Transfer to UMD

Transfer to UMD (KNES)

Students interested in transferring to the University of Maryland College Park need to apply for admission to the University, declaring as their major "Kinesiological Sciences". Applications can be requested or submitted on-line at the Undergraduate Admissions web site at http://www.uga.umd.edu.

After the student has been accepted, he/she must attend an Orientation Program, during which time the student will have the opportunity to receive an overview of the college and meet with an advisor of the Kinesiology department. At this meeting, transfer credits will be applied to the Kinesiological Sciences program and the student will register for courses to be taken during the upcoming semester.

Transfer to UMD (PE)

Students interested in transferring to the University of Maryland College Park need to apply for admission to the University, declaring as their major "Physical Education". Applications can be requested or submitted on-line at the Undergraduate Admissions web site at http://www.uga.umd.edu.

After the student has been accepted, he/she must attend an Orientation Program, during which time the student will have the opportunity to receive an overview of the college and meet with an advisor of the Kinesiology department. At this meeting, transfer credits will be applied to the Physical Education program and the student will register for courses to be taken during the upcoming semester.

Newly Admitted Transfer Students

Before meeting with an advisor and selecting classes, transfer students must have their transcript evaluated in terms of the applicability of previous course work to the Kinesiological Sciences or Physical Education Program. Students may wish to use the Transfer Credit Center to assist in determining course equivalence between most universities/community colleges and UMCP courses (http://www.tce.umd.edu/tclookup.html). This works particularly well for the University CORE requirements.

All newly admitted transfer students should report to the Kinesiological Sciences Coordinator or Physical Education Coordinator for evaluation of transfer credits prior to their initial registration. When new transfer students from other institutions arrive on campus to register, the Department should have an evaluation of their transcript(s) as complete as the last transcript received from a previous school. Be certain that the course information from your previous school or program is complete, up to date, and on file. If not, the evaluation will be tentative and subject to change. Transfer students are advised to bring catalogues of their previous schools to assist in the evaluation process. Copies of transcripts should be sent to:

The Office of Admissions
Mitchell Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-2611

The Physical Education major is composed of 125 required credits with no electives. Therefore, students should be aware that previous course work, especially if done in another program, may not apply to the Physical Education program. Additionally, due to the prerequisite sequence, students should plan on a minimum of 3 years of full-time work to complete all degree requirements, including student teaching.

Transfer Credit Evaluation

At the College Park, evaluation of courses for transfer is a two step process. The first step is a review to determine all courses which are ACCEPTABLE for transfer to this campus. The second step involves determining the courses among those accepted which are APPLICABLE to the specific degree program which the student has selected. The APPLICABLE credits are determined by the Kinesiological Sciences Coordinator or Physical Education Coordinator in consultation with the student.

Acceptability of Transfer Credit

In general, we accept for transfer credit any course which:

1. was completed at an accredited institution
    
2. was completed with a grade of "C" or higher (or a grade of "D" or higher in the case of Maryland public institutions only), and
    
3. is comparable or equivalent to course work offered at UMD.
    

In general, we will not accept courses which are remedial, vocational, or technical in nature.

The total number of ACCEPTABLE credits will appear on the student's grade report under the heading, "Transfer Credit Level." The recording of these credits is crucial to the student for pre-registration purposes, since students are prioritized into requested courses based on the total number of credits earned (highest first). A student is less likely to receive requested courses, in other words, if transfer credits have not been evaluated and made a part of the student's record.

Applicability of Transfer Credits

Once the initial evaluation of ACCEPTABLE credits has been made, a secondary review is made by the Coordinator. This second step involves determining which of the courses among those accepted will APPLY to the specific degree program the student has selected. This review, in other words, will determine how accepted credits may be used to satisfy General Education Requirements, Major Requirements and any Related Studies Requirements.

In all cases of transfer between units, the Program Coordinator of the receiving unit, will declare which courses, if any, of the student's previous academic program are NOT APPLICABLE to the new program. Deletions and additions may occur both in credits attempted and correspondingly in credits earned. This evaluation is made only upon the student's initial entry into a new program. In other words, students should see their Program Coordinator before the transfer is officially processed.

A result of this kind of review is that the "Transfer Credit Level" shown on the student's grade report may differ from the number of credits which actually apply to his or her course of study. A typical example is the case of a transfer student who has accumulated 70 credits at a community college. NO COURSE FROM A COMMUNITY COLLEGE WILL TRANSFER AT A 300-400 LEVEL.  STUDENTS TRANSFERRING FROM A COMMUNITY COLLEGE WILL BE EXPECTED TO COMPLETE ONE-HALF OF THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM IN RESIDENCY AT THE COLLEGE PARK CAMPUS. Subsequently, even though we may transfer 70 of the student's credits from a community college, only 60 of those credits typically apply to the student's degree program. HE OR SHE WILL STILL NEED TO COMPLETE A MINIMUM OF 60 CREDITS AT UMD. 

Transfer and Grade Point Average

When transfer students begin at the University, they have no Grade Point Average; their average will be based solely on work completed at the University of Maryland. In other words, credits transfer, but grades do not. However, for purposes of academic retention, transfer credits will be included in "hours attempted" on student grade report.

Problems with Transfer Credit Level

If the student's transfer credit level is not shown at all on the grade point report, the student has most likely neglected to provide the Office of Admissions with:

1. an official transcript from each of the institutions he or she may have attended previously;
    
2. an official transcript from the last school attended, including a grade report from the last semester attended.
    

If the student has not provided the Office of Admissions with these items, he or she should request that a copy of the transcript be sent by the previous school to:

The Office of Admissions
Mitchell Building
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland 20742

If the student has provided the Admissions Office with these items and the "Transfer Credit Level" is still in question, the student may visit the Admission Information Desk on the ground floor of the Mitchell Building.