Transfer Admission

General Education Transfer Requirements

Traditional admission to the B.A. degree program requires completion of a minimum of 70 semester units with a grade of “C” or higher.  Only classes taken at colleges and universities accredited by regional commissions will be accepted. Please check with your transfer center to see if an Articulation Agreement is in place to assist you in selecting acceptable classes for transfer. Pacific Oaks determines whether or not a class is acceptable.

Transfer credits need to be in five basic content areas.

Students may request a transfer credit estimate based on unofficial transcripts by appointment with the Admissions Office. Please call (626) 397-1349 or (800)684-0900 or send unofficial transcripts with a note expressing interest in an unoffical transcript evaluation to:

Admissions
5 Westmoreland Place
Pasadena, CA 91103

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits need to be in five basic content areas as follows:

  1. Oral and Written Expression
  2. Science and Math
  3. Social Science
  4. Humanities and the Arts
  5. Electives

Articulation Agreements
Classes not Accepted for Transfer
General Information
Options for Earning Additional Transferable Units

General Information

Applicants may earn up to 76 lower division semester units of classes listed under the four basic areas and acceptable electives.

A Bachelor’s degree or completion of 70 transferable semester units is required for all admissions.

A maximum of 94 units may be transferred into a B.A. degree program.

Students may request a transfer credit estimate based on unofficial transcripts by appointment with the Admissions Office.

A minimum of 3 semester or 4 quarter units will meet a specific course requirement.

1. Oral and Written Expression
A minimum of nine semester units including English Composition. Other classes may include Creative Writing, English or American Literature, Journalism, Early Childhood Language Arts (3 units maximum), Logic, Critical Thinking, Speech Communications, Foreign Language (introductory level) and American Sign Language.

2. Science and Math
A minimum of nine semester units to include at least one course from Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Ecology, Geology, Math (College Algebra or higher), Physical Anthropology, Physical Geography, Physiological Psychology, Nutrition, Statistics, Symbolic Logic, and Zoology. Additional courses may include Accounting, Business Math, Computer Science, First Aid, Math/Science for Children, and Health Education.

3. Social Science
A minimum of nine semester units including required classes in Introductory Psychology and either Introductory Sociology or Cultural Anthropology. Additional classes may include: Early Childhood Education/Child Development classes (theoretical), Political History, Political Science, Linguistics, Psychology, Social Geography, Sociology, and U.S. History.

4. Humanities and the Arts
A minimum of nine semester units to include at least one course from Art History, Foreign Language (Advanced: 4th semester or 5th quarter and beyond), History, Literature, Music Theory or History, Philosophy, Comparative Religion, or Theatre History. Additional courses may include Drama, Children’s Literature, Foreign Language (Intermediate: 3rd semester or 4th quarter), Music or Art for Children, Performance and Studio Art Classes, and Ethnic/Cultural History.

5. Electives
Additional units may be transferred from Early Childhood Education, Physical Education Activity (maximum four semester units) or other transferable classes listed in the four other areas above.

Classes Not Accepted for Transfer

  • applied business courses
  • orientation courses
  • sectarian religious courses
  • remedial courses
  • vocational courses
  • library courses
  • secretarial courses
  • word/data processing courses

Earning Additional Transfer Credits

Applicants short of general education requirements may take CLEP (College Level Exam Program) tests to acquire units. A maximum of 30 units of CLEP is accepted for transfer credit.

In addition to external transfer opportunities, applicants may transfer Pacific Oaks Extended Education and Community Service courses to earn a maximum of 30 upper division transfer units. This would include Pacific Oaks Drug and Alcohol Studies courses and course credit awarded by portfolio assessment through the National CDA Certification Program.

Applicants who meet any of the following criteria may transfer up to 94 semester units to Pacific Oaks:

  1. completed 24 or more semester units at a four-year college(s), with no distinction made as to upper or lower division status;
  2. completed at least 18 units (beyond the 9-unit general education requirements) in early childhood education;
  3. completed at least 18 units (beyond the 9-unit general education requirements) in Social Sciences, specifically, Psychology, Sociology or Anthropology; or
  4. completed at least 15 units in each of three of the four basic content areas: Oral/Written Expression, Science/Math, Social Science or Humanities/Arts.

Units in items 2–4 above may be taken at a community college or a four-year institution.

Articulation Agreements

Articulation is the process of evaluating courses to determine whether course work completed at one institution will meet requirements for admissions, transfer credit, general education and/or major preparation at another institution.

Articulation agreements are formal, written agreements agreed to and signed by the faculty at two colleges.

There are over 20 current articulation agreements between local college and Pacific Oaks College.