Policies

High School Equivalency An applicant may be considered for admission based on adequate scores on a valid high school completion credential, such as the Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC). Students seeking dual-enrollment during their senior year of high school should consult the Office of Admission and Student Financial Services . In some situations, students who attend college full-time before completing high school are not eligible for financial aid. Guidelines for the transfer of credit via CLEP can be found on the Registrar’s Office Academic Information webpage.

HOUGHTON UNIVERSITY 2025–26 CATALOG Undergraduate Transfer Credit Guidelines Transfers must complete at least 30 credits at Houghton and earn at least 50% of their major credits at Houghton to graduate with a Houghton degree. Transfer courses with a grade of C- or better are accepted from institutions that are regionally accredited and listed by the U.S. A maximum of 32 credits of approved AP, CLEP, DSST, and Higher-Level International Baccalaureate (IB) will transfer to Houghton. Up to 67 credit hours may be transferred for appropriate courses completed at a regionally accredited community college or a Bible college accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education. University officials, in consultation with relevant school deans, will assess all transfer credits. Except as noted below, credit to meet Houghton requirements is granted on a course-by-course basis when it is reasonably clear that the course being transferred would, if taken at Houghton University, fulfill Houghton University requirements. To request a transfer credit evaluation, a student should contact the Office of Admission. *“Transferable” refers to previous coursework that is awarded credit at Houghton University.

Transfer of Credits from Other Schools When a student (including Online Program students) transfers courses to Houghton from another college or university, the transfer credit assessor will determine the number of credit hours acceptable toward a Houghton degree.

HOUGHTON UNIVERSITY 2025–26 CATALOG Policies Undergraduate Transfer Student Admission See Transfer Admission Information and Undergraduate Transfer Credit Guidelines for more information.

The following academic benchmark is used (credits earned include transfer credits): • If the total credit hours are less than 15, the GPA must be at least 1.0.

Other Graduate Programs Graduate Transfer Student Admission and Transfer Credit Guidelines Students looking to transfer into the graduate program in music should contact the Greatbatch School of Music for more information. All transfer credit and any exceptions must be approved by the director of the program. All nine will be allowed to transfer to an applicable graduate program using the above criteria.

General Education Requirements for BA, BFA, BMus, and BS Degrees In keeping with the primary objective of the University—to provide a liberal arts education within the framework of the Christian faith—each candidate for a BA, BFA, BMus, or BS degree is required to complete a stipulated package of General Education courses unless given graduation credit and/or advanced standing based on advanced placement or standardized departmental tests. (Graduation credit and/or advanced standing are contingent on a favorable review of the examination papers by Houghton faculty members.) More details can be found in the General Education section.

The following academic benchmark is used (credits earned include transfer credits): If the total credit hours are less than 15, the GPA must be at least 1.0.

Guidelines for the transfer of credit via CLEP can be found on the Registrar’s Office Academic Information webpage.

In keeping with the primary objective of the University—to provide a liberal arts education within the framework of the Christian faith—each candidate for a BA, BFA, BMus, or BS degree is required to complete a stipulated package of General Education courses unless given graduation credit and/or advanced standing based on advanced placement or standardized departmental tests. (Graduation credit and/or advanced standing are contingent on a favorable review of the examination papers by Houghton faculty members.) More details can be found in the General Education section.

Graduate Transfer Student Admission and Transfer Credit Guidelines Students looking to transfer into the graduate program in music should contact the Greatbatch School of Music for more information. A maximum of six* graduate credit hours taken not more than five years before matriculation into a master’s degree program at Houghton may be accepted, if the subjects are integral to the student’s program of study and if the student received a grade of B- or higher. All transfer credit and any exceptions must be approved by the director of the program. *Houghton University’s undergraduates are able to take up to nine graduate credit hours during their undergraduate program. All nine will be allowed to transfer to an applicable graduate program using the above criteria.

Undergraduate Transfer Credit Guidelines Transfers must complete at least 30 credits at Houghton and earn at least 50% of their major credits at Houghton to graduate with a Houghton degree. Transfer courses with a grade of C- or better are accepted from institutions that are regionally accredited and listed by the U.S. Office of Education in its current Education Directory of Colleges and Universities. A maximum of 32 credits of approved AP, CLEP, DSST, and Higher-Level International Baccalaureate (IB) will transfer to Houghton. Up to 67 credit hours may be transferred for appropriate courses completed at a regionally accredited community college or a Bible college accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education. University officials, in consultation with relevant school deans, will assess all transfer credits. Except as noted below, credit to meet Houghton requirements is granted on a course-by-course basis when it is reasonably clear that the course being transferred would, if taken at Houghton University, fulfill Houghton University requirements. To request a transfer credit evaluation, a student should contact the Office of Admission. Grades from other colleges and universities will not be considered in the GPA calculation. Latin honors are awarded for bachelor-level degrees only. At least 62 credit hours must be earned at Houghton to be eligible for graduation Latin honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude). To be eligible to be valedictorian or salutatorian, a student must be a main campus student, full-time in the spring semester, and a May graduate and must have earned a minimum of 90 Houghton University credits. Undergraduate Students with Less Than a Full Year of College Credit For transfer students who have had less than a full year of successful college experience—as demonstrated by fewer than 25 transferable* semester credit hours—a course-by-course assessment will be done. *“Transferable” refers to previous coursework that is awarded credit at Houghton University. Undergraduate Transfer Students with a Full Year of College Credit Transfer students who have at least a full year of successful college experience—as demonstrated by at least 25 transferable semester credit hours—have the choice of completing the full curriculum (of 30 credits) below to complete their General Education requirements or doing a course-by-course assessment of what they have taken previously.

Transfer of Credits from Other Schools When a student (including Online Program students) transfers courses to Houghton from another college or university, the transfer credit assessor will determine the number of credit hours acceptable toward a Houghton degree.