Academic Programs / General Education

General Education Transfer Programs

In general, new transfer students beginning their degree program at Temple should be aware of the following:

• Every Temple undergraduate fulfills the requirements of the General Education Curriculum in some way.

• GenEd policies for transfer students relate only to the university General Education requirements. All requirements of Temple's schools and colleges and major programs of study remain in force. Students should consult the appropriate sections of this Bulletin and their academic advisors about school/college and major requirements.

• The Analytical Reading and Writing requirement may be met by placing out of Temple's Analytical Reading and Writing through a placement test or by transferring in the equivalent of Temple's Analytical Reading and Writing course.  Transfer students who completed an English placement test at their previous institution and tested out of their previous institution's English Composition or comparable requirement can be waived from the Analytical Reading and Writing requirement if they have documentation of their placement and have successfully completed a higher-level English/Writing course.  Acceptable documentation includes an official letter from the university's registrar, advising unit, a faculty member, or other appropriate university official.  In these instances, students will need to meet with an advisor for official approval. Once approval is granted, advisors will complete a DARS exception. Students should check with their advisor if they are unsure whether they have met this requirement.

• The Global/World Society requirement also may be met by participating in an approved Study Abroad program. Transfer students who completed a study abroad at their previous institution should check with their advisor for additional information.

Completing GenEd Requirements with Transfer Credits

• In addition to the approved GenEd course lists, students required to complete any version of General Education (GenEd) may be able to use their transfer credits to satisfy General Education requirements. Students cannot use the same course to fulfill a General Education and a major or minor requirement.

  • Initial evaluation of transfer credits will be made in the Temple Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Re-evaluation of credits will be done by the Temple Admissions Office and academic advisors, in consultation with the General Education Program when necessary, according to standard Temple policies and procedures. 

• Transfer courses will be applied to major and minor requirements first and then to GenEd.

• All students are required to take two Writing Intensive courses at Temple University in addition to completing the GenEd requirements. Writing Intensive courses in transfer cannot be used to fulfill this school/college requirement. The two Writing Intensive courses will be designated by the student's major.

• Credit for Prior Learning (completed prior to matriculation at Temple) such as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) will satisfy general education requirements according to current practice, i.e. using course attributes/core equivalents. (See Academic Policies: Credit for Prior Learning for more information.)

Full GenEd Curriculum

Requirements for students with fewer than 45 Transfer credits:

Transfer students admitted to Temple with fewer than 45 transfer credits complete the full GenEd Curriculum. All of the requirements in this version of the GenEd may be met either with equivalent transfer courses as described in the table below or with GenEd courses taken at Temple. Please note the above policies regarding completing GenEd requirements with transfer credits.

General Education Requirements for Students with fewer than 45 transfer credits

*This policy relates only to transfer credit with Core designations. To complete GenEd requirements with courses taken at Temple students should select from the approved GenEd courses.

45+ Transfer GenEd

Requirements for students with 45 or more credits:

Transfer students admitted to Temple with 45 or more transfer credits (and without an Associate's degree approved for GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd or Core-to-Core Transfer) complete the 45+ Transfer GenEd. All of the requirements in this version of the GenEd may be met either with equivalent transfer courses or with GenEd courses taken at Temple. Please note the above policies regarding completing GenEd requirements with transfer credits. 

General Education Requirements for Students with 45 or more transfer credits

*This policy relates only to transfer credit with Core designations. To complete GenEd requirements with courses taken at Temple students should select from the approved GenEd courses.

Eligibility for 45+

The 45+ Transfer GenEd is designed for students who have taken a significant number of courses elsewhere before entering Temple.  All college-level courses considered transferable by the Temple Office of Undergraduate Admissions, including those for which evaluation is not complete until after the student begins at Temple, will be counted toward the 45 credit minimum, when they meet either of the following sets of conditions.

1. For students new to Temple: The courses have been taken elsewhere before the student matriculates at Temple.

2. For readmitted students: 45 or more transferable credits have been taken elsewhere since the student's last date of enrollment at Temple and before the date of the student's return to Temple.

3. For both groups of students:

• Credit for Prior Learning, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits are counted toward eligibility for the 45+ Transfer GenEd if completed prior to matriculation.  Scores must meet the Temple credit-granting standards and be approved by the Temple school or college that offers the equivalent course (see Credit for Prior Learning).

• Courses taken at Temple as a non-matriculated student are not counted toward eligibility for the 45+ Transfer GenEd.

• Courses taken elsewhere by students once they are at Temple, with the permission of the student's Temple school or college, are not counted toward eligibility for the 45+ Transfer GenEd.

• Credit for Prior Learning credits completed by students once they are at Temple, are not counted toward eligibility for the 45+ Transfer GenEd.

45+ Transfer GenEd Policies

Transfer students should be aware that this GenEd policy relates only to university General Education (GenEd) requirements. All requirements of Temple's schools and colleges and major programs of study remain in force. Students should consult the appropriate sections of this Bulletin and their academic advisors about school/college and major requirements.

A 45+ Transfer GenEd version of the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) document is produced automatically for eligible students who are entering Temple for the first time. For eligible readmitted students to receive a 45+ Transfer GenEd DARS document, a Temple academic advisor must post the 45+ event in the student's record.

IB GenEd

Requirements for the International Baccalaureate General Education Program:

Students who have earned the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and meet minimum eligibility requirements complete the International Baccalaureate General Education Program (IB GenEd Program).

Students accepted into the program will still complete the required number of credits needed for their selected baccalaureate degree – usually between 120-124 credits and will need to complete up to 18-19 credits of the full GenEd Program (35-36 credits).

Eligibility for IB GenEd Program:

To be eligible for the IB GenEd program, students must be admitted to the University, have earned the IB Diploma with a minimum score of 5 (five) on each exam, and English must be completed at the A1 level. Students must send an official copy of their IB Diploma and Scores to Temple Admissions when available.

Students who completed the IB Diploma, but do not meet the eligibility requirements for the IB GenEd program, will complete the full GenEd Program. However, individual exams may fulfill requirements at Temple. For a complete list of individual IB exams, qualifying scores, and how the exams would be used to fulfill GenEd, major, or minor requirements, see www.temple.edu/vpus/transfer/equivalencies.htm#IB.

IB GenEd Program:

Students accepted to the IB GenEd program will need to complete up to 18-19 credits of the full GenEd Program (35-36 credits):

• Required Areas Mosaic I and Mosaic II, U.S. Society, Arts, Race & Diversity, and one Science & Technology requirement (five categories/six courses; 18-19 credits) will be need to be completed through coursework at Temple and/or through credit for individual IB exams – if applicable.

o For example, if a qualifying student earned exam scores of five (5) on American History, Theater Arts, and Biology HL and these course equivalents were not required by the student's major or minor at Temple, the student's U.S. Society, Arts, and Science & Technology requirements for the IB GenEd Program would be fulfilled. As a result, this student would only take three courses at Temple to complete the remaining requirements for the IB GenEd Program: Mosaic I, Mosaic II and a Race & Diversity course, i.e. nine credits.

o Please see the table below for additional equivalencies:

Remaining General Education Requirements for IB GenEd students

* IB equivalencies will be applied to major or minor requirements first and then to GenEd; they cannot be double counted.

• Waived Areas Analytical Reading and Writing (GW), Human Behavior (GB), Global/World Society (GG), Quantitative Literacy (GQ), and one Science and Technology (GS) requirement will be waived, since the learning experiences acquired during the IB program fulfill many of the required outcomes for these areas. In addition to the waiver, credit for exams in these areas will be added to the student's academic history

GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd and Core-to-Core (GenEd Transfer Agreement):

Requirements for GenEd Transfer Agreement Students

Students entering Temple with an approved Associate degree from a GenEd-to-GenEd or Core-to-GenEd institution have met all of the General Education requirements. These students are identified upon admission to or enrollment in the University by either Admissions or their advising unit.  Their fulfillment of the General Education by a GenEd Transfer Agreement is noted on pertinent student records, including the degree audit report (DARs).

Eligibility for GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd and Core-to-Core

The below institutions have Transfer Agreements with Temple University. Not all Associate degrees from these institutions have been approved for GenEd-to-GenEd or Core-to-GenEd. To review the agreements and which degrees are eligible go to www.temple.edu/vpus/transfer/agreements.htm. You can also consult with your academic advisor to determine if you are a GenEd-to-GenEd or Core-to-GenEd student.

Bucks County Community College
Burlington County College
Camden County College
Community College of Philadelphia
Delaware County Community College
Gloucester County College
Harrisburg Area Community College
Lehigh Carbon Community College

Luzerne County Community College

Mercer County Community College
Montgomery County Community College
Northampton Community College
Valencia Community College (FL)

Valley Forge Military College

Go to www.temple.edu/vpus/transfer/agreements.htm for any updates to the list of GenEd-to-GenEd and Core-to-GenEd partner institutions.

Transfer students should be aware that GenEd-to-GenEd and Core-to-GenEd transfer relates only to University General Education requirements. All requirements of Temple's schools and colleges and major programs of study remain in force.

Make sure that your final transcript, indicating receipt of the Associate degree, is available to your Temple advisor, so your advisor can make sure the proper transfer status is noted on your student record. Your official transcript must note the receipt of your degree for an advisor to update the system.