Transfer Units

College of Engineering Graduate Policy

It is generally expected that graduate students in the College of Engineering will complete their degree requirements at Boston University. Courses will not be considered for transfer from another institution in the Boston area when the equivalent course is offered at Boston University, including during Summer Term.

Graduate Transfer of Units

Graduate-level courses from other accredited engineering programs must be approved for transfer units (see below for specific limits). Approval requires the recommendation of the academic advisor and the department graduate associate chair or the division associate head, and the consent of the college’s Associate Dean for Academic Programs. Graduate courses cannot be transferred if they have been counted toward another degree program or a specialization/minor as documented on a transcript. Units are transferred for courses with a grade of B or better, and such courses will not be counted in the graduation GPA. No transfer of units for courses taken before the senior year of college will be accepted.

Transferable coursework completed under a term-unit-hour system is awarded with an equal number of term hours. A 3-unit course taken at another institution will transfer as 3 units. Coursework completed under a quarter-unit-hour system is converted into term hours by awarding two-thirds of the total number of quarter-unit hours. Although a transfer may fulfill a one-term course requirement, any unit deficiency must be satisfied in order to meet graduation requirements.

Boston University courses not listed as department degree requirements or not listed in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Bulletin are also subject to the above approval process.

In either case, approval for courses taken after matriculation must be obtained before registration for such courses. All courses to be transferred must be taken for a letter grade (not Pass/Fail). Coursework taken at an international institution will not be accepted for transfer.

Master’s Programs

Students must register for and earn a minimum of 24 units while enrolled as a master’s student. Therefore, no more than 8 term transfer units or the equivalent are permitted—including units from courses taken at Boston University prior to matriculation—as part of this total. Master’s students must be registered for a course applicable to their degree in the term in which the degree is awarded, after matriculating in the master’s degree program.

Post-Bachelor’s PhD Program

No more than 8 term transfer units or the equivalent are permitted—including units from courses taken at Boston University prior to matriculation—as part of the MS portion or structured course portion of the post-bachelor’s PhD program.

BU Undergraduate Course Release Policy

Effective fall 2025, students must register for and earn a minimum of 24 units while enrolled as a master’s student.

No more than 8 units of BU coursework (500 level and above) not used to complete the undergraduate degree can be released and used toward completion of a College of Engineering graduate degree. Students must earn a grade of B or higher in the course they wish to release. Students who release courses should note that the released courses are included in determining the calculated undergraduate GPA, and not in the graduate GPA. Appropriate released courses can be counted toward fulfilling graduate degree requirements.

Post-Master’s PhD Program

All units to satisfy the 32-unit minimum must be taken at Boston University.