ADVANCED PLACEMENT / TRANSFER CREDITS

Transferring Credits

Work completed at another institution of higher education may be accepted for credit at Claremont University, under the assessment of prior learning, under certain circumstances. Transfer credit may be granted for work that was completed at a recognized college or university if a passing grade was received (a minimum grade of C, pass, or credit reported on the transcript) whether or not the work was done as part of a degree program. Transfer credit can be used to gain advanced standing in a degree programme. There is no cap on the number of credits that can be transferred toward an Associates, Bachelors, Masters. Doctoral or Law Degree.

Doctoral programme applicants who hold a master's degree awarded by a US regionally accredited institution of higher education, or equivalent, and plan to pursue a major in the same field as their master's degree, will be granted 30 credits of transfer credit toward their doctoral programme. Additional credit may be granted at the discretion of the Office of Assessment, based on information obtained during the Assessment of Prior Learning process.

Applicants for doctoral study in fields other than that in which the master's degree was obtained will be granted transfer credit commensurate with the learning and experiences relevant to their proposed major, based on the Assessment of Prior Learning process. Doctoral programme applicants who hold a master's degree from other types of institutions of higher education will be granted transfer credits at the discretion of the Independent Assessment Agency, based upon information obtained during the Assessment of Prior Learning process, irrespective of proposed major.

Credit for Prior Learning /Life Experience

Life experiences, informal learning outside of the classroom, military and professional accomplishments will be evaluated on an individual basis by an Independent Assessment Agency. For example, if you attended a series of conferences sponsored by the American Management Association, became an AAMFT-Approved Supervisor, or completed a Certified Financial Planner curriculum you would be granted credit for your prior learning experiences. A relatively standardized procedure was developed to which each newly admitted student’s portfolio of prior learning experiences are subjected. Students will be granted credit for their relevant prior learning experiences that are included in their Learning Contract and become part of their degree programme. You may be eligible to receive full or partial college credit toward your Associates, Bachelors, Masters Doctoral or Law Degree. To help you know in advance how credit will be granted we have developed the guidelines for assessment of prior learning.

Doctoral programme applicants who hold a master's degree awarded by a US regionally accredited institution of higher education, or equivalent, and plan to pursue a major in the same field as their master's degree, will be granted 30 credits of transfer credit toward their doctoral programme. Additional credit may be granted at the discretion of the Independent Assessment Agency, based on information obtained during the Assessment of Prior Learning process.

Applicants for doctoral study in fields other than that in which the master's degree was obtained will be granted transfer credit commensurate with the learning and experiences relevant to their proposed major, based on the Assessment of Prior Learning process. Doctoral programme applicants who hold a master's degree from other types of institutions of higher education will be granted transfer credits at the discretion of the Office of Assessment, based upon information obtained during the Assessment of Prior Learning process, irrespective of proposed major.

Prior Learning Assessment

Accelerated Degrees

Claremont University offers accelerated routes to undergraduate and graduate degrees for the mature adult student with significant learning experience. Using assessment methods developed at leading US Regionally Accredited universities and in the UK, we assess your prior learning through the preparation and presentation of a portfolio, thus enabling you to gain credit for learning that has occurred outside a formal classroom setting. We will also accept transfer credits from other high-quality institutions. Some particularly experienced candidates may qualify for their degree by portfolio assessment alone; for others, the requirements for their degrees will be completed through an individualised learning contract that is negotiated between you and your Student Advisor; this may include writing papers or a mini-project in your area of expertise, completing online courses, or taking test-out examinations such as CLEP tests or similar examination programmes.

The degree programme can be completed much more quickly than at traditional institutions, and at lower cost, without sacrificing the thoroughness of assessment that degree awards demand. Our graduates can then have their degree evaluated to be the equivalent of one awarded by a Regionally Accredited US university by one of the highly experienced US credential evaluation firms whose evaluations are accepted at the highest levels, giving their degree the same utility as an US Regionally Accredited degree for education and employment purposes.

Degrees in Liberal Arts take in expertise across the entire range of the arts and humanities, whilst those in General Studies can admit a much wider range of scientific or technical expertise as well. Our faculty are highly qualified and experienced, with many being former distance learning students themselves.

Before completing enrollment it will be necessary for the Independent Assessment Agency to fully evaluate your prior learning experiences so that you will know what you will be granted credit for and have a clearer picture of what your degree programme will consist of. Thus, you must submit a detailed history of your work experiences, accomplishments, publications, listing and descriptions of all prior courses you have taken, description of all professional seminars, conferences, and continuing education programs attended, and anything else you believe should be taken into consideration (e.g., competency in more than one language). You should also include a thorough rationale for how these experiences interface with your intended programme curriculum. Upon acceptance into the program you will receive direction on how to send this material. Your file will be assessed using a state of the art, computerised system that is a relatively standard procedure we have developed.

The Independent Assessment Agency will intensively review the materials you submit and you will be notified in writing of the competencies for which you will be given credit.

To learn more about the programmes, and whether they might be the right solution for your educational needs, please explore the links to your left. Feel free to email us with any questions you have after reading the site – we’re here to help!

Guidelines for Assessment of Prior Learning

To help you know in advance how credit will be granted we have developed the following guidelines:

General principles for conducting assessment by the Office of Assessment

Must fulfill a competency for major or minor

Must be in field in which degree is sought

Must be demonstrated with evidence of achievement according to guidelines provided by Claremont University

Enrollment

Claremont University will accept applications from people living anywhere in the world, at any time of the year. Please follow the steps below in order to make application. The application fee may be paid conveniently online in one of the following currencies:

£14 British Pounds or $25.00 United States Dollars