Transferring Credits

Applicants wishing to transfer to any of NUNM’s programs must meet the following requirements:

1. An applicant who applies for transfer credit must meet the current admission requirements at NUNM on the date the student applies for admission, including the verification of good academic standing. All transfer students must meet the prerequisites as stated in the catalog.
2. Credits being considered for transfer to the graduate or first professional programs must be graduate level and completed at a U.S. Department of Education recognized accredited institution and/or a U.S. Department of Education approved programmatic accreditor. Transfer credit will only be approved for courses from a professional degree program or a graduate program closely related to the health sciences.
3. Only credits recorded on an official transcript of the issuing institution with an equivalent grade of 2.0 or better on a 4.0 scale will be considered for transfer. If an application is received before coursework at another institution has been completed, transfer credit will be considered to be conditional until satisfactory completion of the outstanding coursework.
4. Credits accepted for transfer must be determined by NUNM to be substantially equivalent to the courses offered by NUNM. This determination is to be made by the program dean or designee. All requests for transfer credit are considered on a course-by-course basis, and a catalog or course description will be required. Challenge examinations may be required to determine whether coursework is comparable.
5. Credits accepted for the transfer of coursework must have been awarded within seven years of the date of admission to NUNM, except that NUNM may, at its discretion, accept older credits if the entering student holds a graduate degree in an academic discipline closely related to the health sciences and has been working in the field.
6. The ND, MAcCHM, MAc, DAcCHM (formerly known as MSOM and DSOM) degree programs could take a minimum of three years education at NUNM, even with maximum transfer credit awarded, due to differences between programs.
7. NUNM does not give transfer credit for life experience.
8. Applications for transfer credit must be accompanied by a letter from the applicant’s previous program dean stating that the applicant is in good academic and behavioral standing at the time of application.
9. Credits will be evaluated preliminarily for transfer before an offer of admission is made. The applicant will receive a copy of the formal transfer credit evaluation with a list of courses that must be taken at NUNM, if they are admitted. Students will sign a letter agreeing to the final list of approved transfer credits.
10. Any veteran receiving GI Bill® benefits while attending NUNM is required to obtain transcripts from all previously attended schools and submit them to the VA School Official (located in the Registrar’s Office)for review of prior credit.

Second professional degree candidates, defined as a health care practitioner with a doctoral or master’s level degree, may apply for fall or winter admission to the MAcCHM, MAc, DAcCHM (formerly known as MSOM and DSOM) programs. Depending upon prior completed coursework, a full-time schedule may not be available for one of these terms of entry. A proposed class schedule for the intended term of entry and a degree completion plan can only be created after a candidate’s prior coursework has been evaluated. Please note that there is a non-refundable transcript evaluation fee.

Please note that there is a $75 nonrefundable transcript evaluation fee.

The following are transfer policies specific to each NUNM college and school beyond those in the general transfer policy section above:

Transfer Credit Specific to the College of Naturopathic Medicine

• Transfer credit will be considered for applicants to the ND program who are eligible to sit for a first professional medical licensing examination in the United States.
• Transfer credit will be allowed for first-year and some second-year ND courses. Credit for clinical experiences or clinical education at another school is not transferable.
• NUNM has a requirement that all ND students complete 16 elective credits, in addition to the required core curriculum, in order to encourage students to take additional coursework in areas of special interest and round out their education at NUNM. Transfer students may be allowed transfer credit for some of their non-core coursework if completed in a doctoral program at a US Department of Education accredited institution. This determination will be made by the ND program dean or designee.
• Applicants seeking advanced-standing status into the ND program must hold a first professional medical degree. Accepted are medical (MD), osteopathic (DO), and chiropractic (DC) doctors who have graduated from a US Department of Education recognized accredited institution.  Satisfaction of this requirement meets the NUNM prerequisite condition for a bachelor’s level degree.

Credit Specific to the College of Classical Chinese Medicine

Due to the classical orientation of the MAcCHM, MAc,DAcCHM (formerly known as MSOM and DSOM) programs, only a limited number of credits from programs with a traditional orientation are transferable. Acupuncture transfer students may receive transfer credit for up to 50% of the total program credit requirements. Of that 50%, no more than 25% of the program clinical training requirements may be accepted as transfer credit.

Applicants with completed coursework in U.S. institutions:

Only acupuncture coursework completed at a school approved by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) will be accepted for transfer.

Applicants with completed coursework in international institutions:

Transfer credit will be considered for applicants to the CCM degree programs who are deemed eligible to sit for NCCAOM licensing examinations. They must first submit their educational records to either the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) or World Education Services (WES) for a course-by-course educational transcript evaluation.

Applicants with completed coursework in China:

All applicants who choose to apply to AACRAO must first have their credentials verified via the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center (CDGDC) and submitted directly to AACRAO. To apply with CDGDC, go to: chinadegrees.cn./en/.

Transfer Credit Specific to the School of Research & Graduate Studies

Master’s-level programs within the School of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies (SUGS) at NUNM may accept up to one third of the total credits required for graduation from the graduate program as transfer credits. Individual programs may have stricter limitations, so applicants should contact the Program Chair and course catalog for more specific limitations.

In general, in order to qualify as transfer credits, the following requirements must be met:

• Courses being transferred are obtained at a US Department of Education recognized accredited institution.
• Courses being transferred are at the graduate level.
• They are determined by the Program Chair to have met course competencies of similar courses required for graduation from NUNM’s program.
• They must have been awarded a grade of B- or higher. A pass (P) grade or similar grading methods are not acceptable unless there is supporting documentation from the institution showing a pass (P) grade equals a B- or higher.
• They must be no older than seven (7) years old at the time of admission into the program. (Exceptions may be granted in cases where the individual has been working in the field related to the course content since the time they took the course to be transferred. The Program Chair would make this determination.)
• Students must complete an NUNM Transfer of Credit Agreement upon admission to the university. Transfer credits will not be considered after matriculation.
• Contact the Office of Admissions for information on transfer courses from international institutions as these require additional documentation.

Specific transfer credits may be used to satisfy requirements for specific courses in multiple programs. In other words, if a person were to enroll in the Master of Science in Integrative Medicine Research program and the Master of Science in Global Health program, a statistical analysis course might be transferred in that would meet the requirement of Biostats in both programs. The basic principle is that we do not wish to force students to retake course material they have already mastered.

Transfer Credit Specific to Undergraduate Studies

Undergraduate applicants to the School of Undergraduate and Graduate
Studies may transfer credit for courses that are substantially similar to courses offered as part of NUNM’s undergraduate programs. Students are required to complete a minimum of 50 credits in the Bachelor of Science in Integrative Health Sciences program and 51 credits in the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition program. All transfer credits must be completed at a US Department of Education recognized accredited institution, and are evaluated for relevance and subject to approval by the program chair or dean.

Transfers from NUNM to Other Institutions