Transfer Credit

The references below to statistics courses are made by number. If you want to see a detailed description of the courses, you should refer to the descriptions of Statistical Science courses or to the Bulletin of Duke University. General rules and forms for transfer credit at Duke University are at Academic Requirements.

Instructions for getting approval for courses to be taken at another school:

  1. Read this page thoroughly and then fill out the transfer credit request form.
  2. Note that you will first need an approval from the Statistical Science DUS, and once that is processed you will also need an approval from your academic dean.

Special notes on transfer credits:

  • The Department of Statistical Science at Duke University will allow up to two (2) transfer credits to be used towards the major or minor in Statistical Science.  A maximum of one core course (STA 210, 230/240, 250, 360, 440) may be transferred. Evaluation of transfer credit is completed by the Director of Undergraduate Studies upon receipt of the transfer request form below. For purposes of the major or minor in Statistical Science, prerequisite courses (calculus, linear algebra, computer programming) do not apply towards the departmental transfer credit limit.
  • A course taken at a school on the quarter system cannot be transferred for a semester credit at Duke. To receive a full course credit at Duke a student would have to take two quarter courses.
  • Transfer credit for courses that have a computational lab component here at Duke will only be considered for courses taken outside of Duke with the same structure (separate lab component). Generally, we only consider courses that make extensive use of a modern computing language (e.g., R, Python, or Julia).
  • If the course you want to take does not clearly match any Duke Statistics class, but is still a credit-worthy course, then you will receive credit for STA 100, STA 200, STA 300, or STA 400 according to the level of course.
  • Transferred courses do not affect your Grade Point Average because Duke does not include the grade you make at another school as part of your transcript. However, you must make a grade of "C" or better in order to get credit for the course
  • For STA 230/MATH 230 Probability, all transfer credit decisions will be made by the Math department to ensure consistency.  For STA 230, please use the Department of Mathematics transfer credit request procedures instead of the Statistics transfer credit form.

What if I am a transfer student from another university?

Students transferring to Duke from another university as sophomores or juniors may, under certain circumstances after evaluation by the DUS on a case-by-case basis, transfer more than two courses, provided that the course content is the same as that for the relevant Duke courses.

When should I request transfer credit, and how quickly will I receive a response on my request?

  • Transfer credit requests must be made before you enroll in the outside course, no exceptions.
  • Transfer credit requests can take up to one week, so make sure to initiate the transfer credit request well before you sign up for the outside course.
  • Requests for transfer of summer courses must be made prior to the end of the spring semester. No transfer credits will be approved over the summer.

What information do I need to gather before requesting transfer credit?

  1. Find the web address of the other school's descriptions of their statistics courses. If the other school does not have the descriptions on the web, then you must obtain the printed catalog (or at least a copy of the pages containing descriptions of the statistics courses) from the other school. All undergraduate statistics courses offered by this school should be included, so that we can see how the course that you want fits into the whole set of statistics courses. Summer catalogs seldom contain enough information. Most catalogs (web or printed) are not detailed enough, and in such a case, you will need to provide a syllabus or other official written description of the contents of the course.
  2. Determine whether the school is on the semester system or the quarter system. If it is on the quarter system, you will need to take two courses there to get one credit at Duke.
  3. For summer courses, you should determine how many days the class meets and how long each period is. There must be at least 35 contact hours before Duke will consider transfer credit.
  4. Our introductory statistics courses all have computer labs, so you cannot earn transfer credit for a course without a computer lab. Try to find out whether your proposed course has a computer lab and, if so, what software is used and what the assignments are.

How do I request transfer credit?

After you have checked to see that your course qualifies under all the criteria above, fill out the transfer credit request form.

If your course is approved by the Statistics Department, then you will need to have your transfer request approved by your academic dean. The email confirmation you receive from the Statistical Science DUS will count as the Statistical Science approval.

My transfer request has been approved however the transfer credit has not been officially approved. How do I go about selecting my next course?

If you have requested transfer credit for a statistics course, but the transfer credit has not been officially approved and you want to register for the next semester, send an email message to the DUS providing information on your previous course and what course you would like to register for and to receive guidance regarding course choices.