Definitions
Added Credit
The process at UBC for having transfer credit added to your record for coursework completed on a Letter of Permission (LOP). Please visit Letter of Permission for further details.
Articulation
The formal process of determining if course work offered at another institution is eligible for transfer credit at UBC.
BC Transfer Guide
The BC Transfer Guide is an online resource of transfer credit agreements between institutions in BC and is published by the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT). UBC grants transfer credit in accordance with agreed-upon equivalencies as published in the Guide.
Elective
Elective or ELEV transfer credit indicates a very general form of transfer credit that results when there is no equivalent subject or faculty at UBC within which unassigned transfer credit can be granted.
Exemption
An exemption refers to the waiving of a prerequisite or required course. Although direct transfer credit for the course cannot be assigned, an exemption granted with unassigned transfer credit will allow students to take courses for which the exempted course is a prerequisite. Because credit for the exempted course is not earned directly, students may be required to replace the exempted course with an alternate in order to meet program requirements.
Example: PHYS 1st (3). Exempt PHYS 101.
Letter of Permission (LOP)
A Letter of Permission (LOP) is a guarantee from your faculty that courses you are planning on taking at another institution will transfer back to your UBC degree. Current UBC students who wish to register in courses at another institution must obtain permission from their faculty, in the form of an LOP, before taking classes elsewhere. There is no guarantee that transfer credit will be granted for courses taken without a Letter of Permission.
Not for Credit in Science
Some transfer credit agreements on the BC Transfer Guide indicate that another institution’s course is eligible for transfer credit but not in the Faculty of Science. This means that although the course may be considered for credit in a Science subject, such as BIOL 1st (3), the original course is not sufficiently Science-based in order for it to be used to satisfy Faculty of Science degree requirements. Other Faculties may apply such transfer credit differently.
Preclusion
A preclusion is granted when the course completed is very similar to a UBC course but specific transfer credit cannot be granted. This most often happens when the completed course is taught in the first or second year of study and the UBC course is taught in the third of fourth year of study. Although course content may be very similar, the level or depth of instruction may be significantly different. Because of this, students cannot receive both the unassigned transfer credit that they have been granted for the completed course and later the direct credit for the UBC course. If a student wishes to complete the precluded course later at UBC, they must forfeit the unassigned credit previously granted.
Example: PSYC 2nd (3). Precludes credit for PSYC 300.
Residency Requirement
No more than 60 credits, or half of a degree program, can be transferred to any UBC program. In some programs the maximum may be less.
Unassigned Credit
When an exact UBC equivalent does not exist, unassigned transfer credit is granted as closely as possible to the originating course. Unassigned credit will indicate the equivalent subject code, year level and credit value.
Example: HIST 1st (3).
Where an equivalent department does not exist at UBC, unassigned credit will be granted at the faculty level.
Example: ARTS 1st (3).
If there is no equivalent program or faculty at UBC but the course should still be eligible for academic credit, a more general elective credit will be granted.
Example: ELEV 1st (3).
Unassigned credit might be acceptable to satisfy some degree requirements. Students should seek advising to determine how unassigned credit can be applied to their program.
