Transfer credits - high school level

Step 1: Apply for high school transfer credit

Students who are eligible for high school transfer credits must decide whether or not they wish to accept them.

Students should not drop any first year courses assigned to them until their accepted transfer credits appear on Quest.

Step 2: Accept or decline transfer credit

Students are able to accept transfer creditson a course-by-course basis and can choose to accept a portion or all of their transfer credits.

  1. For example, students can choose to accept only the BIOL 130L credit if they are assigned a transfer credit for both BIOL 239 and BIOL 130L, or they can accept both credits.
  2. For example, students can choose to accept only CHEM 120 if they are assigned a transfer credit for both CHEM 120 and CHEM 120L. 

Students cannot be enrolled in a course for which they have accepted a transfer credit because they cannot earn credit twice for the same course.​ Students should drop any first year course for which they have accepted a transfer credit.

NOTE: a transfer credit for ENGL 1xx cannot be used in place of the Science Communication requirement (ENGL/SPCOM/COMMST 193).

NOTE for Life Sciences students working towards the BSc Psychology co-op requirements:

We recommend that you accept a maximum of 2.0 transfer credits. If you accept transfer credits and would like to study in the following Spring term, please consult with an academic advisor.

Reasons to accept transfer credits

  1. If students do not plan on taking any university-level courses in that subject area (e.g., French or Geography) or if the subject area is not their program major (e.g. a student in Honours Biology may choose to accept Chemistry or Physics transfer credits, but decline Biology credits).
  2. If students feel fully competent in the core concepts of the course and are confident they are ready for the challenge of second-year courses.
  3. If students want to reduce the total number of university-level courses required to graduate from their current program (credit assessment may change if a student changes programs or schools).

Reasons to decline transfer credits

  1. To experience university lecture/lab environments in a subject that interests them.
  2. To excel in a first-year course during their transition to university studies because of a familiarity with most of the core concepts in the course.
  3. To ensure that they remain eligible for professional programs and graduate schools with no complications, as not all of these programs or schools will recognize the credits, which may put students at a disadvantage.

Step 3: Adjust schedule if accepting all or partial credits

After the transfer credits are confirmed and accepted, students are able to adjust their assigned course schedules to accommodate for transfer credits. This should be done within the first three weeks of the September for fall term, and again, during the first three weeks of January for the winter term, as some accepted transfer credit courses are part of the student's winter requirements.

Questions about transfer credits

Questions regarding transfer credits should be directed to the Science Undergraduate Office (SUO) via science.advisor@uwaterloo.ca. Changes to accepted or declined transfer credits should be discussed with an advisor in the SUO. Normally, changes can only be made in first year at the start of the fall and winter terms. Accepting previously declined transfer credits in your second year may still be possible, with a petition needed for students with a term-level of 3A or higher.