When applying to AUC, we advise prospective students not to make their decision to attend contingent on receiving transfer credits. The deadline for submitting a transfer of credit request is 15 June, which is later than the deadline for accepting an offer of admission to AUC (mid-February for early-bird candidates, mid-April for regular deadline candidates, mid-June for late deadline applicants). Any decisions regarding transfers of credit will only be made after 15 June. This means applicants will not know until starting at AUC whether credits from previous studies will count towards their degree programme.

Along with transfers of credit, students may also request course waivers.

Transfer of credits

Students can apply for a transfer of credit ranging from 6 ECP (a single course) to 60 ECP (one full academic year). The exact amount will depend on the courses and credits completed, as well as whether those courses meet the conditions for credit transfers (see the fold-out below). Please note that in general, only credit transfers of 30 ECP (equivalent to one semester) or 60 ECP (one full year) shorten a student's time at AUC. The remaining credits must then be completed at AUC to reach the required 180 ECP for graduation.

Course waivers

Course waivers exempt students from taking a specific required course because they have already met the learning outcomes through prior coursework or experience. It does not reduce the total number of credits needed to graduate. The student still needs to earn the full amount of credits required to graduate but can use the space freed by the waiver to follow other courses instead.

For example, if a student receives a course waiver for "Methods for Social Sciences Research," they still need to acquire 180 credits but do not have to take this specific course. They can use this space in their curriculum for other courses. A course waiver can be requested at any point while studying at AUC.

Not all courses completed at a university can be considered for a transfer of credit. Depending on the student's educational background, a certain amount of university-level studies may be required for admission to a Dutch research university. University-level studies that are necessary to make an applicant admissible cannot be considered for transfer of credit.

In addition, there are several other criteria for transferring credits:

• Student must already be accepted to AUC. A request for transfer of credit can only be considered once a candidate has been offered a place of admission at AUC and has officially accepted their offer.
• Request 6 to 60 ECP. Transfer credits can be requested for an amount ranging from 6 ECP (equivalent to a single course) up to 60 ECP (equivalent to a full academic year). Please note that requests for a transfer of credit equivalent to an entire year are rarely approved.
• Credits were obtained as part of a full-time, recognised study programme. The programme from which the credits were obtained must be recognised and/or meet the criteria of an equivalent course of a Bachelor's programme at a research university as part of a full-time study programme. Individual courses taken outside of a full-time programme or part of short-term programmes (summer schools or AP credits, for example) do not qualify for a transfer of credit. However such courses may qualify for a course waiver (more on course waivers below).
• Credits must be relevant to the degree. Transfer of credit requests are evaluated based on their relevance to the degree requirements, not by comparing individual courses to those at AUC. This means that the completed coursework must be applicable to the desired major (Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities) or to the Academic Core.
• Credits have not already been used to obtain a degree. Courses taken in the context of a full-time, completed programme to obtain a Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification (meaning the student already applied the credits to graduate from another institute) cannot qualify for transfer of credits.
• Courses were not taken online. Courses completed online, even from a recognised degree programme, do not qualify for a transfer of credit at AUC.
• Requests must be submitted by 15 June. All students must submit their transfer of credit requests by 15 June in the year in which they will start their studies at AUC.

For questions about transfers of credit, please contact the AUC Admissions Office. Remember, evaluating diplomas and credits from international universities can take some time.

Transfer of credit requests must be submitted prior to starting at AUC
All students must submit transfer of credit requests by 15 June in the year they plan to start their studies at AUC. No transfer of credit requests can be accepted after this deadline. 

Course waiver can be requested at any time
A course waiver, however, a course waiver can be submitted at any point during their studies at AUC. There is no deadline for submitting a course waiver request.