# Transfer Credits and Course Exemptions/Waivers

### Transfer Credits

Credit for graduate courses taken at other institutions may be awarded under certain conditions and subject to approval by the Program Director (excluding the MGC program where transfer credits are not accepted). Program Directors reserve the right to denied transfer credit and/or course exemption requests. Courses being considered for transfer credit must be at the graduate level, relevant to the program, deemed to be equivalent in content to ISMMS’s course, and have been completed with a grade of B or better at a regionally accredited institution within the last five years. Determinations of credit transferability are at the discretion of the Program Director. 

The number of credits transferred can be no more than the number of credits given by ISMMS for the equivalent course. All transfer credits will be assigned a grade of P. Courses approved for transfer may reduce the number of total credits taken at ISMMS. Students who receive a Master's Degree from ISMMS may transfer all credits with a B or higher into the corresponding PhD program. 

If a student successfully completes a course that is required by the Graduate School, the student may be granted an exemption from having to take the equivalent course at ISMMS. In such cases the student will not receive credit towards the ISMMS degree but instead, will take an additional elective course to complete the necessary number of credits. 

The maximum allowable transfer credit for each program is as follows:

|     Program    | Maximum # of Transfer Credits |
| :------------: | :---------------------------: |
| PhD and MD/PhD |               40              |
|     PhD CR     |               14              |
|       MHA      |              9\*              |
|      MSBDS     |              6\*              |
|      MSBS      |              9\*              |
|   MSBiostats   |              3\*              |
|      MSCR      |              9\*              |
|      MSEpi     |              6\*              |
|      MSGC      |               0               |
|       MPH      |               12              |

\*Unique cases may be further evaluated for additional credit

### Courses Taken at Partner Institutions

The course exchange programs with CUNY Graduate Center and Cooper Union is designed to encourage graduate students from each College/University to experience academic courses, not offered at their home institutions.

### Required Course Exemptions

If a student successfully completes a course that is required by the Graduate School (even if that course was used towards the attainment of another degree at ISMMS or at another academic institution) the student may be granted an exemption from having to take the equivalent course at ISMMS. In such cases the student will not receive credit towards the ISMMS degree but instead, will take an additional elective course to complete the necessary number of credits. 

Students seeking exemption from required courses, based on prior course work, must meet with the Course Director to ensure appropriate content overlap and rigor. Exemption from certain courses may require an exemption exam or other assessment. If approved by the course director, student will need to complete a course exemption form and return it to the Office of the Registrar. The course will appear on the student’s transcript as “EX”.

### Course Waivers

On occasion a program may grant a course/credit waiver. A petition for such consideration should be made by the student to the Program Director and the Dean of the Graduate School. Students who receive course waivers must still meet the total credit requirement for their degree program.


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