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Credit transfer in first and second-cycle education

On this page you will find information and guidance about how to manage credit-transfer cases for first and second-cycle studies. Here you will also find Lund University’s guidelines for credit transfer and useful links for assessment of qualifications.

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Credit transfer – for whom what, and why?

A student at Lund University, that is someone enrolled and conducting their studies at the higher education institution, can apply for a credit transfer. This also includes entering exchange students.

The purpose of a credit transfer is to ensure that a student does not have to study and be examined on knowledge they already possess. This might apply to formal qualifications (courses within higher education) as well as non-formal and informal qualifications (prior learning). Each application for credit transfer must be assessed and decided upon according to that individual case.

It is important to be generous in your assessment. An application for credit transfer is to be approved if no significant differences exist between the qualifications being cited and the object of the credit transfer application.

Credit transfer is regulated by the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 6. Sections 6-8.

Read the Higher Education Ordinance on the Swedish Parliament’s website (in Swedish).

The local rules applicable to credit transfer are dealt with by Lund University.

Read the local regulations in the guidelines for credit transfer in and first and second education at Lund University (PDF 55 kB, new tab) (in Swedish).

Processing of credit transfer applications

Each faculty provides information about where an application form for credit transfer is to be found, who the student should contact in credit transfer cases and who makes decisions about them.

Note that the University is obliged to process applications for credit transfer. The case is to be dealt with without delay and the processing time should not normally exceed two months when an application is complete.

The process for credit transfer of formal qualifications is set out below.

  • The student applies for credit transfer at the department for the subject. The application form for credit transfer is provided by the department where applicable.
  • The application is date-stamped and registered.
  • Is the application complete? Request any necessary supplementary information.
  • Decision-makers consider the application and make a decision (by delegation).
  • The student is informed of the decision in writing.
  • The decision is registered by the department.
  • Approval and partial approval are entered in Ladok.
  • The case is completed in the document registration system and archived.
  • If an appeal is lodged – see the instructions for appealing credit transfer decisions.

Please note that this process does not apply to optional courses whose credits are transferred in conjunction with the issuance of degree certificates, nor for credit transfer of prior learning. 

More information about credit transfer processes on Lund University’s website.

Credit transfer in Ladok

An approved credit transfer is to be documented in Ladok. The student’s prior knowledge and skills are named as the basis. A single basis can count towards different outcomes: a specific course at LU, parts of a specific course at LU or another specification (e.g. optional courses).

Instructions for how credit transfer is to be documented in Ladok can be found in the manual for credit transfer in LU Box (login required). It is important that anything documented in Ladok is correct, since it may later form part of the student’s transcript of records and feature on the student’s degree certificate (the degree certificate shows credit transfer of entire courses). Inaccuracies may ultimately mean a longer wait for the student to receive their degree certificate.

Read the manual for credit transfer in LU Box (login required)

If the credit transfer applies to a whole course, the student in not to be registered on the course they are not required to study. If it applies to part of a course, the student is to be registered on the course in which the credit transfer will apply.

Assessment of qualifications prior to credit transfer

Checklist for assessment of qualifications:

  • Do the stated qualifications match the attached documentation?
  • Are the qualifications genuine? Original documents may be requested.
  • Is the higher education institution the qualifications come from recognised?
  • What subject do the qualifications pertain to?
  • What depth of study are the qualifications equivalent to?
  • How many credits are the qualifications equivalent to?
  • Are the majority of the learning outcomes that the credit transfer is intended to be equivalent to fulfilled?

Transfer credit to what?

A student can transfer credits based on knowledge and skills equivalent to a specific course, or part of a specific course, at the higher education institution. The student’s knowledge and skills are to be measured against the learning outcomes stated in the course or programme syllabus. Before the credit transfer, the student is to submit documents that provide evidence of the qualifications. These could include transcripts and certificates, syllabi and reading lists.

Credit transfer of optional courses can be done by the Degree Office in conjunction with the awarding of the degree certificate. No credit transfer cases are to be instigated alongside the application for the award of a qualification. If the studies were undertaken at a higher education institution abroad, the student is to provide an original transcript or scanned and uploaded original, or a verifiable certified copy of the qualification.

If a student has previously taken a course or part of a course at LU or another Swedish higher education institution that matches a compulsory course or element of the programme, a credit transfer may be applicable.

For credit transfer approved by other Swedish higher education institutions, it is the programme or course that the decision was made for that is assessed, not the actual approval of credit transfer by the other institution.

Students are entitled to credit transfer for studies at higher education institutions abroad that are equivalent to Swedish higher education. The Higher Education Ordinance distinguishes between studies abroad undertaken within the Nordic Countries (The Reykjavik Declaration) or countries party to the Lisbon Recognition Convention, and other studies. In accordance with the Lisbon Convention, the countries of Europe that have joined the convention are to recognise each other’s academic qualifications for entry to studies, credit transfer of study periods and admission to continuing studies. The Reykjavik Declaration builds upon the Lisbon Convention and is a Nordic declaration concerning the recognition of proof of higher education, intended to aid the Nordic Countries’ cooperation around credit transfer of study periods. Studies undertaken in countries other than those party to the Lisbon Convention/Reykjavik Declaration must be assessed further unless they have been completed within an exchange agreement.

Read more about the Lisbon Convention on the Swedish Council for Higher Education’s website

Read more about the Reykjavik Declaration on Nordic Cooperation’s website 

Credit transfer within exchange agreements

A basic rule for credit transfer from exchange studies is that the information on the official Transcript of Records is accepted. Often, the student will have carried out study planning in consultation with a coordinator or equivalent before an exchange. The starting point for the study planning is that the student will be able to transfer credits after the exchange. This should not, however, be considered a pre-approval for credit transfer, since it is not always possible to assess which specific part of a course or programme the studies are equivalent to.

Credit transfer outside exchange agreements

If it has been possible to verify the qualifications, it is necessary to check that the higher education institution is recognised (see below) and, where relevant, whether the programme is accredited.

Evidence of studies abroad is to be provided in the form of one of the following documents:

  • A study transcript/certificate emailed directly from the higher education institution, sent from a known email address at the higher education institution.
  • A study transcript/certificate sent by post from the higher education institution, in a sealed envelope.
  • A verifiable study transcript/certificate, for example through a verification service on the higher education institution’s website.
  • A presented original (which is then copied on site).
  • A scanned original of an official study transcript which, where applicable, can be verified by the higher education institution in question.

Assessment of foreign qualifications

Level of study (is to be equivalent to higher education)

Sources:

Scope – How many credits are the studies equivalent to?

Sources:

Is the higher education institution recognised?

Sources:

Fake Universities

A fake university is an organisation or individual awarding false degree certificates without any actual study requirements and without any recognised authority or organisation supervising the university’s operations.

Read more about how to recognise a fake university in the Swedish Council for  Higher Education’s leaflet (in Swedish)

Decision-making

Decisions in credit transfer cases are to be provided to the applicant in writing. It is important for the decision to be clearly formulated. If the student’s application is not approved in its entirety, the reasons for the rejection are to be provided. Decisions about credit transfer are made by the responsible faculty board or by delegation. Decisions about credit transfer can be made in conjunction with the issuance of the degree certificate, in those cases that can be regarded as routine. In such cases, it is not necessary to instigate a separate credit transfer procedure in addition to the application for the award of a qualification.

Grading

Credit transfer from higher education is not graded. The examiner at the examining higher education institution decides what grade the student receives after completed studies. In cases where a credit transfer for knowledge/skills has been approved for part of a course and a final grade is to be awarded for the course, the examiner determines how the credit transfer parts are to be weighed in relation to the relevant syllabus and grading criteria.

Registration of documents

An application for credit transfer is to be registered according to Lund University’s Records Management Plan. Similarly, the decision is to be registered, along with any subsequent appeals.

Read more about records management and download the plan from Lund University’s website (in Swedish).

Appeals

A decision that, in part or in full, does not meet the student’s wishes can be appealed, and therefore instructions on how to appeal should be included with the decision. The instructions on how to appeal are to be formulated in accordance with the Guidelines for appeals at Lund University (Reg. no STYR 2019/1260). 

All appeals must be entered into the document registration system.

Guidelines for appeals at Lund University (PDF, 445 kB, new tab)

Contact

Degree Office
examen [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se

Telephone: +46 46 222 92 00

Telephone hours:
Monday 09:00–10:00
Tuesday 14:00–15:00
Thursday 09:00–10:00

Our phone lines will be closed during Easter week (week 13).

Here you will find us:
Genetikhuset,
Sölvegatan 29 B, Lund

Internal mailing code 13

Jennie Almqvist
jennie [dot] almqvist [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se 

Susanna Björklund
susanna [dot] bjorklund [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se 

Hanna Calner
hanna [dot] calner [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se

Joakim Hall
Acting head of office
joakim [dot] hall [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se

Anna Kettisen
anna [dot] Kettisen [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se

Jan Lundquist
jan [dot] lundquist [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se 

Helena Petré (leave of absence)
helena [dot] petre [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se

Holger Sjöfors
holger [dot] sjofors [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se

Imke Thormählen
imke [dot] thormahlen [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se

Monica Wendel
monica [dot] wendel [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se