Advanced Standing (Undergraduate)

Students may qualify for waiving of certain requirements based on prior work.

Advanced Placement

Students who earn acceptable scores in the Advanced Placement Program of the CollegeBoard will receive credit at Trinity providing they receive a grade of 3 or better and that all appropriate materials and scores are submitted to Trinity.

CLEP

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) scores (subject examinations only) may be accepted for credit upon the recommendation of the department. A student may not earn CLEP credit for a course previously taken, as an audit or for credit, at Trinity International University.

Competency Exams in Old Testament and New Testament

Students who believe that their Old Testament and New Testament knowledge is equivalent to Trinity’s introductory courses may demonstrate their mastery by taking a competency exam.  Credit for the courses BI 105 and BI 115 may be achieved upon successful completion of the respective competency exam and reading of the respective biblical text. Successful completion is understood to be a score of B (3.0) or better on the exam. The Director of the TEDS Undergraduate Teaching Department administers the exams. The exams are made up of objective questions (multiple choice, true/false, matching) addressing the content of the texts and integrative essays addressing the application of the texts.  A fee for the exam is charged; see credit by examination procedure, below.

Credit for Military Basic Training

Any prospective student having successfully completed Military Basic Training may be eligible to receive credit. The student should submit a copy of the military DD-214 (Copy-4) to the Records Office and request an evaluation. Upon verification of completed Military Basic Training, credit will be posted as transfer work on the transcript.

International Baccalaureate Program

Trinity recognizes the International Baccalaureate Program and awards units from the Diploma or the Certificate for Higher Level Subjects in which the student has attained a score of 5 or better. Application of these units to specific courses is determined by the appropriate departments. Units are determined by the Trinity courses for which the subject exams are substituted.

Pre–High School Diploma, College-level Work

Trinity accepts, under normal transfer credit guidelines, units earned by a high school student provided that the units appear on the transcript of a regionally accredited college or university and that the student attended the regularly scheduled classes on the institution’s campus.

Transfer Credit Policy

Trinity is pleased to receive credits from other postsecondary institutions to fulfill degree requirements, subject to the following criteria and limitations:

  • The sending institution must be accredited by a body recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE), including—but not limited to—regional accrediting agencies, such as the Higher Learning Commission, national accrediting agencies such as the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) and the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), and specialized accrediting agencies such as the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). (For a complete listing of recognized accrediting bodies and accredited institutions, see the USDE Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs.) A maximum of 30 units from postsecondary institutions not accredited by a USDE-recognized agency, which satisfy all other criteria (see below), will be received after the student has completed at least 24 units of Trinity coursework at a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.
    • The student must have received a grade of “C” or higher (or its equivalent) from the sending institution in all coursework presented for transfer.
    • Trinity credits are semester units, so units from institutions that grant units according to other delivery systems (e.g., quarters, trimesters) will be adjusted accordingly and proportional units received.
    • Nontransferable courses that must be taken at Trinity include the general education course IDS 180 and the capstone course in the major.
    • The general education courses BI 105, BI 115, and BI 211 are transferable, but the units received to satisfy these requirements must be from sending institutions that are members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) or that are accredited by ABHE or TRACS.
    • A maximum of 82 units at the 100 or 200 level may be transferred into a BA degree program at Trinity.
    • At least 30 of the last 45 units (exclusive of units by examination) applied to a degree must be taken at Trinity or in a nonresident program of study authorized by the faculty.
    • Students who complete any of the following - an Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree, an Associate in Science (A.S.) degree, or an Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.) degree - at an accredited institution are guaranteed a minimum of 60 transfer units. The A.A., A.S., or the A.F.A. degree fulfills general education requirements in all categories, including the world language requirement, with the exception of:
      • The Illinois Articulation Initiative’s general education core, completed at an accredited Illinois institution, fulfills the general education requirements in all categories with the exception of the Thinking and Living Biblically in the World category and the Foundations of Adult Learning course. Students who complete the IAI general education core must fulfill the Thinking and Living Biblically in the World course requirements in accordance with established policies.
    • Traditional and online undergraduate students who transfer to Trinity as juniors (minimum 58 units earned) must take IDS 180 and two of the three Bible classes in the category Thinking and Living Biblically in the World (BI 105, BI 115, and BI 211).
    • Undergraduate online students may have a maximum of 33 percent of the total units for any major accepted as transfer units. Because of the integrated nature of the courses in each major and the elements that are built across the curriculum, students must take a majority of the courses that constitute the major from Trinity. 
  • To facilitate efficient transfer processes, Trinity maintains a database of transfer articulation agreements involving individual courses, as well as blocks of courses taken at other institutions, including (but not limited to) area community colleges and online course offerings. The Records Office can also facilitate pre-approval of transfer coursework according to university policies.
  • Students who wish to appeal an evaluation of units presented for transfer may do so in writing to the Dean of the College and Graduate School or designee.
  • Please note that the transferability of units taken at Trinity to other colleges and universities is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student's responsibility to confirm whether another college of the student's choice will accept units earned at Trinity. 
  • Transfer units may not apply towards the completion of any certificate program.

VA Student Credit for Previous Education and Training

Veteran students must report all previous education and training. Trinity International University will evaluate such education and training, and if appropriate will award transfer credit.  VA Benefits exception: For VA benefit awards, it is not required that a student’s last semester of degree completion only include TIU courses. However, the awarding of credits toward the degree is subject to the normal request, review, transfer and acceptance policy of TIU.