How to transfer credits

We value your previous education and life experience. You shouldn't have to learn what you already know, that’s the main advantage of an open university! That's why we can recognize prior learning as credit. As a result, you may need to take fewer courses to earn your degree, saving you both time and money. You must be enrolled in an AU program before your transfer or advanced credit can be evaluated. However, you can start the process by requesting an evaluation when you apply.

Get credit for previous education

We have many options to help you get credit for your post-secondary experience, including individual course assessment, block transfer, post-diploma, or second degrees. First, check if your previous education is within the correct time limits to be considered for transfer credits. After that, our transfer credit assessment tool can show you how your previous courses might transfer even if you did not complete a diploma or degree.

Assess my transfer credits

If your courses aren’t listed, don't worry. You may still be eligible for online degree transfer credits on an individual basis.

An evaluation of your prior post-secondary courses or programs (also known as an application for credit transfer) will take place after you have applied to a program, submitted all the required documents and paid the one-time, non-refundable evaluation fee. If you are already an AU non-program (open studies) or visiting student and wish to become a program student and have an evaluation completed, log in to myAU and select "Change of Program." Then select your program and complete the process, indicating that you want your transfer credit evaluated. After you request the evaluation, you will need to pay a one-time, non-refundable evaluation fee and arrange to have official transcripts from each institution you formerly attended sent to Athabasca University. Arrange to have official transcripts of your previous education, from each institution you formerly attended, sent directly to AU, Enrolment Services, Office of the Registrar. Official transcripts will be accepted directly from the institution by email or mail.

The current credit evaluation processing time is 4 weeks after all documents are received. However, depending on individual circumstances and capacity, it can take up to 12 weeks to complete your evaluation.

Request transcripts from MyCreds.ca™

Get credit for work and life experience

At Athabasca University, we value the importance of lessons learned beyond the classroom.

Rather than investing time and money in studying what you already know, we offer Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) so you can focus on learning new skills.

A successful PLAR assessment will award you credit toward your AU undergraduate degree or certificate, saving you time and money.

To get the most benefit from your experience, an assigned mentor will guide you through developing your PLAR portfolio.

How does PLAR work?

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Challenge a course for credit

Everyone comes to Athabasca University with different life and educational experiences. This is why many of our courses have a challenge for credit option. Challenging a course for credit allows you to skip a course by proving that you already understand the course content.

What undergraduate courses can I challenge for credit?

Most undergraduate courses above the 100 (preparatory) level have a challenge for credit option. Before beginning the process, you must know the following:

• A non-refundable challenge fee applies.
• Approval from the responsible faculty member (or designate) is required to challenge a course.
• Successfully challenged courses do not count towards the residency requirement.
• You have a single opportunity to challenge a course; failure or incomplete challenges require course registration and passing for credit.

There are, however, some specific circumstances where you can’t challenge an undergraduate course for credit, even if that option is usually available. To find out if a particular course offers a challenge for credit, please see the information box at the top of the course page.

View challenge for credit exceptions

Have more questions about how to challenge a course? Find more information in our Undergraduate Calendar.

Submit your challenge for credit form

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Transfer AU credit to another institution

Many Canadian post-secondaries have transfer agreements with Athabasca University that grant credit for most of our courses. However, we can’t guarantee acceptance of your AU credit. The institution you're applying to or already attending decides whether to accept transfer courses, and you should contact them with any questions or concerns.

Learn more about transferring AU courses

Visiting students

If you’re enrolled in a program at another university and want to take an AU course for one of your program requirements, you'll need to enrol as a non-program student. Once you have become a student, you can begin registering for courses immediately.

We encourage you to get a letter of permission from your home institution to ensure your AU credits will transfer to your program. This is for your peace of mind only. You don’t need to send us this letter.

Once you've completed your AU course, you must also send an AU transcript to your school. You can do this online through myAU or by submitting a Transcript Request Form by fax or mail.

Apply as a visiting student