This website provides information for those students who will start studying with us for the first time in October 2012 or later. If you have already studied with the OU then please contact us for more accurate credit transfer advice.
If you have previously studied elsewhere and your studies were completed at the same academic level as OU modules, we may be able to award you credit transfer towards an OU qualification. This will allow you to use your previous study instead of completing some of the modules required through the OU.
So if you have successfully completed, in full or in part, study that appears on our list of approved qualifications you may wish to apply to transfer credit from this previous study into your OU qualification.
For example you may have completed the first year of a degree at another university and want to transfer this credit to your degree at the OU. Or you may have completed a professional or vocational qualification listed on the Ofqual register (the QCF), and want to transfer this credit to the OU.
How do I transfer my credit?
There are three steps to transferring your credit into an OU qualification, use the links below to start each step.
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Credit transfer: Top six points
- The Age of Previous Study
For some types of previous study we are able to award credit for study completed up to 16 years ago. Unfortunately anything completed more than 16 years ago will not be eligible for credit transfer purposes.
- Study at OU Level 3
Credit transfer can be awarded at undergraduate Level 1 or 2, or at postgraduate level, but we do not award credit transfer at undergraduate Level 3. OU regulations require that any OU Level 3 study in a qualification must be completed by studying OU modules. If you have eligible previous study at OU Level 3 then you will be awarded credit for this at a lower level. Read more about how we recognise Level 3 credit.
- Evidence of your previous study
When you apply for credit transfer you will need to supply original copies of your certificates and transcripts, and if you are applying to transfer credit towards one of our named degrees you may also need to provide information on the syllabus you followed. If you are not able to send your original certificates in the post to us, please see your other options.
- Condoned or compensated passes
If you were exempted from any part of your previous qualification, or your transcript shows details of any condoned passes, we cannot award credit for this part of your study. However in most cases, we can make an award based on the module or elements of the study you did complete. What if I was exempted from part of my study?
- 30 credit multiples
Our undergraduate qualifications are now made up of modules that are either 30 or 60 credits. For this reason we will award credit transfer in multiples of 30. If your previous study is listed on this site as being eligible for an award of less than 30 credits you will only be able to use that credit if you have further additional study that can bring your total credit transfer to 30 credits or more.
- When to apply
You should apply for credit transfer as soon as possible once you have decided which OU qualification you wish to study. You need to finalise your credit transfer before you register to start studying with us so the sooner you apply the better. If you live in England and are also planning to apply for a student loan in order to fund your studies you will need to leave plenty of time for your application to be processed before registration closes. As we get close to the OUs final enrolment date we will set a guaranteed assessment date and if you get your application to us before that date we will guarantee to process it before registration closes. This date will normally be about 4 weeks before registration closes.