If you would like to transfer graduate courses from institutions you attended prior to your enrollment at the Brown School, please refer to these policies.
With pre-approval, students may take up to 9 credits of graduate coursework outside of the Brown School at another Washington University school or college and/or at another US accredited institution for elective credit. Students will not receive course credit if the course is not pre-approved.
Students should consult their advisor when choosing electives in order to make sure the set of electives meets the student’s long‐term career objectives and that courses are consistent with achieving competencies.
Work completed at another school or institution can be considered if all of the following conditions are met:
- Some courses are on an approved elective list – you may check with the Brown School Registrar
- Courses not on the approved elective list require the completion of the pre-approval form, permission of their advisor and Assistant Dean and required documentation
- The form and documentation must be submitted prior to enrolling in the course and by the semester deadline to ensure that coursework will be accepted
- Required documentation includes: course syllabus, detailed course description, A course bibliography and an outline or statement of course content from the instructor and statement from student indicating course’s relevant to their education
- Preapproval transfer requests must be submitted by the following deadlines to be considered.
- Fall semester: 6 weeks prior to the first day of the Fall semester
- Summer semester: 4 weeks prior to the first day of the Summer semester
- Spring semester: 6 weeks prior to the first day of the Spring semester
- The course is graduate level
- (MPH Only) Any 400-level course; these courses will need the approval of the instructor as well as additional work added to the student’s work to elevate these courses to graduate status.
- A grade of “B” or better is earned
- A transcript for the course work must be submitted to the Brown School Registrar upon completion
- No online courses are allowed.
Applicants interested in receiving graduate transfer credit must indicate this status in their application for admission to the MSW program. The Office of Admissions & Recruitment will provide instructions for completing the MSW Transfer Credit Request form via email upon submission of the application for admission.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to request transfer credit evaluation by submitting the MSW Transfer Credit Request formand all supporting documents as early as possible in their admissions process. Requests for credit evaluation will not be accepted after September 1 of the first term in which a student matriculates. Incomplete submissions will not be evaluated.
Courses are evaluated in conjunction with the MSW Program Office. Applicants will be notified of evaluation results via email from the Brown School Registrar within two to three weeks of submission.
Courses completed in a CSWE accredited MSW program may be evaluated for credit towards foundation-level coursework, concentration-level coursework, or elective requirements (maximum of 19 credit hours). Students transferring MSW course credit may be required to complete the four credit hour Advanced Standing Bridge to Brown program.
Courses completed in a related discipline will be considered for credit toward elective requirements only (maximum of 9 credit hours).
Transfer credits will be reflected on the student’s Brown School academic transcript.
Students transferring nine or more credit hours are not eligible to pursue elective credits outside of the Brown School during their MSW enrollment. Merit-based scholarship award may be modified if transfer credit significantly reduces the duration of the MSW program.
Degree Candidates: Students may enroll on a course at another university during their final semester in the program. If that course is required to fulfill graduation requirements, then Brown School’s Office of the Registrar must receive a transcript indicating successful completion of the course prior to the grade deadline. Adherence to this deadline allows the student to be approved for graduation. Should an official transcript not be available until after that date, a letter on university letterhead must be sent directly to the Brown School Registrar indicating successful completion of course and received prior to the grade deadline. Once final grades are made available, an official transcript must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar. If the student does not end up enrolling or completing the approved course, the Brown School Registrar should be notified.
Taking classes at other schools:
Students at the Brown School are assessed tuition based on enrollments caps and their prime division every semester. If a student wishes to take a course at Washington University but outside of the Brown School, and they are within their credit cap for the semester, they may do so. If they are prime to the Brown School, they will be assessed Brown School tuition and any financial, aid, including scholarships will be applied with the following stipulations:
Graduate Course counting towards graduation requirements:
Students must request that the course counts towards graduation credit by submitting an Elective Credit request through the Brown School Hub which must be approved by the Assistant Dean of the Program.
Graduate and Undergraduate courses not counting towards graduation requirements:
Student may take courses in the other schools.
*3/2 students their first year are allowed to take up to 21 credit hours (but the cap for Brown School courses applies) by submitting an Elective Credit request through the Brown School Hub which must be approved by the Assistant Dean of the Program.
**400 level courses in the undergraduate school may be counted as elective credit as long as the student works with the teaching professor to add additional work to bring the course to graduate level requirements.
Courses not eligible:
The programs within the university that are NOT eligible under this policy are the GX, PB and PM divisions of the Olin School, the TG division and T courses in Engineering, Architecture A44 courses and those in University College.
For graduate courses outside of the Brown School but within Washington University in St. Louis, a student must contact the other school’s Registrar’s Office for relevant approval processes and registration dates. Information about graduate courses offered at each school within Washington University can be found on the University’s course listings website.
Tuition for a course taken outside the Brown School but within Washington University is included in the Brown School semester tuition calculations.
University College** and/or Washington University undergraduate courses* do not count towards a student’s degree requirements.
**Students will be charged additional per-credit hour tuition for any University College credits. In addition, any credits taken at University College will not be counted towards the Brown School semester cap or towards full-time enrollment.
*400-level courses can be accepted for MPH electives if the course is brought to graduate-level status with approval from the Assistant Dean for Public Health.
With pre-approval, students can take graduate level courses toward elective or graduation requirements that are not offered at the Brown School, in the accredited social work programs at SLU and UMSL through the Inter-University Exchange Program. More information about that program can be found here: https://registrar.wustl.edu/student-records/registration/the-inter-university-exchange-program/
The following provisions apply to all coursework taken by Washington University students at Saint Louis University (SLU) or the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) through the Inter-University Exchange (IUE) program:
- Such courses can be used in the fulfillment of degree requirements and for elective credit only.
- Such courses are not regularly offered at Washington University.
- Registration for such courses requires preliminary approval from the Brown School Registrar and course instructor, with the required documentation submitted through the Brown School Hub.
- Students at the home institution have first priority on course enrollment (i.e., a desired course at SLU or UMSL may be fully enrolled and unable to accept WUSTL students).
- Academic credit earned in such courses will be considered as resident credit, not transfer credit.
- Online courses are not eligible for credit.
- Tuition for such courses will be paid to Washington University at the prevailing WUSTL rates; there is no additional tuition cost to the student who enrolls in IUE coursework on another campus. However, students are responsible for any and all fees charged by the other school.
- Every University Library has a unique set of privileges accessible to guest students. Students are advised to ask the library what privileges they will be granted during the course.
Enrollment Instructions
- Washington University students must be enrolled full-time in order to participate in the IUE program and have no holds, financial or otherwise, on their academic record at WUSTL or at the host institution.
- The student must complete the Inter-University Exchange application form which is located on the Brown School Hub.
- The student must complete an elective credit request also located on the Brown School Hub.
- The student must provide all information requested in the top portion of the form and indicate the course in which they wish to enroll.
- The student must obtain the approval signature of the professor teaching the class (or department chair) at SLU or UMSL, preferably in person, but it can be done via email and attach it with the submission on the Hub request.
- IUE Hub submissions must be submitted prior to registering for the semester in which the course will be taken.
- Course enrollment is handled administratively by the university registrar’s office of the home and host institutions. WUSTL students registered for IUE coursework will see these courses on their class schedule and academic record at WebSTAC under departments I97 (SLU) and I98 (UMSL).
Final grades are recorded when received from the host institution. The student does not need to obtain an official transcript from SLU or UMSL to receive academic credit for IUE coursework at WUSTL.
The Brown School does not grant academic credit for life or work experience.
Once a course is approved prior to enrollment, an official transcript must be sent to the Registrar’s Office for final credit/course satisfaction from any outside institution. A grade of “B” or better is required for transfer credit.
Taking coursework outside of the Brown School in a student’s final semester is not recommended as an official transcript may not be received by the grade deadline for graduation.
The Brown School does not accept courses offered online as transfer credit.