transfer credit guidelines

This information is provided as a guide when applying transfer credit to the SFAI curriculum.

Maximum of 60 units accepted in transfer

• 24 units in Art History and Liberal Arts
• 12 units in Major
• 24 units in Elective

Advanced Placement Exam Credit

• Minimum score of 3 for academic subjects
• Minimum score of 4 for studio subjects

Non-Transferable credits:

• No courses graded C- or below
• No physical education classes
• No credit for professional or “life” experience.
• No remedial courses
• No ESL credit
• No conversational foreign language classes
• No academic credits from U.S. colleges without regional accreditation

Transfer Credit for Second-degree Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate degree applicants with a previous undergraduate (baccalaureate) degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university are eligible to transfer up to 90 units of credit towards their SFAI degree. With the approval of the Registrar and the Dean of Academic Affairs, the office of Admissions will accept up to 30 units of Liberal Arts credit, 12 units in Art History, 12 units in the Major, and 36 units in Elective Studio including up to 12 units of relevant General or Non-Studio electives. Contemporary Art History and Critical Theory B are residency requirements and nontransferable.

The Off-Campus Study Requirement will also be waived for Second-degree Undergraduate students.

Transferable Courses
The following is a list of SFAI’s requirements and a sample of courses that are generally equivalent and may be transferred:

Liberal Arts Courses

English Composition A: Investigation and Writing
Freshman/College Composition courses
Rhetoric
Creative Writing
The following courses do not fulfill English Composition A:

English Literature
Comparative Literature
Poetry
English credits from colleges where English is not the primary language of instruction. These courses may be counted as Liberal Arts elective.

English Composition B: Nonfiction Writing:
English Literature
Comparative Literature

Humanities Core A: Historical survey from antiquity to the Renaissance

Western Civilization A
Cultural Anthropology
Pre-20th Century Classics
Intro to Literature
Intro to Philosophy
European Civilization
General Humanities before 1500

Humanities Core B: Development of the European avant-garde in the 19th century

Western Civilization B
Most General Humanities since 1500

Natural Science

All Lab Sciences
Physical Anthropology
History of Science

Mathematics

College level math (algebra or above)
Symbolic logic
Statistics
Computer Science
Some Astronomy courses

Social Science
Political Science
Psychology
Government
Economics
Anthropology
Sociology
History

Global Culture

Coursework that concentrates on the contributions of diverse cultures – specifically ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations not focused upon in the Western/European curriculum.

Liberal Arts Elective

Any general education course except art studio, PE or non-credit classes. Classes such as Business, Home Economics, Health, etc. are not appropriate.

Critical Theory A and B must be completed at SFAI.

Art History Courses

Global Art History

Art History A
Prehistoric to Gothic/Middle Ages

Modernity and Modernism

Art History B
Renaissance to Modern/mid-20th Century

Elective Art History

Any college level art history course
History of Architecture, ethnic arts, etc.
Only 3 units of non-fine arts art history may transfer.

Major Art History

History of the discipline depending on the major

Studio Courses

Contemporary Practices

Any foundation level art course for students who transfer in 12 units or more of studio credit

Major Studio

Specific to each curriculum

Elective Studio

Foundation courses: 2D design, color theory, 3D design, composition, Art I, II or III
No more than 12 units of non-fine arts classes may transfer as studio electives. (e.g. illustration, graphic design, craft, architecture, theater, music, fashion, dance, etc.)

A course description may be required to assess transferability of specific courses.

Other Information

Converting Quarter Units

Most 4 quarter unit courses will be accepted as equal to 3 semester units.