/Institutions/University-of-Dubai/json/2024-2025/Policy-and-Procedure-Manual-local.json

/Institutions/University-of-Dubai/json/2024-2025/Policy-and-Procedure-Manual.json

Policy and Procedure Manual 2024-25 > Students > Transfer Admissions and Courses Policy

Transfer Admissions and Courses Policy

Policy 

UD approves, in principle, the admission of applicants transferring from CAA recognized institutions of higher education into the undergraduate or graduate programs. Transfer students may also request to transfer credit hours from non-completed undergraduate or graduate programs.

1. Admission Guidelines for Transfer Students – Undergraduate & Graduate Programs 
UD considers applications for transfer from students transferring from UAE institutions recorded in the National Register of Licensed HEIs or other organizations in the UAE approved by the CAA, or recognized institutions of higher learning located outside of UAE are eligible for transfer admission.    

1. The transferred student must fulfill all admission requirements of UD, and will not be admitted under the terms of conditional admission.

2. The transfer student enrolling in the same program must have been in a good academic standing at his/her previous institution, and must be eligible to return to his/her current or former institution.  

3. UD permits a transfer student external or internal who is not in a good academic standing (for undergraduate, a minimum CGPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent. For graduate level a minimum CGPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent) to transfer only to a program in a field distinctly different from the one he/she is transferring from.  

4. A previous UD student who discontinued his/her studies (voluntarily or involuntarily) before graduation may apply for re-admission unless he/she was dismissed from UD for academic integrity violations or for non-academic reasons.   

 2. Guidelines for Transfer of Credit Hours – Undergraduate & Graduate Programs 

1. An admitted transfer student can request the transfer of courses from non-completed undergraduate or graduate programs into UD. The courses to be potentially transferred must be offered by higher education institutions that are recorded in the UAE’s National Register of Licensed HEIs.

2. The request for credits transfer must cover courses of similar study levels (i.e. undergraduate to undergraduate, and graduate to graduate) and applies to only courses relevant to the degree program.

3. Transferred courses must also be equivalent in contents to UD courses. This needs a match of at least 80% to UD course contents as reflected in the course syllabi. 

4. General education courses may be transferred as part of the Humanities and Social Science or Natural and Applied Science requirements, even when such courses are not offered at UD. The transfer is subject to other transfer conditions stated in this policy. 

5. The student should have received a minimum grade of “C” or 70% score in UG courses and 80% or “B” in graduate courses. 

6. Courses for previous UD students who have been accepted for readmission after a period of interruption of less than 5 years for undergraduate students or less than 3 years for graduate students, will be considered if previously taken at UD if they align with the current curriculum. Courses taken outside UD must have a minimum grade of “C” or 70% for undergraduate and “B” or 80% for graduate programs to be considered.  

7. If the period of interruption for UD students was longer than 5 years, general UG courses that were taken at UD will be considered. Other non-general courses may be considered if they align with the current curriculum, subject to a challenge exam where the student must score at least 65%. If the score is achieved, the courses will be counted with their original grades, otherwise the student must repeat the courses. Graduate courses are not eligible for consideration if they were taken more than 3 years ago. 

8. Courses for non-UD students who have been admitted after a period of study interruption may be considered if the interruption period was less than 5 years for undergraduate or 3 years for graduate students. Courses taken outside UD must have a minimum grade of "C” or 70% for undergraduate and "B” or 80% for graduate courses.  

9. If the period of interruption for non-UD students was more than 5 years for undergraduate or 3 years for graduate students, general UG courses will be considered if their grade was at least “C” or 70%. Other non-general courses may be considered if they align with the current UD curriculum, subject to a challenge exam where the student must score at least 65%. If the score is achieved, the courses will be considered as TC, otherwise the student must repeat the courses. Graduate courses are not eligible for consideration if they were taken more than 3 years. 

10. The maximum number of credit hours a student may transfer must not exceed 50% of the total hours required for graduation in an undergraduate and 25% for graduate programs. 

11. Transfer courses must be approved by the Dean based on the recommendations of the Program Director of the respective College. 

12. The transfer student will be informed in writing by the Admissions Department of the courses eligible for transfer and/or the number of challenge exams, within 1 week from submitting the complete documentation, including a recent official transcript and course syllabi for non UD courses that he/she seeks to transfer for credit.  

13. Transfer courses that meet the prerequisite courses, are entered into the student’s transcript and academic plan with a TC grade (except for returning UD students; See point G above). Transferred courses carry no grade points, and are therefore not included in computing the student’s CGPA. 

14. No credits will be granted twice for similar courses taken at different universities, that is UD does not give credits for duplicated courses.  

15. Credits for graduation projects and/or theses are not eligible for transfer credit. 

16. Transfer courses must be settled during the student’s admission stage. However, a student may appeal to transfer additional courses during the first semester/term of studies. Requests will not be entertained beyond this period.   

17. To calculate the maximum remaining duration of study, one semester will be counted for every transferred 15 credit hours. For graduate programs, 6 and 9 CH shall be equivalent to one term in the MBA and LLM programs, respectively. (See policies EP 3.1 Program Planning and Development & EP 3.2 Program Specifications for the maximum allowable duration of study) 

 3.    Registering for Courses Off-Campus 
For the purpose of quality assurance, students are generally not permitted to take any courses outside UD (with the exception of exchange programs approved by UD). Exceptions are made where the student is graduating in the same semester and the course is not offered at UD during the said semester or has a time conflict with other required/registered courses. The following conditions must be adhered to for registering in an off-campus course: 

1. The course is part of the student’s plan of study. 

2. The student must be in a good academic and disciplinary standing, i.e., no academic warnings. 

3. The course(s) should be equivalent to a UD course with at least 80% of the contents.  

4. The student should provide a course syllabus to be evaluated and approved by the Program Director and the Dean prior to registering for an off–campus course. 

5. The course must be provided by a university recognized by the CAA and approved by UD. A list of approved local universities may be obtained from the Registration Department.

6. For international universities, the Admissions Department will assist the student in communicating with the MOE/CAA to inquire about the university’s recognition. 

7. The student must complete the paperwork at least 3 weeks before the commencement of the course/semester. The complete application form must be approved by the respective Program Director and the Dean. The Registrar will issue the relevant paperwork.  

8. Capstone, internship and thesis courses can’t be taken outside UD.  

9. Only a course with a minimum grade of C or 70% will be credited for undergraduate courses.  

10. For graduate courses, only a course with a minimum grade of B or 80% will be credited. 

11. A maximum of 12 undergraduate or 6 graduate credits can be taken outside UD (except for exchange students at MOU-signed universities where the maximum number of credits may increase, depending on the terms of the agreement). 

12. Courses registered at any institution without prior UD approval will not be considered and credits will not be transferred. 

Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the VPAA based on the recommendations of the Dean of the respective College.