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The policies and resources you need to support students and faculty in the classroom.

Academic Load Policy

The student of average ability should be able to take successfully 15-18 semester hours. The student should regularly consult with his/her academic adviser, but the student must know the academic requirements of his/her degree program and plan accordingly for a timely graduation. After consultation with the academic adviser, the student will select the appropriate courses and number of credit hours to be taken each semester. Decisions regarding the number of hours to be taken and class scheduling will differ among students based upon many variables (e.g., academic preparedness and commitments to out-of-class activities). The University’s Web-based registration allows a student to register for up to 18 semester hours once classes have begun (To assure equitable access to courses, students are limited to fewer than 18 hours prior to the first day of class. Students seeking to register for more than 18 hours must take written approval from the academic dean to the Office of the Registrar. Students enrolled through the Office of Extended Education must obtain approval of the director to register for more than seven semester hours.

Students may reach out to the Associate Dean of their major to inquire about getting approval for taking over 18 hours in any given semester.

Summer Academic Load Policy

While as many as 15-18 credit hours may be earned during the several summer sessions, a student may not be enrolled in more than seven credit hours at any one time and no more than four credit hours concurrently during the three-week MAY session. Study abroad programs are not affected by this policy. Any exception to this policy must have written approval of the dean of the major.

Incompletes

Incompletes or “I” grade designates course has not been completed and a final grade has not been assigned. The “I” must be removed within the first 60 days of the long semester immediately following, or it is changed to an “F.”

Any extension must have written approval of the instructor and dean. This policy does not apply to senior Honors research papers/theses, graduate thesis or dissertation hours.

To remove an incomplete, the instructor initiates the grade change via the grade roster. The request is routed to the department chair, and when approved, it is routed to the academic dean. After the dean’s approval the grade is changed. Current and cumulative grade point averages (GPA) are recalculated at time of grade change posting.

Transfer Credit

Policy

Students transferring to TCU must present a record of all transfer work for evaluation to the Office of Admission for approval by the appropriate academic dean prior to their enrollment in the University. Transfer coursework not presented prior to enrollment may not be counted toward a degree. TCU only reviews coursework from regionally accredited institutions.

After enrolling at TCU:

  1. All students must receive prior written approval of the appropriate academic dean if they wish to take courses at another regionally accredited institution and have those courses count toward a degree at TCU. Coursework taken without prior approval may not be applied to a degree.
  2. To request approval to take courses at another institution, a student should log in to my.tcu.edu, click the Academic Records tile, scroll down to Transfer Credit and choose Transfer Credit Request to fill out and submit your request.
  3. Once a student is enrolled at TCU, no more than 4 courses up to 16 total semester hours, except those earned in an approved study abroad program, may be transferred from other schools.

Transcripts for approved transfer credit should be sent to the Registrar’s Office, TCU Box 297004, Fort Worth, TX 76129.

If a student wishes to deliver his/her transcript in person, the transcript must be in a sealed and signed envelope from the institution.

Transcripts may be sent electronically from another institution by sending them to transfer.work@tcu.edu. 

Transfer students may consult the Transferology to find equivalent courses that have transferred to TCU.  Create a free account with Transferology and enter courses to see what courses transfer to TCU.  The Transferology Instructional Video will show you how to create an account and use Transferology.

Transferology FAQ

Transfer Credit Request

Transfer Equivalency Tool