit to the college, completed course work must have achieved a minimum grade of “C” or “2.0,” and the completed credit must be considered comparable in content, purpose, and standards to the level of course work at the American Academy of Art College. Only credits from nationally accredited or regionally accredited institutions will be considered, and no more than fifty percent of the course work may be completed at other institutions.

Unofficial student transcript copies may be used for preliminary analysis of possible credit, but the final awarding of credit can only be based on transcripts that are official and original. Although the awarding of transfer credits can result in a student taking a reduced load, the student should consult the enrollment agreement for questions about the effect of transfer credit on tuition charges.

Accepted credits earned at other institutions will be recorded on a student’s permanent academic record, but grades received at other institutions will not be recorded or included in the student’s grade point average.

The procedures to be followed to receive consideration of transfer credits are:

  1. An official transcript must be sent directly to the Office of the Registrar by the institution(s) attended.
  2. For studio art credit, the student must submit a portfolio of representative pieces from the course for which credit is sought.  The Academic Dean will conduct an evaluation of the studio art pieces and will determine the student’s placement within the American Academy of Art College’s curriculum based upon the comparability of course learning outcomes and the skill level demonstrated.
  3. For humanities and sciences course requirements (also called general education courses at some schools), the student may receive credit for a course with different content as long as it is from the same learning cluster. The American Academy of Art College has defined four learning clusters:  Behavioral and Social Sciences, Communication, Fine Art and Humanities, and Mathematics and Physical and Life Sciences. Students must receive nine credits in each cluster to graduate. In the Fine Art and Humanities cluster, at least two of the classes must be in art history. As long as the course to be substituted falls within the same cluster, the course need not have covered the exact topic offered by the Academy.  In other words, a psychology course could be substituted for a course in sociology since both are considered to be Behavioral and Social Sciences.   The Academic Dean, in conjunction with the Registrar, will make the determination of credit accepted.
  4. Advance Placement Credit (AP)
    Credit will be awarded from the College Board Advance Placement Program for students receiving a 3 or higher proficiency level on the Score Report for Colleges and Universities.
  5. Dual Credit (DC)
    The Academy reviews dual credit upon receipt of a transcript from an accredited college. The Academic Dean in conjunction with the Registrar will determine accepted credit.
  6. The Academy will not accept more than 50% of transfer credit into the Bachelor of Fine Arts program.
  7. All students must complete 30 of the last 60 credit hours at the American Academy of Art College.
  8. Homeschool Transcripts
    Acceptable homeschool transcripts must be notarized.

To Transfer Credit from the American Academy of Art College

Program course work and specific graduation requirements of institutions vary considerably. The Registrar will provide academic information to any institution upon the written request of the student. The receiving institution will evaluate the credits earned at the American Academy of Art College and determine the transferability of those credits. Please recognize that the Academy has no control over the policies of other institutions.