Transfer FAQs

On this Page

General Questions

Who is a transfer student?
Prospective students who attended a regionally accredited college or university after graduating from high school for any length of time should apply for admission as a transfer applicant.

Before I apply, what can I do to prepare for my transfer?
Prior to applying it is best to begin planning your transfer a semester or more in advance. Please review our transfer requirements and important deadlines, work with an advisor at your home institution (if applicable), and research your degree program or utilize our major exploration resources to further guide you.

What is the criteria for students to transfer?
Students who attended a college or university after graduating from high school should apply for admission as a transfer applicant and meet the following requirements:

• Minimum 24 hours of transferable college-level coursework (complete or in progress).
  • Applicants with less than 24 transferable credit hours may be reviewed based on freshman criteria.
  • Students under the age of 21 will also be expected to meet NC High School Minimum Course Requirements and are required to submit a final high school transcript.
• Minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA for all college-level coursework attempted.

Please note:

• Meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission nor does it guarantee admission into your academic program of interest.
• Offers of admission are extended on the basis of a competitive review process and are subject to enrollment limits.
• Only courses with a grade of C- or higher from regionally accredited institutions are eligible to transfer and can be used to gain admission.

How do I apply and what documents are required?
Each student is required to submit:

• An online application
• $75 nonrefundable application fee
• Official college transcripts from each individual institution attended
• Official high school transcripts if under the age of 21 and will not have 24 transferrable hours prior to enrollment
• Official AP/IB/CLEP scores, if applicable
• Military transcripts, if applicable

Once the application has been submitted you can track whether we have received your transcripts or other documents.

Where do I send my documents to?
Official documents can be sent to:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Mail Stop 517
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353

Also, we accept official electronic transcripts from most transcript services. If a student’s home institution offers an electronic transcript delivery option, please have transcripts sent to transfer@ecu.edu.

What important application deadlines do I need to be concerned with?

I am currently at a North Carolina Community College. What pathways or resources are available to me?
With the North Carolina Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) (PDF), there are degree specific pathways and resources that NC Community College students can take advantage of to assist with their transfer. These degree plans are here for students to be able to research which pathway (AA or AS) they would like to go depending on the particular program of interest that ECU offers. For additional resources, please visit our Transfer Hub.

Do I need to have completed an Associate’s degree (AA or AS) to transfer?
No, it is not required for a student to complete an AA or AS, however, transfer students can take advantage of the reverse transfer program. This program is offered to transfer students who have not yet completed their AA or AS degree at their community college, but would still like to complete that degree while working on their baccalaureate degree here at ECU.

How many students transfer to ECU every year?
Our transfer population is growing every year! We have over 2,500 transfer spots for the fall/spring/summer semesters and receive approximately 5,000 transfer applications each year. A majority (over 70%) of our transfer students transfer from an NC Community College.

Application Questions

Am I accepted into my academic program when I am offered admission?
Offers of admission are extended for entrance into the university and are not guaranteed for individual academic programs. Please check your intended academic program department page for specific admission guidelines as some programs may have additional requirements, such as Nursing and Engineering.

What GPA do you consider in your review and how do you calculate it?
The admissions review committee carefully considers each applicant’s file and supporting documents. We look for students to have a 2.0 or higher cumulative GPA. We ask that students contact us if they fall below 2.0 and would like to discuss their circumstances individually with us.

If you have attended one institution, we consider the cumulative grade point average (GPA) that has been calculated by your home institution at the bottom of your transcript. If you have attended more than one institution, we recalculate a new GPA that includes each institution’s cumulative GPA. We utilize the total amount of grade or quality points earned and the total amount of attempted hours.

Besides GPA, what are some other things you look for in a transfer applicant to be competitive for admission?
We take in consideration the number of courses the student has completed along with the rigor of the coursework. Also, we review to see if the student is making positive academic progress (upward GPA trend).

Students also have the option to provide a personal statement, which can be completed within the transfer application or can be emailed after submission to transfer@ecu.edu.

If I failed a minimum course required (“MCR”) at a North Carolina high school, do I need to re-take that course before I apply for admission?
If a student does not pass a required “MCR” course (i.e. foreign language) at a North Carolina high school and the student is under the age of 21, the student would be required to complete a minimum of 24 transferable credit hours.

During COVID-19, my college/university implemented a pass/fail option. Do you accept those for admission and for transfer credit?
Yes, we do accept coursework for admissions and credit purposes when a student has earned a “P” (pass) or an “S” (satisfactory) on their transcript. If you have specific questions regarding your transcripts or the impacts of COVID-19 on your academic performance, please contact us at transfer@ecu.edu.

Credit Questions

What courses should I register for at my community college or 4-year institution?
By looking at our course equivalency page, you can see what courses have been able to transfer over from the institutions that we have received credits from. North Carolina’s Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) (PDF) courses are also recommended, as all of these courses will be able to transfer over to East Carolina University.

How do I know what courses will transfer to ECU?
In order to clarify if certain credits are transferable to ECU, we offer a course equivalency tool to look up individual courses and their equivalences. Or, you can use the ECU Credit Connector to see how close you are to your desired major, explore other potential majors you may be close to completing, connect with a transfer counselor, or submit courses for review.

Students must have earned a C- or higher. If you have specific questions or would like us to provide you with an unofficial credit evaluation, we encourage you to contact us at transfer@ecu.edu.

I have been admitted. How do I locate my official credit evaluation?
Once a student has been admitted they will have access to an official credit evaluation. The transfer credit evaluation can be found by logging into the student’s PiratePort account. If you have any questions concerning your evaluation, please contact our Registrar at crediteval@ecu.edu. Also, please review your Degree Works audit to verify how your transfer courses were applied to your degree requirements.

Instructions for accessing your Official Credit Evaluation:

1. Use the PirateID you created earlier to log into PiratePort
2. Select the tile titled “Student Self Service”
3. Select “Student Profile,” then “Academic Transcript”
4. Select “Advising” under “Transcript Type”

Do I have to deposit before my credits are evaluated?
We ask that you submit your deposit to secure your spot, however, you will have access to your credit evaluation once admitted.

I have transfer credits from a previous institution I attended, but I don’t want to submit the transcripts. Am I able to do that?
ALL transcripts from any institution that a student has attempted coursework from is required for their application. If you withdrew from the institution, you will be asked to provide an Enrollment Verification from that institution to verify that you did not attend.

What if the institution I attended does not have any courses listed on the course equivalency page?
The course equivalency page only lists the courses that we have had the opportunity to articulate from the students who have transferred into ECU from previous institutions. This does not mean the courses will not transfer, it just means you will need to submit a course syllabus for the course to be reviewed by the department/school/college in which it is taught. You may also use the ECU Credit Connector to submit a course for review.

If a student is coming from a four-year institution, our general rule of thumb is that as long as the course is not classified as remedial or a freshman experience course, then it will transfer providing that the student has earned a C- or higher in the course. However, if you are unable to determine how your credits will be able to transfer by using the course equivalency page, we ask that you contact us at transfer@ecu.edu and we will provide further guidance.

I have AP, IB or CLEP course credits. How do I know if you will accept them as college credit?
By viewing the Placement Credit list through our admissions website, you can see which AP, IB and CLEP credits we will accept.

Admitted Student Questions

I’m admitted, what are my next steps?
We advise students to view our transfer admitted student checklist for all the necessary items that an applicant needs to do in order to enroll with us.

What housing options are available for transfer students?
We offer on-campus housing in our residence halls on a first-come, first-served basis. Please view our Campus Living website for additional information. We are also pleased to offer the Quest Living Learning Community, which is specifically for transfer students.

We also offer plenty of off-campus housing options. We have an Off Campus Housing Services Office that can provide you with extra guidance on what is available.

Does ECU offer any type of transfer scholarships or honors programs?
The Office of University Scholarships maintains information on all of our available scholarships and we offer an array of transfer scholarship opportunities. Scholarships range from $600-5,000/year with different criteria such as a pursing a specific major, GPA, extracurriculars, and number of credits completed. The annual deadline to apply is January 15. Please note: To apply, students must have already received an offer of admission.

We also are pleased to begin offering an opportunity for students to apply for the Honors College for Transfers. Students must meet the following criteria:

• 24 transferable credit hours completed post high school
• 3.5 cumulative GPA from all institutions
• Last institution attended must be an NC Community College
• Must enter in the fall term as a campus-based student

If awarded a spot, students will be awarded a scholarship valued at $1,250/semester for 5 semesters, priority registration, priority admission to graduate programs, additional advising and access to high impact experiences, such as study abroad, research, and internships. More information on this exciting opportunity can be found by visiting the Honors College for Transfers webpage.

What is the advising and registration process at ECU like?
ECU has over 60 academic advisors that are available to you every step of the way with planning out your degree. Each college has designated advisors by major that you will meet with prior to registering each semester. Please visit the Advising Center for more information on Advising.

What academic program options are available for completely online or distance education students?
We offer a wide variety of all-online options!