External Credit

Transfer & External Credit

To earn a bachelor’s degree at Clark, a student must earn at least one half of the total number of course units taken for fulfillment of a major in a Clark program. Students must complete their final two full-time semesters in residence. Units earned through Clark programs off campus also meet the requirement. “External credit” is credit earned in the following categories:

1. Advanced placement
2. Credits transferred from other American colleges and universities
3. Credit earned in foreign-study programs administered by American or foreign institutions of higher learning other than Clark.

The amount of transfer credit that can be applied to a bachelor’s degree at Clark is limited by category.

1. No more than one semester (four units) may be granted in advanced placement (AP). AP credit is defined as one unit of degree credit assigned for a score of 4 or 5 on a CEEB AP examination taken prior to matriculation and before the student formally enrolls. Students also may receive credit for college work completed prior to their matriculation at Clark University if that credit is in a content area deemed academically acceptable to Clark and is from a regionally accredited college or university.
2. Students who present an IB Diploma and who also earn a minimum of 36 composite points with a score of 5 or higher in all six of their IB examinations will receive eight Clark units (one full year). Students who present an IB Diploma (a minimum of 24 composite points) will receive four Clark units (one semester). Students who do not complete the full IB Diploma will receive one Clark unit for each higher level examination with a score of 5 or better up to a maximum of three Clark units.
3. Students transferring to Clark from another institution may transfer in no more than 16 units of course credit. Students who begin their course work at Clark may subsequently transfer up to a maximum of 12 units of course credit from other schools.
4. Normally, no more than one year (eight course units) may be taken in study-abroad programs.