Submitting Transcripts to PLU

Official transcripts should be ordered by the student from each institution attended, no matter how long ago or how briefly.

Visit the website of the previous institution(s) for transcript ordering instructions (usually found on the registrar or records page). See the list of PLU’s frequent prior institutions with links to their transcript ordering pages at the end of this page.

• Electronic (recommended): Request your transcript through an approved third-party vendor, such as Parchment or National Student Clearinghouse.
  • Admission applicants send transcripts to admission@plu.edu.
  • Current students send transcripts to regi@plu.edu.

• Mail: PLU can accept a physical copy delivered in an enveloped sealed by the college or university.
  • Admission applicants, have them mailed to:
    PLU Office of Admission
    12180 Park Avenue S.
    Tacoma, WA 98447

• • Current students, have them mailed to:
    PLU  Office of the Registrar
    12180 Park Avenue S.
    Tacoma, WA 98447

• In-person delivery: Transcripts delivered by hand must be sealed in the original envelope and include the university seal and signature of the registrar of the awarding institution.
  • Office of Admission, Hauge Administration Building, Room 109
  • Office of the Registrar, Hauge Administration Building, Room 130

Opened, faxed, or emailed copies of official transcripts will not be considered official.

Any student that attempts college-level credit after earning their high school credential (diploma or GED) is considered a transfer student. This includes students who enlisted in the military, as basic training earns college credit.

Students that completed college-level credit while in high school are not considered transfer students. However, official transcripts must be submitted to PLU for those credits. These students are admitted to PLU as First Year students with Advanced Standing.

Yes, an official transcript for any college credit awarded by a college or university must be submitted directly from each awarding institution. College credit cannot be awarded from a high school transcript.

Score reports for credit-by-exam options (i.e. AP or IB) should be submitted for possible college credit when qualifying scores have been earned. Visit our Other Academic Experiences page for more information.

Official transcripts are certified copies from each college, university or technical school attended and are used to verify the courses completed, grades earned, and certificates or degrees awarded. Pacific Lutheran University requires an official transcripts from each institution you attended.

PLU will only award transfer credit from an official college transcript.

All courses already evaluated by PLU for transfer are searchable on the PLU Equivalency Guide. If your course is not listed, it does not mean the course is not transferrable; just that PLU has not received the course on an official transcript to date.

No, your transfer GPA does not impact your PLU GPA.

A student may transfer a maximum of 96 semester hours. This total includes all forms of transfer credit: AP, IB, CLEP, Cambridge A-Level Exams, military credit, and credit completed at any regionally-accredited prior institution. Of these 96 hours, the maximum transferable credit from a two-year institution is 64 semester hours.

Academic Departments may restrict the number of transfer credits allowed to satisfy major/minor requirements. More information can be found on the respective department page in the Undergraduate Courses and Curricula section of the University Catalog.

Each credit from a quarter-hour college or university is equal to two-thirds of a semester credit, or 0.67 semester hours. (Example: a five-quarter-hour course transfers as 3.33 semester hours).

Most PLU courses are 4 credits. All 4-credit General Education requirements can be satisfied with 2.67 credits, and 1-credit General Education requirements can be satisfied with 0.67 credits. It is at the discretion of academic departments if major/minor requirements can be met this way, or if additional credits must be completed to satisfy the requirements.

Admitted students who complete the Washington Direct Transfer Associate degree (DTA), the Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree (AAOT), or a California Associate in Art for Transfer degree (AA-T) before matriculation at PLU will be granted junior standing and will have satisfied all General Education Program elements except for three requirements: The Academic Study of Religion (four semester hours), Global Engagement (four semester hours), and the Culminating Experience (one to four semester hours).

Junior standing is also automatically granted for students who complete the Associate of Science-Transfer (AS-T) from an accredited Washington state community college or an accredited California community college before matriculation at PLU. Courses are evaluated and awarded individually and do not guarantee all but three General Education Program elements are met.

College-level courses completed at an institution with regional accreditation will transfer, provided the course is similar in level, scope and content to courses offered at PLU and a grade of 2.5/C- or higher is earned.

PLU does not accept transfer credit from institutions with only National accreditation.

PLU does accept International college-level credits. For possible credit, a foreign credential evaluation must be completed by one of the organizations accredited by AICE or NACES. An official report should be sent directly to PLU in lieu of an official transcript from the International institution(s).

The following types of coursework are not transferable to PLU:

1. Vocational, technical or training courses.
2. Professional courses (e.g. law, medicine, dentistry, nursing)
3. Credit that is not academic in nature, such as apprenticeships, internships, or workforce development/training.
4. Remedial or pre-college coursework (e.g. pre-algebra).
5. Courses completed with a grade lower than 1.5/C-. (These courses are calculated into your transfer GPA used for Admission purposes.)
6. Courses from institutions or organizations that do not carry Regional Accreditation.

Courses that are considered non-transferable are not calculated into a student’s transfer credit count or transfer GPA.

PLU awards transfer credit for any qualifying coursework completed at any time. However, some majors may require coursework to have been completed within a certain time frame to meet major or minor requirements (e.g. BIOL prerequisites for the Nursing program must be completed no more than 6 years prior).

Transcripts received as part of an admission application are evaluated once the application is complete. An official evaluation is completed by the Office of the Registrar evaluation team to calculate total transferable semester credits and cumulative transfer GPA, which is then used by the Office of Admission to make an admission decision.

Transcripts submitted by a current PLU student are evaluated within 5 business days of PLU receiving the transcript. The student is notified via PLU email the outcome of that evaluation and if any changes have been made to the student’s transfer record.

Credit evaluations are performed by the evaluator staff of the Registrar’s Office by reviewing catalog course descriptions from the awarding institution and comparing them to the PLU curriculum. Transfer courses that closely match the descriptions of courses taught at PLU are reviewed by a faculty chair of the respective academic department.

If you believe one of your transfer courses should apply differently to your PLU academic record and you have additional information to provide (e.g. a course syllabus) that may change the outcome of your course evaluation, submit a Transfer Credit Appeal.

Awarded transfer credit is listed on your CAPP report and at the beginning of your PLU transcripts (official and unofficial). Your transfer grade will include a ‘T’ to indicate it is a transfer course (i.e. TA).

Coursework that is determined to be a direct equivalent to a PLU course will appear on your record as the PLU course number, but with a ‘T’ grade. Coursework that is determined to be transferable, but does not have a PLU equivalent, is awarded as elective credit that appears as a TR number (100TR / 200TR / 300TR / 400TR) and will apply toward the total number of credits required for graduation. TR courses may meet general education and major or minor requirements when applicable.

Yes, current PLU students may complete coursework at another institution while enrolled at PLU. Once your course(s) are graded, send your official transcript to the PLU Office of the Registrar (regi@plu.edu). Please note: transfer degrees (DTA, AAOT, or AA-T) earned after enrolling at PLU are not eligible for the general education package that automatically satisfies all but 3 gen ed requirements.

Yes, you may repeat a course at another institution to replace your PLU attempt. Please note, your transfer GPA will not count toward your PLU GPA, but your PLU grade will be excluded from your cumulative PLU GPA. Repeating the course also replaces any earned credit from your PLU attempt; you will not earn additional credit for the repeat.