Transfer Credit

Students accepted into IPS programs may request transfer of credits previously taken in an accredited graduate program with the following restrictions:

• Only courses earning a grade of B or better and taken within the past 8 years are eligible for consideration.
• Courses transferred to meet program requirements must substantially align with the course descriptions of the corresponding IPS course. Courses transferred to meet program electives should align with overall program competencies and outcomes. Students should submit syllabi for the courses for which transfer credit is requested.
• For 36-credit MA degrees (MA in Pastoral Studies, MA in Social Justice, MA in Christian Spirituality, MA in Counseling for Ministry), up to 6 credit hours may be granted in transfer credit and/or advanced standing. That is, the combination of transfer credit and advanced standing may not exceed six credits. Courses that counted toward a previously completed degree program are not eligible for transfer to the 36-credit MA degrees.
• For the MA in Pastoral Counseling, up to 18 credit hours may be granted in transfer credit and/or advanced standing. That is, the combination of transfer credit and advanced standing may not exceed eighteen credits.
• For the Master of Divinity degree, transfer credit follows the same pattern as Loyola doctoral programs. Up to one-half of the total number of hours (36 credit hours) may be transferred from an approved MA program.
• All classes for certificate programs MUST be taken at Loyola University Chicago. There is no transfer credit for certificate programs.

Ordinarily, requests for transfer credit must be made in writing to the IPS Dean during the student's first semester of coursework, and must be accompanied by an official transcript of those credits.

Notes Regarding Transfer Credits:

• Please attach student’s official transcript from institution where credit originated
• Transfer credit applications must be made in the students’ first semester of enrollment
• Courses from completed non-terminal degrees cannot be transferred to our MA programs
• For transfer courses to count for core courses, course description and syllabi must be attached

Transfer_Credit (PDF)

Guidelines Pertaining to Students Pursuing More Than One Loyola Degree

Some students may choose to pursue two Loyola master's degrees simultaneously in cases where no "dual degree" program exists. Sometimes these programs will both be housed within the IPS—e.g., the MDiv and the MA in Christian Spirituality. Sometimes they will be housed in different departments—e.g., an MA in Christian Spirituality and an MA in Theology. The policy articulated above applies to these situations as well:

• Up to 36 hours can be counted toward or "transferred into" the Masters of Divinity. Determinations of which courses in a particular MA degree can be counted toward the MDiv degree will be made by the program advisor, subject to the approval of the Director of the IPS. Students may need to complete more than 72 credit hours to earn both degrees.
• Courses intended to count toward a completed 36-hour MA degree—whether that degree is in the IPS or another unit—cannot be counted toward or "transferred" into any of the 36-credit hour IPS degrees. Students intending to earn two separate non-terminal MA degrees must complete the requirements for both degrees independently.

At times there may be substantial overlap between courses students have taken in a previous or concurrent degree program with a course required for an IPS degree, but for the reasons outlined above, the courses cannot be counted or transferred into the IPS program. For example, the student may have taken an MA level New Testament course in a previous degree program. In those instances, students may be offered the option of taking a different course as a substitute.