Undergraduate Program Transfer Policies
- You can transfer up to 68 credits from another school.
- Some programs recommend taking all the required core or program-specific courses at ACPHS. Some courses must be taken at ACPHS, regardless of when you start.
- If a required course isn't offered at ACPHS during a term, you can take it at another school with approval from the Program Director or a designee from your program.
- At other institutions, you can take a maximum of 10 semester hours of required coursework, but there's no limit on remedial courses or elective credits.
- You can take summer courses if they meet the General Academic Requirements and Course Repeat policies.
- Grades from joint degree programs will count towards your GPA at ACPHS.
Joint Degree Program Student Policies
Required ACPHS courses for joint degree program students (by joint health professions program)**
BS/MD ACPHS- Upstate Medical Accelerated Scholars Program
- General Bio I & II
- General Chemistry I & II
- Organic Chemistry I
- Biochemistry
- College Physics I and II
- Statistics*
- English Elective*
- Composition*
BS/DO ACPHS- NYITCOM Pre Med / Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Program
- General Bio I & II
- General Chemistry I & II
- Organic Chemistry I
- College Physics I and II
- Biochemistry
- English Elective*
- Composition*
- Strongly Recommended:
- Calculus, Anatomy, Genetics, Physiology, Biochemistry, Behavioral Sciences*
BS/DO ACPHS- LECOM Early Assurance Program (7 and 8 years)
- General Bio I & II
- General Chem I & II
- Organic Chem I & II
- College Physics I
- Biochemistry
- Genetics
- Behavioral Sciences (6 credits)*
- English (6 credits)*
BS/DO ACPHS – LECOM Dental Medicine Early Assurance Program
- General Bio I & II
- General Chemistry I & II
- Organic Chemistry I & II
- Biochemistry
- English (6 credits, including Composition)*
- Strongly Recommended:
- Anatomy and Physiology I & II, Genetics, Immunology, Histology, Cell Biology, Microbiology, College Physics*
BS/MS ACPHS- AMC CPAS Joint Degree Program
- General Bio I & II
- General Chemistry I & II
- Organic Chemistry I or Biochemistry
- Anatomy & Physiology I & II
- Microbiology
- Statistics
- Psychology*
- English Composition*
*Courses that the Health Professions program will accept from a non-ACPHS institution; however, the ACPHS program may require students to take these courses at ACPHS.
**Academic programs at ACPHS may require strongly recommended courses to be taken at ACPHS and/or the courses that the health professions program will accept from another institution may be required by ACPHS.
Course Equivalencies for College and AP Credit
For first-year applicants and second-year transfer applicants (special restrictions enumerated above apply to pre-pharmacy students).
Course Area
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Credit Accepted
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Calculus
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AP or College Credit
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A 3-credit college-level course in calculus or a score of 4 or higher on the AP Calculus exam is accepted as transfer credit.
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Elementary Statistics
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AP or College Credit
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A 3-credit college level course in Statistics or a score of 4 or higher on the AP Statistics exam is accepted as transfer credit.
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General Biology I and II
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AP or College Credit
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A 4-credit college course in general chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for General Chemistry I. An 8-credit sequence of college courses in general chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for General Chemistry I and II.
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General Chemistry I and II
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AP or College Credit
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A 4-credit college course in General Chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for General Chemistry I. An 8-credit sequence of college courses in General Chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for General Chemistry I and II.
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General Electives
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AP or College Credit
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Any AP course or college course from an accredited institution not applied to fulfill another curricular requirement may be accepted as transfer credit for a general elective.
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College Physics I and II
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AP or College Credit
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AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2 receive credit for College Physics I and II. AP Physics 1 or AP Physics 2 taken alone do not receive credit. Credits beyond what is required for the student’s program will be counted toward general electives. AP Physics C: Mechanics transfers four credits of general elective credit. AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism transfers four credits of general elective credit. An 8-credit sequence of college credits in physics appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for College Physics I and II. A shorter sequence of college credits in Physics doesn’t receive credit.
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Liberal Arts Electives
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AP or College Credit
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Any AP or college courses from accredited institutions in the following disciplines/subjects may be applied as liberal arts elective credit: anthropology, archaeology, area studies, art, art history, communication, composition, economics, English, ethics, gender studies, geography, government, history, languages, law, liberal studies, medieval studies, music, political sciences, public health, performing arts, philosophy, psychology, religious studies, social studies, sociology, women’s studies.
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Organic Chemistry I and II
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College Credit
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A 4-credit college course in organic chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for Organic Chemistry I. An 8-credit sequence of college courses in organic chemistry appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab receives credit for Organic Chemistry I and II.
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Microbiology
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College Credit
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A 4-credit course appropriate for a science or engineering major and including lab.
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Principles of Communication
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AP or College Credit
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A single 3-credit college level course in composition/writing will be accepted as transfer credit for Principles of Communication. A score of 4 or higher on the AP English Language and Composition exam will also be accepted as transfer credit for POC.
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Course Equivalencies for IB Credit
For Bachelor of Science first-year applicants and second-year transfer applicants and pre-pharmacy first-year applicants and second-year transfer applicants.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB): SL denotes standard level; HL denotes higher level.
Course or Course Area
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Notes
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Academic Reading and Writing (ARW)
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Students scoring a grade of 4 or higher on any of the following courses place out of Academic Reading and Writing:
SL IB English A
HL IB English A
SL IB English B
HL IB English B
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Calculus I
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Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on HL IB Mathematics
receive credit for Calculus I (4 credits).
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College Physics I
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Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on HL IB Physics receive credit for College Physics I and II (8 credits).
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General Biology I and II
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Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on HL IB Biology receive credit for General Biology I (4 credits).
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General Chemistry I and II
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Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on HL IB Chemistry receive credit for General Chemistry I and II (8 credits).
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General Electives
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Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on any Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (IB) course may receive 6 general elective credits per course. Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on any Standard Level (SL) IB course may receive 3 general elective credits per course. IB transfer credit should be applied in the following order of priority: (1) specific course credit; (2) liberal arts elective credit; and (3) general elective credit.
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General Psychology
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Students earning a score of 5 or higher on the SL IB Psychology exam may receive transfer credit for PSY 101: General Psychology. Students earning a score of 5 or higher on the HL IB Psychology exam may receive transfer credit for General Psychology and 3 liberal arts elective credits.
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Introduction to Economics
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Students earning a score of 5 or higher on the SL IB Economics exam may receive transfer credit for ECN 101: Introduction to Economics.
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Liberal Arts Electives
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Students scoring a grade of 5 or higher on any of the following HL IB courses will receive 3 credits of Liberal Arts electives per course:
Classical Languages
Dance
Film
History of the Islamic World
Music
Philosophy
Social and Cultural Anthropology
Theater
Visual Arts
Students earning a grade of 5 or higher on any of the following SL IB exams may receive 3 credits of liberal arts elective credit per course completed: Geography, Global Politics, Social and Cultural Anthropology; History of the Americas; World Religions; Philosophy; Foreign Language Courses
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Principles of Communications
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Students scoring a grade of 6 or higher on the HL IB of English A receive 3 credits for Principles of Communication.
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Transfer Policies for the Humanities for the Health Sciences Sequence
Any credits (College, AP or IB) within the humanities, as defined below, will be accepted as transfer credit for courses in the humanities for the Health Sciences Sequence. Transfer credit within the Humanities will be applied in the following order regardless of the specific discipline of the credit:
- Humanities electives
- Humanities Methods and Approaches Selective
- Science and Health through the Humanities Lenses selective
- Voice and Identity
- Free electives
For this policy, courses within the fields of area studies, art, art history, English, ethics, gender studies, history, literature, music, performing arts, philosophy, race studies, religious studies, and women’s studies will be considered Humanities courses.
This policy should not be construed as impacting the humanities transfer policies for students directly entering the PharmD program as P1, P2, P3, or P4 students. Additionally, students in any program bringing in 45 or more transfer credits to the College are exempt from this policy.
Prerequisites and Transfer of College Course Credit for PharmD Students
Before starting the PharmD program, students must complete all required prerequisite coursework. In most cases, this coursework should be finished by May 31 before starting the program. In some cases, students may be allowed to take specific courses over the summer before starting the program with permission from the Pharmacy Admissions Committee.
New students in the PharmD program are required to take all the necessary courses at the College. However, students who have completed biochemistry, molecular biology or immunology courses at other accredited institutions may apply to transfer credits for these courses if they meet certain criteria.
To transfer credits, students need to submit a written request to the Office of Admissions along with the course description and syllabus from the institution where the credit was earned. The office will review the request and may forward it to the faculty for evaluation. If approved, the student will receive credit for the course. The Office of Admissions will notify the student in writing about the decision.
Students seeking transfer with advanced standing from another professional program will be reviewed case-by-case by the Pharmacy Admissions Committee, program directors, department chairs and Dean of Pharmacy.
Graduate Level Course Transfer
You may transfer up to nine credit hours of graduate-level coursework from other accredited academic institutions to ACPHS if the program director and the respective dean approve. To qualify for transfer credit, the courses must have been completed within the past seven years and you must have earned a grade of B (83)or higher in each course (B- is not accepted). Courses graded on a pass/fail basis will not be accepted for transfer credit. To request transfer credit, you must submit an official transcript of the coursework to Admissions at least one month before starting the graduate program at ACPHS. The program director and faculty will review your request and then make a recommendation to the respective dean. The dean will make the final decision and inform you, the program director, and the Registrar’s Office.
Academic Credits for Military Education and Experience
ACPHS employs the American Council on Education (ACE) guidelines to assess transfer credits for military education and experience in all programs, including BS, MS and PharmD. The Registrar's Office collaborates with faculty subject-matter experts to review military transcripts following ACE guidelines and makes recommendations for course equivalences. Transferred credits are applied to General Electives.
Course Repeat and Remediation
Students may need to redo part of a course for various reasons. This can happen while the course is ongoing or after it has finished.
Course coordinators can decide whether students can redo parts of a course if they didn't do well. The plan must be included in the course outline if a course allows it. This plan must list what parts of the course can be redone, how they can be redone, what grades students can redo (like grades below a certain level) and how the final grade is worked out with the redone parts.
During and after the course, repeat coursework must be done within two weeks of final grades being sent to the Registrar. Fall classes must be done one week before the spring term. After a student redoes the work, the course coordinator can ask to change a student's grade for that course. The old grade won't show on the student's record or be counted in the GPA.
If work is redone after the course ends, the final grade from the course term must be sent to the Registrar when the term closes. Incomplete grades won't be accepted. The Academic Standards Committee will review all grades and give advice based on the new grade. If redoing work changes a student's academic standing, the committee will review new grades and might change advice to the dean.
Doctor of Pharmacy Program: Repeating Deficient Professional Coursework
If you need to repeat a course in the PharmD program, you may do so at ACPHS or another accredited professional-level school, with approval from the course coordinator and department chair. If you repeat a course at another institution, you must earn a grade of C or better. Both the original and repeated course grades will appear on your transcript. If both courses are completed at ACPHS, the higher grade will be used for your GPA. If the repeated course is completed elsewhere with a grade of C or better, neither the original nor the repeated grade will affect your GPA. Your cumulative GPA will be updated when the course is repeated. Repeating a required course may delay your progression through the program.
Summer Session Courses
ACPHS students can take summer courses if they meet the general academic requirements, course repeat and transfer policies. Students can take a maximum of 10 semester hours of coursework at other institutions during the summer.
Policy for Internal Program Transfer
Students at ACPHS can apply to transfer to a different academic program by obtaining the application form from the program director, or the Registrar's Office. The decision to approve the transfer is based on academic status, record and the feasibility of enrolling in required courses. Transfer requests are reviewed at the end of an academic term, and approved changes are effective for the next academic term. If transferring into the Doctor of Pharmacy program professional years (P1 or P2), students should apply through PharmCAS.