Transfer Credits

SFAI welcomes and provides services to students who have completed credits elsewhere. Let us help you navigate between schools and make your transition smooth.

Transfer credit policies are applied by the Admissions Office for new students and by the Registrar's Office for returning and continuing students.

Incoming Students

For information on transferring as a new student, please consult the Admissions Transfer page. Students planning to transfer to SFAI in the future are strongly recommended to take an average of 2 liberal arts and 3 studio introductory courses eligible for transfer (see Articulation Agreements) each semester prior to applying to SFAI for a smoother transition.

Continuing Students

Through Concurrent Registration, current students may take courses at an accredited institution to transfer back towards degree requirements at SFAI. Please stop by the Registrar's Office or email registrar[at]sfai.edu for any questions.

Articulation Agreements

Want to know which courses at your college will transfer to SFAI?

SFAI has articulation agreements with the community colleges listed below. Check this page frequently for updated information related to transfer credit policy and articulation agreements:

City College of San Francisco (CCSF)
Contra Costa College (CCC)
Foothill College (Foothill)
Santa Monica College (SMC)

General Requirements from California Colleges

SFAI accepts up to 75 semester credits for transfer.

For all California Community Colleges, State, and UC's that use IGETC, the following chart depicts the basic list of IGETC areas SFAI accepts for certain SFAI requirements of all bachelor's level programs. Courses SFAI accepts for transfer are not limited to courses in the IGETC areas below. If there is a course that does not have an IGETC area assigned, contact transfer[at]sfai.edu or consult the Articulation Agreement for your school if available.

SFAI Requirement (credits are semster-based)	IGETC Area SFAI accepts
English Compsition A (3.0 credits required)	1A
English Composition B (3.0 credits required)	1B
Math or Science (3.0 credits required)	2A or 5
Humanities (6.0 credits required)	3B
Social Science (3.0 credits required)	4
Liberal Arts Electives (9.0 credits required)	1,2,3,4,5 & LOTE (non-conversational foreign language course)
Art History Elective (3.0 credits for BFA; 21.0 credits for BA, maximum of 15.0 may be transferred in)	3A with historical emphasis

For other art history and/or major specific requirements, contact transfer[at]sfai.edu or view Articulation Agreement if available.

Transfer Policies

Below are abbreviated points in our transfer policy.

For full official transfer policies, consult the Student Handbook (see side navigation).

Transfer Credit Eligibility

Sending school must be regionally accredited or nationally accredited by agency recognized by CHEA.
Transfers approved course-by-course basis if it is related to SFAI degree program
Maximum 75 total credits in all categories for 1st degree students
- up to 36 units in Liberal Arts requirements and Art History requirements combined
- up to 12 units in major studio requirements
- up to 27 units in elective requirements (Studio & General), of which no more than 9 units may transfer as general electives

Transfer Credit Non-Eligibility

Cases in which credit is not transferrable:

courses graded C- or below
physical education classes
professional or "life" experience
remedial courses
ESL credit
conversational-only foreign language classes
no regional or CHEA accreditation

SFAI Residency Requirement

SFAI requirements that generally do not accept transferred courses:

Critical Theory A (CS-300), Critical Theory B (CS-301), Thesis Colloquium (HTCA-390), and BFA Senior Review Seminar (IN-390) are residency requirements and nontransferrable.

Students in their last year (90 credits or more) are required to take 24 out of their final 30 credits in residence at SFAI.

Official Transcripts

All transfers for both incoming and continuing students require official transcripts of courses petitioned for transfer.

Official transcripts are sealed in an envelope with appropriate stamp or seal from the institution.
Must be submitted at the time of application for incoming students; submitted once grades are posted from outside institutions for continuing students
All documents submitted for evaluation are maintained by SFAI regardless of admissions or concurrent registration decision

Credit Translation

All SFAI requirements are 3 semester credits, unless otherwise noted.If transferred courses are either less than 3 semester credits, students must take multiple eligible courses to fulfill one of SFAI's requirements. Excess credits may be moved to electives if applicable.

Converting Quarter Units

Quarter Units	Semester Units
1	2/3
2	1 1/3
3	2
4	2 2/3
5	3 1/3
6	4
7	4 2/3
8	5 1/3

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

Transfer Appeal Process

A student has one year from the date of receiving their transfer credit evaluation to request any adjustments to their evaluation. After one year, no adjustments to the transferred courses, including the removal of any transferred courses, will be made to the academic record with the following exception:

removal of transferred courses due to:

Failure to submit final and official transcripts, or
Completion of a previously in-progress course with a "C-" or lower grade.
A reassessment of transfer credits approved by Academic Affairs. Any changes will be forwarded to the Financial Aid Office and may affect your Financial Aid award.

Appeals are submitted in writing to transfer[at]sfai.edu.

For more information on transfers, including transfer policies for second-degree student transfers, international students, and how transfers appear on records, consult the Student Handbook.

Articulation Agreement with City College of San Francisco (CCSF)

Articulation Chart of Common Requirements CCSF to SFAI

Requirements that are common to every undergraduate degree program at SFAI

Articulation Chart of Major Requirements CCSF to SFAI

Requirements specific to each undergraduate major at SFAI

Articulation Agreement with Contra Costa College (CCC)

Articulation Chart of Common Requirements CCC to SFAI

Requirements that are common to every undergraduate degree program at SFAI

Articulation Chart of Major Requirements CCC to SFAI

Requirements specific to each undergraduate major at SFAI

Articulation Agreement with Foothill College (Foothill)

Articulation Chart of Common Requirement Foothill to SFAI