Procedures for Transfer Credit

General Procedures

The following procedures must be followed by all students who seek Economics Department transfer credit for courses completed at other institutions. These procedures apply without exception to Economics (ECON), Mathematical Economic Analysis (MTEC), and Managerial Economics and Organizational Sciences (MEOS) majors as well as to non-majors. Please note that failure to follow these procedures can lead to denial of transfer credit.

No more than three transfer courses can be counted toward the requirements for the Rice ECON, MTEC, and MEOS majors. Additional transfer courses may count only toward university graduation requirements. AP credits and credits awarded to transfer students for courses taken before admission to Rice are not counted against this three-course limit, but all students must complete more than half of their upper-level (300-level and 400-level) courses in their major at Rice. The Economics Department does not transfer online courses.

Note that approval of university "TRAN" credit by the registrar does not imply department approval of ECON, MTEC, or MEOS transfer credit. Departmental approval can be awarded only with the signature of the department Transfer Credit Advisor. (Transfer credit may be denied retroactively if a transfer credit request is processed without the required signature.)

If you have questions about these transfer credit procedures, please see the department Credit Transfer Advisor:

Credit Transfer Advisor
Dr. James P. DeNicco
Kraft Hall 436
jd46@rice.edu

Find registrar procedures for your request here Undergraduate Transfer Credit | Office of the Registrar | Rice University

Courses Taken Prior Admission at Rice (Transfer Students)

Introductory Microeconomics Transfer Credit

Transfer students who have (1) scored a 4 or 5 on the AP Microeconomics examination, (2) earned an International Baccalaureate diploma and scored 6 or 7 on the higher-level economics examination, or (3) received a grade of at least B- in an approved introductory microeconomics course taken at a two-year college (not online) will be awarded ECON 111 credit. This credit counts toward the total university credit hours required for graduation, but it cannot provide Group 2 distribution credit and cannot be counted toward the requirements for the Rice ECON, MTEC, and MEOS majors. This credit cannot be “upgraded” to ECON 100 credit.

Transfer students who have received a grade of at least B- in an approved introductory microeconomics course taken at a four-year college (not online) may, at the discretion of the Transfer Credit Advisor, receive transfer credit for ECON 101, which can be applied toward the university credit hours required for graduation and provides Group II distribution credit, but cannot be counted toward the Rice ECON, MTEC, and MEOS majors.

Transfer students should provide as much course information (syllabus with instructor’s contact information, exams, sample assignments) as possible with the material they post on the Rice transfer credit advising website prior to O-Week.

Introductory Macroeconomics Transfer Credit

Transfer students who have (1) scored a 4 or 5 on the AP Macroeconomics examination, (2) earned an International Baccalaureate diploma and scored 6 or 7 on the higher-level economics examination, or (3) received a grade of at least B- in an approved introductory macroeconomics course taken at a two-year college (not online) will be awarded ECON 113 credit. This credit counts toward the total university credit hours required for graduation, but it cannot provide Group 2 distribution credit and cannot be counted toward the requirements for the Rice ECON or MTEC majors. This credit cannot be “upgraded” to ECON 203 credit.

Transfer students who have received a grade of at least B- in an approved introductory macroeconomics course taken at a four-year college (not online) may, at the discretion of the Transfer Credit Advisor, receive transfer credit for ECON 103, which can be applied toward the university credit hours required for graduation and provides Group II distribution credit, but cannot be counted toward the Rice ECON or MTEC majors. This credit cannot be “upgraded” to ECON 203 credit.

Transfer students should provide as much course information (syllabus with instructor’s contact information, exams, sample assignments) as possible in the material they post on the Rice transfer credit advising website prior to O-Week.

Econ 100

Transfer credit may be given for ECON 100 (which generally must be taken at Rice) for regular-semester courses that are demonstrably equal or superior to their Rice counterparts; for guidance, please contact the department Transfer Credit Advisor.

Transfer students should provide as much course information (syllabus with instructor’s contact information, exams, sample assignments) as possible with the material they post on the Rice transfer credit advising website prior to O-Week. Students who are found eligible to receive credit for both ECON 101 and ECON 103, have the option to combine them, and instead receive credit for ECON 100. If you opt to combine them and receive credit for ECON 100, you cannot also receive credit for ECON 101 and ECON 103.

Other Courses

Other courses presented for transfer credit will be handled on a case-by-case basis and will be considered only for course grades of B- or higher (an examination grade of B- or higher for courses from the London School of Economics). Transfer credit decisions made by other universities will not automatically be honored and will also be handled on a case-by-case basis. Students applying for such transfer credit should provide as much course material (syllabus with instructor’s contact information, exams, sample assignments, etc.) as possible.

Courses Taken After Admission to Rice (Including Study Abroad)

Please note that the following rules also apply to courses taken during the summer preceding matriculation.

Procedures

The Economics Department does not pre-approve courses for transfer credit. Official approval of transfer credit is awarded only after a review of all available completed course materials as well as the transcript for grade verification upon the student’s return to Rice. However, before a student decides which courses to enroll in, the department Credit Transfer Advisor can offer guidance regarding the likelihood that a proposed course will merit approval for transfer credit. Students should be prepared to submit all course materials possible, including a course syllabus with contact information for the instructor, exams, and sample assignments. In some cases, a comprehensive course web page may suffice.

Official transfer credit will be awarded when it is established that the course taken by the student is comparable in topical coverage and methodology to (1) courses currently offered by the Rice Economics Department, or (2) courses the department would in principle like to offer. Courses falling under the second criteria will be transferred as an Econ Credit Transfer at the level of 1XX, 2XX, 3XX or 4XX depending on the level of the material. The Director of Undergraduate Studies for your major will have to submit a petition to Degree Works for the course to count towards your major.

Note in particular that the subject matter or the description of a course are not determinative. To merit economics transfer credit, the actual content of a course, as demonstrated by the course materials noted above, must be comparable in methodology and analytical rigor to that of the analogous Rice Economics Department course. If a proposed course does not meet this test, it will not receive transfer credit (although it might qualify for transfer credit from another department). Finally, note that courses that focus on various aspects of some economy or some economic policy will not necessarily merit Economics transfer credit.

Course Transfer Eligibility

Courses presented for transfer credit will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Credit will be awarded only for courses approved by the department Transfer Credit Advisor. A minimum grade of B- will be required for any course to be considered (an examination grade of B- or higher for courses from the London School of Economics). No transfer credit is given for online courses or courses taken at two-year colleges.

It is highly recommended that students who want to transfer courses to the Economics Department look for courses to satisfy elective requirements. Transfer credit will generally not be granted for courses that are part of the core requirements for any of our three majors. In extremely rare circumstances exceptions may be made for regular-semester courses that are demonstrably equal or superior to their Rice counterparts. These guidelines apply to students in our three majors as well as to non-majors. For guidance, please contact the department or Transfer Credit Advisor before enrolling in any course at another institution. Please see General Announcements to see which courses are elective requirements.

Elective Requirement Transfers

If it is established that the course taken by the student is comparable in topical coverage and methodology to courses currently offered by the Rice Economics Department, the course taken can be directly transferred as the course to which it is comparable. If it is established that the course is not comparable to one of the Rice Economics Department’s courses, but is rather one the department would only in principle like to offer, the level of the transfer credit will depend on the following guidelines:

  • To qualify above the ECON 1XX level, the course must at least have a prerequisite of introductory level economics.
  • To qualify above the ECON 2XX level, the course must at least have a prerequisite of intermediate level economics.
  • To qualify above the ECON 3XX level, the course must at least have a prerequisite of intermediate level economics and a heavy quantitative component to include calculus, econometrics, or statistics.

Please note that all decisions on the level of the transfer are ultimately based on the evaluation of the Transfer Credit Advisor.