Transfer Credit Policy

Understanding Your Transfer Credit at KCAD

Students transferring to Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) from other institutions of higher education may be granted transfer credit.

Transfer credit is subject to the following criteria:

If KCAD has an institutional articulation agreement with the student's prior institution, that agreement governs the student’s transfer determination if covered by the articulation agreement. Otherwise, the student’s transfer determination is governed by individual course equivalency evaluations and KCAD’s transfer policies or as determined by KCAD in its sole discretion.
Credits are considered for transfer upon presentation of official evidence of completion (i.e. official transcripts, AP Exam Score, CLEP Exam Score, DD214, etc.).
College-level coursework taken at a regionally accredited institution is transferable to KCAD.
- An applicant with a cumulative GPA of 2.0* or higher is admissible.
- An applicant with a cumulative GPA of less than a 2.0* may be admitted at the sole discretion of KCAD.
KCAD accepts transfer courses in which the student earned a grade of "C" (2.0*) or better.
- Consistent with program progression policies, coursework taken at other institutions and not accepted for credit at KCAD may need to be repeated.
KCAD accepts transfer credits in the categories of art history, general education, and studio.
- Studio credits may require an additional portfolio review to determine equivalency.
Credits from transferred coursework are recorded on the KCAD transcript, but do not count toward the KCAD cumulative GPA or academic honors computations.
All students must earn at least half their Major Studio credits in residence at KCAD.
A 30-credit hour residency is required of all BFA. and BA candidates (typically the last 30 credits).

*All references to a 2.0 GPA are on a 4.0 scale.

Course and Transcript Evaluation Process

1. Official prior college transcripts of transfer students are evaluated by the KCAD Coordinator of Academic Advising in consultation with faculty of the program to which the student has been accepted.
2. Transfer course equivalency evaluations are determined by the KCAD department with comparable coursework as indicated by the KCAD course designator (i.e. the Art History faculty will evaluate transferable art history coursework, the General Education faculty will evaluate transferable humanities or social science coursework, etc).
  - These evaluations represent an institutional determination and will not be independently renegotiated by each KCAD program. That is, if a transfer student enters KCAD and then changes their program, the initial transfer course equivalent determination is not changed unless it is determined that an error in the evaluation has occurred. This determination is at the sole discretion of KCAD.
3. Courses/credits transferred into KCAD are then applied to the Program Plan for the academic year of record. The Program Plan outlines the course requirements for a particular program of study**. Students may transfer into KCAD with more credits than are required for a program of study.

**Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) reserves the right to make curriculum changes without notice.

General Guidelines for Understanding Transfer Credit Equivalencies

Transferring Studio Art Credit

KCAD will consider transfer credit for required foundation-level studio classes and major-specific studio classes when:

The course content is similar
Course descriptions are consistent
A review of work created in the course (if required) meets expected outcomes

Transferring General Education Credit

KCAD will consider transfer credit for any of the following general education classes;

1 (one) college-level writing class,
2 (two) humanities classes (preferably one in philosophy and one in literature),
1 (one) social science class (examples; sociology, gender studies, etc.),
1 (one) math or science class.

Transferring Art History Credit

KCAD will consider transfer credit for any of the following art history classes;

Global Art I: pre-history through the 14th century
Global Art II: 15th century through the present
credit for up to 2 additional art history classes may be considered (excluding Art History majors who may transfer in additional art history credits).

Transferring Humanities, Social Sciences, and Foreign Language Credit

KCAD will consider transfer credit for an additional four, non-repeated classes in the humanities or social sciences. However, we suggest that students take their last 15 credit hours of general education classes at KCAD. KCAD will also consider transfer credit for classes in foreign languages.