All NSCAD campuses closed at noon, February 24, 2024 due to freezing rain. All campuses will reopen at 9 a.m. on February 25.

Transfer

NSCAD welcomes students who want to change their major, supplement their studies with an art focus or need to build a portfolio for another course of study. We are here to help you during the process to make sure the transfer is easy and seamless.

Foundation Transfer Credits

Applicants who have completed Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate coursework, or have completed previous post-secondary studies are eligible for transfer credits. Applicants must submit all records of these studies in the form of an official transcript. Applicants currently completing course work should submit transcripts covering all periods of study up to the last completed period. If an applicant is enrolled in course work, but no other final results are available, they may submit interim transcripts that include either mid-term results or a listing of the courses in which they are enrolled.

Applicants who have been dismissed from NSCAD or another post-secondary institution for academic reasons will not be eligible for admission to NSCAD for a minimum period of 12 months from the date of their academic dismissal.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ADMISSIONS

Successful applicants to the university who have achieved a final grade of 4 or better in selected Advanced Placement courses may receive university credits as indicated below:

TESTUNDERGRADUATEGRADUATE
Art HistoryFNDN 1200 and AHIS 2000 elective6
Art (Studio) DrawingFNDN 1100
FNDN 1600
6
Art (Studio) GeneralFNDN 1010
FNDN 1400 selection
6
English Language and CompositionFNDN 1800; LAS 1000 level credits; and Writing Requirement6
English Literature and CompositionFNDN 1800; LAS 1000 level credits; and Writing Requirement6
Spanish LanguageLAS 1000 level credits6

Courses not listed here may be given additional unassigned credit to a maximum of 15 credits. These unassigned credits may be classified as Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) or Open credits. The maximum transfer credits awarded to an applicant for Advanced Placement is 30 credits. If a student is eligible for transfer credit for an Advanced Placement course, they may decline the credit and complete the equivalent NSCAD course.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE ADMISSIONS

Successful applicants to the university who have achieved a final grade of 5 or better may receive university credits as indicated below:

TESTUNDERGRADUATEGRADUATE
Visual Arts higher levelFNDN 10006
Language (English) A1 higher levelFNDN 1800; credits of LAS 1000 level; and English Requirement FNDN 16006
Spanish A or B higher levelLAS 1000 level credits
FNDN 1400 selection
6

Courses not listed here may be given additional unassigned (general LAS or Open electives) credit to a maximum of 15 credits.

The maximum transfer credit awarded to an IB Diploma recipient is 24 credits. If a student is eligible for transfer credit for an International Baccalaureate course, they may decline the credit and complete the equivalent NSCAD course.

Advanced Standing Transfer Credits

Advanced standing may be granted to a student who is able to display by portfolio review and/or transcript that they have successfully completed work comparable to the Foundation Year and can transfer at least one full year of art or design study from a previous university-level program or from certain college-level programs determined to be transferable to the university’s degree programs. Course and program credit is based on demonstration of equivalent academic achievement, knowledge and skills. The university reserves the right to limit entry of transfer students based on the availability of resources. Transfer of credits includes specific equivalence to a given course or category; and/or unassigned (open) credit.

NSCAD University accepts transfer credits at par, according to general transfer credit policies, from those public or private universities and colleges that are either members of the Universities Canada, or are chartered or accredited as post-secondary degree-granting bodies by appropriate agencies in other countries. The university does not accept transfer credits from unaccredited colleges and universities.

The university will accept as transfer credits those credits earned in Canadian community college programs that are offered as diploma programs at levels comparable to the university’s programs. Community college programs in all regions of Canada will be evaluated for credit transfer by the same standards.

Students who present non-standard transcripts to the university must take individual responsibility to provide sufficient information to allow their transfer credits to be evaluated by the university and may be required to contact a transcript evaluation service to translate and evaluate such transcripts.

Students may transfer 30 semester credits per year, or 15 credits per semester, to the maximum allowable non-resident credits. No more than 75 credits will be transferred toward degree programs at the university.

A minimum grade of 60% or C in a course will be required to transfer credit from a university or community college course.

Advanced Standing and Transfer from Other Institutions

Applicants expecting to transfer over two years of credit (approximately 60 semester credits) cannot necessarily expect to begin their visual arts or visual culture studies at advanced levels in every case. Determination of the level of entry will be made in consideration of both previous study and slide presentation. It is not the university’s intention to make students repeat work they have already completed, but placement in courses must comply with degree requirements, evidence of the student’s preparedness for advanced study and the pedagogical standards practiced at the university. If a student has questions about their placement in a course, the student should contact the Registrar immediately. Advanced standing applicants will be admitted to “general admissions” entry programs: they may apply for open entry and restricted entry Major programs after completing one semester at the university.

Students who are entering the Foundation Year, but have completed previous university study in fields other than visual arts may transfer some of their previous course work toward the university’s degree programs.

In all cases, transfer evaluation is governed by the degree requirements in effect at the university, and some programs may be eligible for fewer transfer credits based on the program requirement. Along with other Canadian universities, NSCAD University has agreed to the full transfer of credits earned in the first two years of a university-level program of study in Canada, subject to the university’s degree requirements.

Applicants are required to provide official records of all prior university or college-level study. Art history credits that have been completed more than 20 years previously will be counted as general liberal arts, but will not be counted toward the art history requirements of the university’s degree programs.

Consideration of entry transfer credits will not normally be made beyond one year from the date of the student’s entry to the university.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

NSCAD University is committed to the concept of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition as applied to undergraduate programs at the university. An individual accepted to the undergraduate programs of the university may seek assessment for credit of knowledge obtained through work and non-formal learning that is proven to be equivalent to a course or courses offered by the university. Students interested in seeking Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition should consult the Director of Admissions and Enrollment Services or the Registrar immediately after they have been admitted to the university and before they begin classes.