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Stanford
Department of Economics
School of Humanities and Sciences

Transfer Credit

University Credit

Rules and conditions for approval of transfer credit from other academic institutions are listed in the Stanford University Bulletin under Transfer Credit Policies.

Credit for Prerequisite Requirements of Economics Courses

Economics Department course prerequisites are enforced through Axess.  Students, who have not taken the prerequisites or equivalent, cannot enroll in these courses. Students who have taken courses equivalent to the prerequisites either at Stanford or at other academic institutions, may petition for prerequisite course approval. If an equivalent prerequisite course was taken at Stanford, a Course Substitution Request form for a Stanford course must be submitted to the Director of Undergraduate Study (DUS). If an equivalent prerequisite course was taken elsewhere, an Econ Transfer Credit Evaluation form must be submitted to the Director of Undergraduate Study. Bring or send either form to the Undergraduate Student Services Officer, Maggie Zhang, at econ-undergrad [at] stanford.edu (m)target="_blank"zhang [at] stanford.edu, she will forward it. 

Course Transfer Credit for Economics Degree Requirements

General Department Policy

Our Department aims to maintain the highest educational standards. Approval of Transfer Credit from other institutions may be granted only if it can be demonstrated that the course content corresponds to the Stanford course.  At least 55 of the 80 units required for the major must be taken at Stanford in California.

Specific Guidelines

The following guidelines should be consulted before you file your application for credit.

Core Courses

Transfer credit for Economics Core courses will be determined on the analytical content of the course taken elsewhere. Credit will not be granted for non-calculus based courses.

Elective Courses

If a student seeks transfer credit for an elective course, the student must specify the Stanford course it most closely resembles. This includes using courses listed as field courses as electives. No outside course will be approved as an elective course if there is no equivalent Stanford course.

Field Courses

All field courses must be taken at Stanford. No transfer credit for a field course will be approved.

Stanford Overseas Studies

Students intending to take Economic courses at Stanford Overseas Campuses, which are not listed in the Bulletin, can file a Transfer Credit Evaluation form for pre-approval with the Economics Department.  This should be done prior to attending the Stanford Overseas Campus. Most courses and tutorials are developed well in advance. A student planning to take a non-listed course at an overseas campus may obtain detailed information about the course, including a syllabus, and obtain pre-approval for that course before departing.

Special Problems

  • Transfer credit for Econ 1 is based on the appropriate Micro and Macro material covered in the course.  The class must be taught in the same depth as a Stanford course.  
     
  • Many institutions offer only one Micro course. One quarter or one semester courses are typically not sufficient to cover the combined material covered in Econ 50 and Econ 51, and thus transferring these courses might not be approved.
     
  • Economics 102A is taught at a higher analytical level at Stanford than either basic statistics or non-major courses taught at most other statistics departments.  If you seek to replace Econ 102A with statistics courses of a more advanced analytical level, you should compare the content of their course with that of Econ 102A.  Transferring these courses might not be approved.

Procedure and Contact

  • Credit for courses taken at other institutions and applied towards the Economics major must first be approved for general University credit by the Registrar's Transfer Credit Evaluation Office in the Registrar's office. The student must arrange for an official transcript to be sent from the school attended. A student should apply for department transfer credit approval only after University approval has been granted and the course has been completed. It is the student's responsibility to have a copy of the annotated transcript sent from the Transfer Credit Evaluator in the Registrar's Office to the Undergraduate Administrator in the Academic Office.
     
  • Department credit will be granted if the course taken was similar in content and depth to Stanford's class.  This will be determined by reviewing a course description, syllabus, textbook, and other evidence the student can provide. For this reason applications must include the syllabus of the non-Stanford course you are seeking credit for, the professor who taught the course, complete information on the textbook(s) used, and the Stanford course you believe it parallels. The more information you can provide on a course the better your chances are for receiving credit for the course.
     
  • Completed Transfer Credit Evaluation form and required material should be submitted to the Maggie Zhang in the Academic Office. You can turn in this application at any time during the year. However, Transfer Credit forms will be evaluated in the second week and in the seventh week of Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters, so plan accordingly!