Policies

Students who have received a score of 4 or 5 on either or both of the Advanced Placement Latin tests, or 6 or 7 on the higher level International Baccalaureate Latin exam, receive credit for Latin 199.

In nearly all cases, departmental policies stipulate a score of four or five on an AP examination, six or seven on an International Baccalaureate Examination.

You must have received a score of 4 or 5 on an AP exam (3, in Calculus; 5, in History), or a score of 6 or 7 on an IB exam for credit at Davidson.

AP credit is awarded for scores of 4 or 5 unless noted below.

The Registrar may designate a transfer credit (including AP or other pre-college credit) as satisfying a Foreign Language, Ways of Knowing, Writing, Cultural Diversity, or Justice, Equality, and Community Requirement following, as occasion demands, consultation with the appropriate department or program chairs. Each Davidson College course credit is evaluated as equivalent to four semester hours. Credit Definition Course credit at Davidson College is awarded based on the successful completion of learning outcomes developed by individual departments and programs. Concerning approval, see section regarding “Transfer Credit and Study Abroad.” A student may choose to withdraw from Davidson College. Upon Completion of Total Credits Earned Required to Return to Davidson College (including transfer credits) Total Credits Earned Required to Graduate in 4 Years (including transfer credits) Minimum GPA Requirements (does not include transfer credit) Semester 1 3 4 1.0 CUM GPA (1.0 Term GPA mandatory) Semester 2 7 including Writing Requirement 8 1.8 CUM GPA (1.0 Term GPA mandatory) Semester 3 11 12 1.8 CUM GPA (1.0 Term GPA mandatory) Semester 4 15 including declaration of a major 16 1.9 CUM GPA (1.0 Term GPA mandatory) Semester 5 19 20 1.9 CUM GPA (1.0 Term GPA mandatory) Semester 6 23 24 2.0 CUM GPA (1.0 Term GPA mandatory) Semester 7 27 28 (2.0 major GPA required for graduation) Semester 8 32 to graduate in May (potential to be August graduate with 29-31 credits) 32 (2.0 major GPA required for graduation) Completion Rate In addition to the requirements noted above, students must meet a cumulative course completion rate of at least 67%. Courses taken at other institutions over the summer do not count towards the Davidson College GPA. Graduation Honors Students receive graduation honors based on cumulative GPA as follows: Cumulative GPA: 3.500 - 3.749 cum laude 3.750 - 3.999 magna cum laude 4.000 summa cum laude The student with the highest cumulative GPA in the graduating class is designated at Commencement as “First Honor.” If there is no tie for “First Honor,” the student with the next highest cumulative GPA is designated as “Second Honor.” Transfer Credit Davidson College accepts credits from other colleges and universities based upon equivalency in terms of level, content, quality, comparability, and program relevance to a liberal arts curriculum. Credit by examination, with the exception of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board, the International Baccalaureate Program, and similar programs abroad, are not accepted via transfer. For this reason, students may transfer in a maximum of two online and/or hybrid courses from other institutions. Since each Davidson College course equates to four semester credits and other institutions have credit systems that vary slightly, these criteria govern: each four semester hours or six quarter hours of total acceptable transfer credit count as one Davidson course, with final fractions of one-half course or more transferable as one course. Single courses of less than three semester hours or four quarter hours of credit are not acceptable for transfer unless used as part of a larger total of transfer credits. Limits for the amount of transfer credit to Davidson are as follows: 1) a maximum of 16 courses toward graduation and 2) no more than one half of the courses used to satisfy major requirements, and these transferred courses must be approved for major credit by the department chair. In all instances of transfer credit, including off-campus study, the department of the major or minor determines whether a credit transferred by the Registrar counts toward the major or minor. Academic credit from Davidson College programs off campus appears on the student’s permanent record as ungraded transfer credit, except that in a course taught by a regular Davidson College professor, a regular grade may be given. The maximum transferable credit for one academic year in another college or university is eight courses; for one semester, four courses. Transfer credit for foreign study is awarded by the Registrar upon the recommendation of the director of the program abroad. Credits Earned Prior to Matriculation at Davidson For transfer students, credit for one full year of normal academic credit at another college or university is transferred to Davidson as eight courses; credit for one academic semester as four courses. [Note: Grades of “D” or “F” and withdrawals might reduce the otherwise normal year’s credit at the former college to less than a normal year in credit acceptable to Davidson.] Entering first-year students may transfer a maximum of four credits from courses taken prior to matriculation at Davidson. No more than two credits attained prior to matriculation at Davidson (or, for transfer students, prior to enrolling as a degree candidate at another college) may be applied to the satisfaction of Ways of Knowing Requirements. [Note: A matriculated student may not take an Advanced Placement Examination or an International Baccalaureate Examination for credit after completing secondary school.] Based on the recommendation of the department concerned and the receipt of the official report from the Advanced Placement Program or the International Baccalaureate Program to the Registrar, transfer credit will be awarded. If a department is not attached to an AP course, the Registrar will determine transfer credit in accordance with general transfer credit guidelines. Joint or Dual (High School/College) Enrollment A maximum of four courses completed for credit in joint or dual enrollment programs (high school/college) may be transferred if the above-described items are met and the courses in question are not used to meet the requirements for graduation from high school or for admission to Davidson College. Transcripts, Diplomas, and Verification of Enrollment Transcripts Each transcript will include at least the following information: courses, grades, and credits through the most recently completed semester; date of graduation and degree, if appropriate; and transfer credit by name of institution and course titles. [1] No more than two credits attained prior to matriculation at Davidson College (or, for transfer students, a degree candidate at another college) may be applied to the satisfaction of Ways of Knowing Requirements.

Once the Registrar has granted transfer credit, students may petition the Communication Studies department to approve transfer courses for the major Careful course planning is important to all Communication Studies majors, particularly those who plan to study abroad.

Limits for the amount of transfer credit to Davidson are as follows: 1) a maximum of 16 courses toward graduation and 2) no more than one half of the courses used to satisfy major requirements, and these transferred courses must be approved for major credit by the department chair.

After the Registrar has granted transfer credit, students may petition the ENV faculty to approve transfer courses for the major.

Transfer credit for no more than two courses may be used without express permission of the advisor and DPH chair.

Credit by examination, with the exception of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board, the International Baccalaureate Program, and similar programs abroad, are not accepted via transfer.

The foundation courses, COM 101 and COM 201, the methods, capstone/thesis course requirements must be taken at Davidson College and cannot be applied as transfer credits from another institution.

Study Abroad and/or Transfer credit To receive credit for courses taken during a semester’s study abroad or from another domestic college or university, the request for transfer credit must first be approved by the Registrar’s office. Once this approval has been secured, students may submit to the Chair a portfolio (syllabus, course work, etc.) for each course for which they wish to receive credit. The department faculty will review the portfolio(s), checking for comparable levels of rigor and alignment with the psychology curriculum. Requests for approval to transfer course credit are submitted after the study abroad or other transfer courses have been completed; approval of these requests cannot be granted in advance.

To be granted transfer credit toward the major, students, after receiving College credit from the Registrar, should make their requests to the English Department Chair and submit for evaluation all relevant course materials.

To be granted transfer credit toward the major, students, after receiving College credit from the Registrar, should make their requests to the Theatre Department Chair and submit all relevant course materials for evaluation.

Davidson accepts transfer credit from other colleges and universities approved by a regional accrediting agency, provided each transferred course is consistent with the academic objectives of the college and the grade earned in the transferred course is comparable to a Davidson grade of “C-” or better. The Registrar determines the amount of credit that may be transferred to Davidson. Davidson will accept a maximum of 16 transfer courses toward graduation.