COURSE CODE DEFINITIONS:

Courses marked with these codes require further review. Petitions are accepted from USC students only.
CDP (See department):    Elective units are granted. See USC department offering a similar course for possible equivalence.
DED (Special review needed):    No credit given without further review. Course is being taught in non-traditional time schedule or location. Transfer units are subject to limits.
ONL (Online or hybrid courses):    Elective units are granted. Online or hybrid sections of this course do not earn GE III or a foreign language level. If you took a traditional classroom section, submit an articulation petition with detailed registration information, not a course syllabus.
PTN (Petition needed):    No credit given without further review. Submit articulation petition with course syllabus.
SYL (Syllabus requested):     Elective units are granted, and subject credit (e.g., GE) may be available. Submit articulation petition with course syllabus.
WSY (Writing and syllabus requested):     This course (by itself or with other courses) may satisfy the lower division writing requirement. Submit articulation petition with the syllabus and all argumentative writing required for this course.

SUMMARY OF UNIT LIMITS: Transfer of units in certain categories of courses is limited. Units shown below are semester units. If you attend a college on a quarter calendar, multiply these figures by 1.5 for limits in terms of quarter units.

ASL: American sign language. 12 units max.
ESL: English for speakers of other languages: 4 units max.
MUSIC
    Music ensemble: 4 units max.
    Music lessons: 16 units max.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
    PE activity: 4 units max
    PE theory: 12 units max.
STUDIO ARTS
    Drawing: 12 units max.
    Painting: 12 units max.
    2-D art (e.g., printmaking, photography, computer-generated art, miscellaneous): 16 units max.
    3-D art (e.g., ceramics, sculpture): 12 units max.
THEATRE AND DANCE
    Dance: 8 units max.
    Acting: 12 units max.
    Production (theatre production including rehearsal, choreography): 12 units max.
    Stagecraft: 12 units max.
NOTES: (1) Unit limits for PE activity, dance, music lessons, and ESL include units earned at USC! (2) All courses in these categories except ASL, ESL and PE theory can be repeated for credit, up to the maximum limit.

A. BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

1. Grades:
   • Courses must receive at least a grade of C- (or pass or credit) to transfer.
   • No more than 4 units of GE (one course) can be taken pass/no pass. The lower division writing course cannot be taken pass/no pass. No more than 24 units total can be taken pass/no pass (including courses taken at USC). (“Pass/no pass” means a course that is available for a letter grade but allows the student to choose pass/no pass as an alternate grade choice. If a course is only offered credit/no credit, it is not included in the limit.)
2. Units:
   • Most students may transfer in a maximum of 64 semester units. (Architecture majors and Engineering “3-2” students have different limits).
   • Transferable courses are granted the number of semester units indicated on the transfer transcript, even if a USC equivalent course receives a different number of units.
   • Units at a quarter school are converted to semester units by dividing them by 1.5.

B. RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERABILITY:

1. Effective dates:
   • Transfer credit for a course is determined by the articulation agreement in effect at the time you began the course. Be sure to check the effective dates at the top of this agreement. This agreement may be updated during the effective period listed above if additional courses are granted credit, so it is advisable to check the agreement every semester. Credit listed here will not be withdrawn if the course is taken during the effective period.
2. Course repetition:
   • Courses taken for repeat credit will not be accepted for additional unit credit unless otherwise indicated on this agreement (e.g., most courses with unit caps, such as PE activity and music ensemble, can be repeated—see “CAP (UNIT LIMIT) DEFINITIONS” above).
   • If two or more courses equivalent to each other are taken, only the first course passed will be granted credit (although all attempts are calculated in the transfer GPA).
   • A prerequisite course within the same discipline taken after the higher level course has been passed will not get credit (e.g., you can’t get credit for French 2 taken after French 3).
3. Non-traditional course formats:
   • o Foreign language or laboratory science courses taught online or via distance learning, television, or correspondence will not earn course equivalence and will not apply to the foreign language or GE Core Literacy requirements; they earn elective units only. USC will review on a case-by-case basis courses taught in non-traditional time modes such as concentrated “intensive” sessions or special weekend modules. Petitions regarding these types of classes are accepted from USC students only.

C. RULES FOR SPECIFIC CATEGORIES OF STUDENTS:

1. Students who have not yet graduated from high school:
   Students may apply no more than 16 units for college courses taken before high school graduation towards their USC degree. College courses taken before high school graduation can fulfill GE requirements, but not the lower-division writing requirement, or the foreign language requirement, nor can they earn USC course equivalence.Courses must be taught on the college campus by college faculty and not used toward high school graduation to earn credit; courses taught in a high school setting or exclusively to a high school student population, even if they are transcripted by a college or university, do not earn credit at USC.
2. USC students:
   Once students have enrolled at USC, there are limitations on transfer work:
   
   • USC students planning to take transfer courses should file an electronic pre-approval through OASIS or, if the online form tells you that you cannot use that process, a Transfer Course Work Pre-Approval Form (available on the web at www.usc.edu/dept/ARR/services/articulation/generalinfo.html). Note the limitations on number of units that can be transferred in.
   • USC students may not transfer in courses taken in fall, winter, or spring terms.
   • USC students must complete all remaining GE and writing requirements at USC.
   • USC departmental approval is required if you wish to take an equivalent course in transfer in order to repeat a class you took at USC with an unsatisfactory grade. Unit and subject credit are allowed if you repeat a class you failed (grades of F, NP, NC, IX, UW). Only subject credit is allowed (no units) if your previous grade was passing but did not meet departmental grade requirements. See your advisor or Degree Progress for the pre-approval form. USC courses with a grade of “W” may be repeated in transfer.
3. Business and Accounting Majors:
   Business and accounting majors will not receive units toward the major for business or accounting transfer courses unless the USC academic department makes an exception. All transfer students seeking admission must complete the articulated prerequisite courses for admission consideration.
4. Journalism majors:
   Journalism majors will not receive units for journalism transfer courses.

D. FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILL LEVEL REQUIREMENT:

Many USC students must pass a third-semester foreign language course with a grade of C- or higher, or pass USC's placement examination at a level equivalent to third semester competency. Courses that fulfill this requirement are listed at the end of Part I.
Students who do not finish their language requirement before transferring to USC must take USC's placement examination. Students may be advised to repeat, without additional credit, a semester or semesters of instruction if their skills are judged insufficient at the time of testing. Therefore, if your major requires a foreign language and if you have already started taking a foreign language, you are advised to continue studying that language through the third-semester level if possible before transferring to USC.
International students whose native language is not English are exempt from the foreign language requirement.

E. ADDITIONAL RULES:

1. Courses that are not granted equivalence on the articulation agreement may be applied toward major or minor requirements at the discretion of the USC department. Courses that are lower-division at the sending school may only fulfill lower-division requirements at USC.
2. Courses must be at least 3 semester units or 4 quarter units to receive subject credit listed in Parts I or II.
3. USC is neither liable for nor bound by any erroneous re-creation and/or publication of USC articulation and transfer information produced by other institutions. We reserve the right to correct any errors that may have been made.

F. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Minimum requirements for admission are:

1. Intermediate algebra (non-transferable college course), unless you took advanced algebra in high school.
2. Lower division writing requirement (course equivalent to WRIT-130).
3. There is no minimum number of transfer units you must complete. However, if you have fewer than 30 units, the Office of Admission will focus primarily on your high school record and SAT results.

Many majors have additional admission requirements. See “Transferring to USC” at www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/transfer/prospective/transferbrochure.html or contact the Office of Admission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

1. For further information regarding articulation, consult California State University Northridge’s Articulation Office or refer to the USC Articulation website at www.usc.edu/dept/ARR/services/articulation/generalinfo.html
2. For information regarding admission, prospective students should contact USC's Office of Admission, (213) 740-1111, or see www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/