Policies:
- Transfer credits with Core designations will satisfy General Education requirements.
- Students cannot use the same course to fulfill a General Education and a major, minor or certificate requirement.
- Transfer courses will be applied to program requirements first and then to GenEd.
- All Temple students are required to take two Writing Intensive courses at Temple University in addition to completing GenEd. Writing Intensive courses in transfer cannot be used to fulfill this school/college requirement.
- Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and Credit for Relevant Academic Life Experience (CRALE) credits, and Military credits will satisfy general education requirements according to current practice, i.e. using RCI indicators/core equivalents.
- Students will be able to place out of Analytic Reading and Writing through Placement Testing at Temple (if needed).
- The equivalency (waiver) policy will apply to transfer students in the same way it does for native students.
Requirements for students with fewer than 45 credits:
Transfer students admitted to Temple with fewer than 45 transfer credits complete the full GenEd Curriculum.
All of the requirements in this version of the GenEd may be met either with equivalent transfer courses as described in the table below or with GenEd courses taken at Temple. Please note the above policies regarding completing GenEd requirements with transfer credits.
General Education Requirements for Students with fewer than 45 transfer credits
General Education Area | Credits | Transfer Policy (Core RCIs)* | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
Analytical Reading and Writing (GW) | 4 | Any approved composition course (CO or GW) | 3 |
Intellectual Heritage I (GY) | 3 | Any Intellectual Heritage I equivalent (IA or GY) or an approved Intellectual Heritage combination | 3 (6) |
Intellectual Heritage II (GZ) | 3 | Any Intellectual Heritage II equivalent (IB or GZ) or an approved Intellectual Heritage combination | 3 |
U.S. Society (GU) | 3 | Any American Culture Core (AC) or equivalent | 3 |
Human Behavior (GB) | 3 | Any Individual & Society Core (IN) or equivalent | 3 |
Arts (GA) | 3 or 4 | Any Arts Core (AR) or equivalent | 3 |
Race and Diversity (GD) | 3 | Any Studies in Race Core (RS) or equivalent | 3 |
World Society (GG) | 3 | Any International Studies Core (IS) or equivalent | 3 |
Quantitative Literacy (GQ) | 4 | Any Quantitative Reasoning Core (QA, QB) or any course at the Math 1011 (College Math) level or higher | 3 |
Science and Technology (GS) | 3 | Any 3 credit Science course (SA or SB)** | 3 |
Science and Technology (GS) | 3 | Any 3 credit Science course (SA or SB)** | 3 |
Total Credits | 35-36 | Total Credits | 33-36 |
*This policy relates only to transfer credit with Core Required Course Indicator (Core RCI) designations. To complete GenEd requirements with courses taken at Temple students should select from the approved GenEd courses.
**CIS 1055 is excluded for courses transferred in prior to the Fall 2021 semester.
Requirements for students with 45 or more credits:
Transfer students admitted to Temple with 45 or more transfer credits (and without an Associate's degree approved for GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd or Core-to-Core Transfer) complete the 45+ Transfer Core.
All of the requirements in this version of the GenEd may be met either with equivalent transfer courses or with GenEd courses taken at Temple. Please note the above policies regarding completing GenEd requirements with transfer credits.
General Education Requirements for Students with 45 or more transfer credits
General Education Area | Credits | Transfer Policy* | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
Analytical Reading and Writing (GW) | 4 | Any approved composition course (CO or GW) | 3 |
Intellectual Heritage I & II (GY or GZ) | 3 | Any Intellectual Heritage equivalent (IA, IB, GY or GZ) or an approved Intellectual Heritage combination. | 3 (6) |
One course each in two of these three areas: U.S. Society (GU), Human Behavior (GB) or Arts (GA) | 6 – 7 | One course each in two of these three areas: | 6 |
Race and Diversity (GD) | 3 | Any Studies in Race Core (RS) or equivalent | 3 |
World Society (GG) | 3 | Any International Studies Core (IS) or equivalent | 3 |
Quantitative Literacy (GQ) | 4 | Any Quantitative Reasoning Core (QA, QB) or any course at the Math 1011 level or higher | 3 |
Science and Technology (GS) | 3 | Any 3 credit Science course (SA or SB)** | 3 |
Total Credits | 26-27 | Total Credits | 24(27) |
*This policy relates only to transfer credit with Core Required Course Indicator (Core RCI) designations. To complete GenEd requirements with courses taken at Temple students should select from the approved GenEd courses.
**CIS 1055 is excluded for courses transferred in prior to the Fall 2021 semester.
Requirements for International Baccalaureate General Education Program (Effective Date: Fall 2017):
Students who have earned the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and meet minimum eligibility requirements complete the International Baccalaureate General Education Program (IB GenEd Program).
Students accepted into the program will still complete the required number of credits needed for their selected baccalaureate degree – usually between 120-124 credits and will need to complete up to 19 credits of the full GenEd Program (35-36 credits).
Eligibility for IB GenEd Program:
To be eligible for the IB GenEd program, students must be admitted to the University, have earned the IB Diploma with a minimum score of 5 (five) on each exam, and completed at least 3 subjects at the HL level. Students must send an official copy of their IB Diploma and Scores to Temple Admissions when available.
Students who completed the IB Diploma, but do not meet the eligibility requirements for the IB GenEd program, will complete the full GenEd Program. However, individual exams may fulfill requirements at Temple. For a complete list of individual IB exams, qualifying scores, and how the exams would be used to fulfill GenEd, major, or minor requirements, please click here.
IB GenEd Program:
Students accepted to the IB GenEd program will need to complete up to 19 credits of the full GenEd Program (35-36 credits):
- Required Areas Analytical Reading & Writing, Intellectual Heritage I and Intellectual Heritage II, U.S. Society, Race & Diversity, and one Science & Technology requirement (five categories/six courses; 19 credits) will be need to be completed through coursework at Temple and/or through credit for individual IB exams – if applicable.
For example, if a qualifying student earned exam scores of five (5) on American History, Theater Arts, and Biology HL and these course equivalents were not required by the student’s major or minor at Temple, the student’s U.S. Society, Arts, and Science & Technology requirements for the IB GenEd Program would be fulfilled. As a result, this student would only take three courses at Temple to complete the remaining requirements for the IB GenEd Program: Intellectual Heritage I, Intellectural Heritage II and a Race & Diversity course, i.e. nine credits.
Please see the table below for additional equivalencies:
Remaining General Education Requirements for IB GenEd Students
General Education Area | Credits | IB exams which may fulfill remaining GenEd requirements * |
|---|---|---|
ENG 802: Analytical Reading & Writing (GW) | 4 | No IB Equivalent |
Intellectual Heritage I (GY) | 3 | No IB Equivalent |
Intellectual Heritage II (GZ) | 3 | No IB Equivalent |
U.S. Society (GU) | 3 | AMERICAN HISTORY |
Race and Diversity (GD) | 3 | No IB Equivalent |
Science and Technology (GS) | 3 | BIOLOGY (HL), BIOLOGY (SL), CHEMISTRY (HL), CHEMISTRY (SL), PHYSICS (HL), PHYSICS (SL) |
Total Credits | 19 |
* IB equivalencies will be applied to major or minor requirements first and then to GenEd; they cannot be double counted.
• Waived Areas Human Behavior (GB), Arts (GA), World Society (GG), Quantitative Literacy (GQ), and one Science and Technology (GS) requirement will be waived, since the learning experiences acquired during the IB program fulfill many of the required outcomes for these areas. In addition to the waiver, credit for exams in these areas will be added to the student’s academic history.
Requirements for GenEd-to-GenEd and Core-to-Core Transfers:
Students entering Temple with an approved GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd, or Core-to-Core degree have met all of the General Education requirements. GenEd-to-GenEd and Core-to-Core students are identified upon admission to or enrollment in the University and their fulfillment of the General Education by GenEd-to-GenEd or Core-to-Core Transfer is noted on pertinent student records.
The below institutions have GenEd-to-GenEd Core-to-GenEd, and/or Core-to-Core agreements with Temple University. Not all Associate degrees from these institutions have been approved for GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd, and/or Core-to-Core. To review the agreements click here. You can also consult with your academic advisor to determine if you are a GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd, or Core-to-Core student.
- Bucks County Community College
- Rowan College at Burlington County
- Camden County College
- Community College of Philadelphia
- Cumberland County College
- Delaware County Community College
- Rowan College at Gloucester County
- Harrisburg Area Community College
- Lackawanna College
- Lehigh Carbon Community College
- Luzerne County Community College
- Manor College
- Mercer County Community College
- Montgomery County Community College
- Northampton Community College
- Ocean County College
- Reading Area Community College
- Valencia College
Transfer students should be aware that GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd, and Core-to-Core transfer relates only to University General Education requirements. All requirements of Temple’s schools and colleges and major programs of study remain in force.
Make sure that your final transcript, indicating receipt of the Associate degree, is available to your Temple advisor, so your advisor can make sure that GenEd-to-GenEd, Core-to-GenEd or Core-to-Core status is noted on your student record. Your official transcript must note the receipt of your degree for an advisor to update the system.