Transfer guidelines

If you are interested in transferring academic credit, we strongly advise you consult with an academic advisor.

New students

  • If you are a new transfer student who applied to Binghamton as an accounting or business administration major, you will automatically be considered for admission to the major by the School of Management.
  • If you are a current Binghamton University student in a non-management major and wish to add or change your major to accounting or business administration, you must follow the guidelines for Intra-University transfer into the School of Management. 

Transfer credits

  • Advanced Placement (AP) courses I took in high school
  • College-level courses I took in high school
  • Courses I took at a community college
  • Courses from college or university I took before attending Binghamton
  • Courses from another college or university I took while attending Binghamton

AP courses

Many incoming students have taken Advanced Placement courses during high school. These courses transfer to Binghamton University upon submission of official scores by the high school or Educational Testing Services to the Binghamton University Admissions Office, provided a score of 3 or higher was received.

You may transfer official AP exam scores from your high school of the Educational Testing Services if you received at least a 3. Binghamton University typically accepts Calculus, English, foreign language courses, sciences, history and economics. Computer science coursework transfers as a free elective only.

AP credit earned may not be refused and the equivalent course at Binghamton University may not be repeated for credit. If you earned credit from AP you cannot repeat the equivalent course at Binghamton and earn credit.

Courses taken at a college or university prior to enrolling at Binghamton

These guidelines apply if you are transferring to Binghamton from another college or university, or if you took college course in high school.

All transfer credit must be on a transcript from a regionally accredited institution. You must have received a grade of C or higher. Courses considered remedial or below college level will not be transferred. While there is no limit to how many credits can be transferred into SOM,  students are required to have at least 40 credits in residence at Binghamton University to graduate and at least half of all business credits must be taken at Binghamton. 

The School of Management follows guidelines on transfer credit established by our accrediting body, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). If the School offers a course at the upper level (300 or higher) that you’ve taken at a lower division (100 or 200) at another institution, AACSB regulations require validation of the transfer course. At the School of Management, the validation procedure is a written examination. If you pass the validation exam given by Binghamton, then you have the course waived but the course will not be given upper level numbering.  Generally, if you earned credit for the following courses at another institution, you will not be required to pass a validation exam:

  • Computer Tools for Business or Introduction to Computer Application
  • Introductory Statistics or Business Statistics
  • Financial Accounting
  • Managerial Accounting
  • Legal Environment of Business I and II (Business Law I and II )
  • All Liberal Arts and General Education coursework including Calculus and Economics

In addition, while the following courses are not offered at Binghamton, they may be considered for lower-level management electives:

  • Principles of Management
  • Introduction to Business
  • Business Communications

Upper-level courses taken at another institution are only considered for transfer if The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited the credit-granting school. Therefore the following courses, if taken at a non-AACSB school or taken prior to the junior year do not transfer without passing a validation exam:

If you took any of the following upper-level courses at another AACSB institution, they will be considered for transfer credit. If you took any of the following upper-level courses at a non-AACSB institution prior you reach junior standing, the course(s) will not be waived without passing a validation exam:

  • Principles of Marketing
  • Principles of Finance
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Introduction to International Business
  • Operations Management
  • Management Information Systems
  • Cost Accounting
  • Intermediate Accounting I and II

International and Study Abroad Students

When submitting transcripts from colleges or universities outside of the United States, please note that we may require an official copy of the transcript, translated into English if necessary, and an official course-by-course evaluation from WES or ECE. These evaluation reports should be sent directly to the Binghamton University Office of Admissions.

Please note that an evaluation from WES or ECE is not necessary in the following situations:

    • coursework taken through a Binghamton University or SUNY study abroad program.
    • coursework that is transcripted by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States.
    • coursework transcripted by an international college or university with which Binghamton University has an articulation agreement and/or partnership with.
    • coursework taught by a Binghamton University faculty member and transcripted by an accredited international college or university

Courses taken at other colleges/universities while enrolled at Binghamton

While at Binghamton, it is common for SOM students to take courses at other colleges to transfer to their program here, especially during summer and winter breaks.

  • You must fill out Petition to take Courses at Another Institution, which is available under the Documents and Forms section of the website. Once you have completed the form, submit it to the Undergraduate Advising Office to get approval from an academic advisor.
  • In general, you may transfer non-SOM courses and any lower level SOM courses from any college including community colleges. Advanced SOM courses (i.e. those numbered above 300) must be taken at other AACSB accredited business schools. See a listing of these schools.
  • You can go to the Undergraduate Admissions transfer information webpage and select a college to view course transfer equivalencies, planning guides and transfer agreements.
  • A good source for online courses is the Open SUNY website which lists online courses available SUNY wide. The site shows the online courses offered each semester by the various SUNY schools. You can search by term, school or courses. If you find a course you wish to take, get approval from the advisor.