If you intend to study a course or study programme that corresponds to the knowledge you already have obtained from previous academic studies or professional experience, you can apply for a transfer of credits. You may also need to apply for transfer of credits to fulfil the requirements for the degree you are working towards. If your credit transfer is approved, this means that you do not have to take those parts of the course.
When applying for a transfer of credits, we will make an assessment of the contents and level of the studies or professional experience you want to transfer credits for. We assess what knowledge you have gained from this and compare it to the content of the course at Umeå University that you want to transfer credits to. If we find that your previous experience provided the required knowledge, we will approve your application.
On the course page on our education website you will find more about what it contains.
Before you start an application for transfer of credits, there are some things you need to know. Therefore, please look through these questions and answers.
If you are unsure of what you can get credit transfer for or how to complete the application, contact the student counsellor at the department that provides the course. On the course page on our education website you will see which department is responsible.
If you have completed academic studies from a Swedish or foreign institution of higher education, you can apply to have the credits transferred to correspond to a course, or part of a course, at Umeå University. It may also be possible to have credits transferred from other relevant studies or credits granted for professional experience. A decision approving a transfer of credits can mean that you do not have to study the corresponding course or part of course twice.
You must apply for a transfer of credits if
If you apply for a later part of a educational programme, are a VAL-student (Further Training For Teachers), or you pay a tuition fee, you shall not apply for a transfer of credits. Learn more under the next question on this page.
You shall not apply for a transfer of credits if you
If your application for transfer of credits is approved, it may have an impact on your student grants and loans for studies from CSN. Contact CSN for questions concerning student grants and loans for studies.
A credit transfer decision does not mean that you have a guaranteed place on a course, part of a course or study programme.
You will not get a grade on the course or course module since there has been no new examination of your knowledge.
A course or part of a course that you have a decision approving a transfer of credits for, can not be included in your degree together with the course that the decision is based upon. The credits can not be counted twice and the degree must only be based on courses that do not overlap.
A decision on transfer of credits is not also a decision on which courses may be included in a degree.
What is required for your intended degree is stated in the local qualifications descriptor (in Swedish only).
Once you know that you intend to apply for transfer of credits, you can get help from the following questions and answers.
Keep in mind that it is required that your submitted application is complete with the necessary documents in order for us to be able to assess it.
You have to be admitted to and registered for education at Umeå University to be able to apply for transfer of credits. Apply well in advance before the course starts, but not earlier than the term before the course starts that you want to receive a transfer of credits corresponding to.
The processing time is normally within 60 days, and varies depending on how extensive the particular case is. The processing time is counted from when your application is complete.
When applying for transfer of credits, you will need to attach documents confirming your previous experience.
For previous academic studies:
When applying for transfer of credits from university studies abroad, you should also attach Official Transcripts of Records from the foreign academic institutions in question. Remember that:
We accept documents issued in English, German, French and the Nordic languages (Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish). If your documents are issued in languages other than these, you must make sure that they are translated by an authorized translation agency. Please note that you must be able to show original documents if we request it.
For previously completed professional/vocational experience:
An employer's certificate with the signature, date of signature and contact details for the employer (salary specification or employment contract is not sufficient). The employer's certificate must contain the relevant work that corresponds to the course, or part of the course, that you desire to transfer credits to, the extent of the work (% of full-time) and the duration of your employment.
Log in with your Umu-id or with your user account at Universityadmissions.se.
If you are unsure of what you can get a transfer of credits for or how to complete the application, contact the student counsellor at the department that offers the course. On the page for the course on the education webpage you will see which department that is.
You must enter course codes in your application
The course code can be found in the course syllabus. You can search for syllabi at Umeå University in the Course syllabus search.
Are you admitted to a course but can't log in?
After the second Notification of Selection Results, your data is transferred to Ladok. The transfer will take place during the first or second week of August and January, respectively. After that, you can log in and apply for transfer of credits.
What if I can not apply via the Internet?
If you can not submit your application via the Internet, you can use our printed application form instead. If you want do this, please inform us via the contact form and you will receive a printed form sent to your registered residential address. If you want the form to be sent to a different address, write that and provide the address in the message.
Once you have submitted your application with all necessary documents, the processing will begin at Student Services/Degree Evaluation Office. What happens after that are provided in the answers to below.
You will automatically receive a confirmation e-mail when your application has been registered.
Please note that the confirmation e-mail may end up in your spam folder. Add the domain (umu.se) as a trusted sender if this is possible in your e-mail program. This may reduce the risk that messages from Umeå University will end up in the spam folder.
If you have not received a confirmation, you will need to resubmit your application.
If you choose to take, and receive credits for completing, the course you applied to obtain transfer of credits for, you must withdraw your application before a decision has been made. You can do this by sending a message to the Student Services/Degree Evaluation Office via the contact form on the page.
The Student Services/Degree Evaluation Office will make a decision concerning transfer of credits as soon as possible and then send the decision to your e-mail address. Please note that the e-mail with the decision may end up in your spam folder. Add the domain (umu.se) as a trusted sender if this is possible in your e-mail program. This may reduce the risk that messages from Umeå University will end up in the spam folder.
The processing time for transferring credits is usually within 60 days. However, this may vary during the year depending on how many applications have been received and on how extensive your particular matter is. The processing time will not start until your application is complete.
If all or part of your application is rejected, you are entitled to appeal against the decision. Information about what you need to do if you want to appeal will be stated in the notification of the decision on your application. The appeal must be made in writing and submitted to the Registrar at Umeå University within three weeks of the date you received notification of the decision.
Learn more about how to appeal.
Those who pay a tuition fee, study within a study programme and have had your application for transfer of credits granted, may be entitled to a reimbursement of your tuition fee corresponding to the amount of credits transferred. More information on tuition fees and transfer of credits can be found in the Rules for tuition fees and scholarships, which is found in the Legal framework at Umeå University.
