Our students take at least eight of their classes (24 hours) in our school. That leaves the option of taking four classes (12 hours) in other USC departments and/or transferring up to 12 hours of graduate coursework from other universities. Students may not use more than a total of 12 credit hours from courses in other USC departments, transfer credit, or a combination of the two on the program of study for their MLIS. This means that students may not transfer in 12 hours then take an additional 12 hours of electives outside of the iSchool at USC.

Here are the guidelines for transfer credits:

• The credit must be no more than six years old at the time the student will graduate.
• Courses used to earn other degrees will not be accepted.
• Course work in library science must be earned at a school accredited by the American Library Association.
• The credit must be relevant to the student’s career objectives.
• If it’s a required course, the student must prove the course is comparable to the USC equivalent.
• The course must have been taken for graduate credit and recorded as such.
• The student must have earned a B or higher.
• The student must provide a course description and syllabus comparable to that in the university catalog.
• iSchool required courses (SLIS 701, 705, and 707) cannot be transferred.