Credit transfer
Students who have been admitted to and are studying at Luleå University of Technology can apply for credit transfer from previous studies within a programme or an independent course. This applies to both Swedish and foreign education. Other activities, so-called prior learning, can also be a basis for credit transfer.
Important to consider when transferring credits
Keep in mind that your course of study may change if you have been credited for part of your programme. There is no guarantee that there will be a place on the course or module that you want to continue with after your credit transfer. This means that there may be gaps in your further studies. This may in turn have consequences for your CSN student grant for the current semester. You may need to apply for a place on another course during the period in which the course you have been credited is running.
Before you apply for credit transfer
You should be able to answer yes to the following questions to avoid having to supplement your application and extend the processing time or have your application rejected.
Only one course per application, do not submit multiple courses in each application.
- Are you a student at Luleå University of Technology, i.e. admitted and pursuing studies?
- Do you have at least a pass grade on your previous studies? Only an entire course with at least a passing grade, or a module in a course, with at least a passing grade can form the basis for a credit transfer.
- Do you have all the documents that need to be sent with your application? Read more about which documents are needed below.
- If you have completed courses from an education at another university that may correspond to several of the compulsory courses included in a programme at Luleå University of Technology, we may need to draw up an individual plan. If it is only a single course that you want to credit, you can send in a form and apply for credit transfer yourself. However, if there are several courses to be credited, contact the study counsellor for your programme at Luleå University of Technology for the possible establishment of an individual plan. In order for an assessment to be made, you must be admitted and have begun studies at Luleå University of Technology. An individual plan may also be drawn up for students who only study at Luleå University of Technology and cannot follow a regular programme plan.
When do I not need to apply for credit transfer?
If you have completed courses from a recognised Swedish higher education institution and you have room in your degree to include elective courses, you do not need to apply for credit transfer. Instead, you include the courses in connection with your degree application.
If you have changed programmes within Luleå University of Technology and you have taken a course that is included in both programmes, you do not need to apply for credit transfer. The course is included in connection with your application for a degree.
Which documents must I attach to my application?
You need the following documents if you have credits/results from another Swedish institution as a basis:
- Official course syllabus that was current when you took the course.
- Reading list that was current when you took the course. (You cannot certify the literature yourself; we need documentation from the course-providing institution to assess your application).
- Transcript of records, course certificate, certified copies, or with verification code. Your transcript should include course codes, which can be selected when creating the transcript in Ladok.
- When applying for credit transfer of courses within health sciences, you should also attach the study guide (if the institution you studied at used study guides).
- If something is missing, we will request a supplement from you, which will delay the processing of your case.
- Original documents must be presented upon request by Luleå University of Technology.
- If you have an individual study plan established at LTU, attach it to your application.
You need the following documents if you have credits/results from a foreign institution as a basis:
- Official course syllabus that was current when you took the course.
- Reading list that was current when you took the course. (You cannot certify the literature yourself; we need documentation from the course-providing institution to assess your application).
- Transcript of records, course certificate, or Transcript of Academic Record, certified copies, or with verification code. Your transcript should, if possible, include course codes.
- If something is missing, we will request a supplement from you, which will delay the processing of your case.
- Original documents must be presented upon request by Luleå University of Technology.
- If you have an individual study plan established at LTU, attach it to your application.
You need the following documents if you have real competence/work experience as a basis:
When applying for credit transfer of real competence, you should attach documentation that describes and supports your skills and competence that you want to be assessed for credit transfer.
- Competence description
- Certificates
- Other documents and possibly a knowledge test
If something is missing, we will request a supplement from you, which will delay the processing of your case. Original documents must be presented upon request by Luleå University of Technology. If you have an individual study plan established at LTU, attach it to your application.
Competence description
Create a document where you state all the learning objectives for the course/part of the course you are applying for credit transfer. Evaluate your knowledge and skills against the content and learning objectives stated in the syllabus.
The competence description is intended to create a basis for assessment, while also serving as a reflection on your learning within the education and how your knowledge and skills relate to the learning objectives. The competence description should be detailed and clearly motivated on how each learning objective in the syllabus has been achieved.
In your competence description, you should answer the following (justify your answers in detail):
- In what way do you have knowledge that corresponds to the content and learning objectives covered by the syllabus?
- Where and when did you learn it?
- How did you learn it?
- Describe a situation or context where you can demonstrate this knowledge.
Certificates
With your application, you should attach a certificate that supports the information you provide in your competence description. It can be an employer’s certificate and/or other relevant certificates that support the information.
An employer’s certificate should also state how long you have worked, to what extent, and what position you have held. The certificate(s) should include contact details of the person(s) who wrote the certificates.
Other documents
As a complement to the competence description and the certificate, you can also attach any other documents that you believe support your knowledge and skills.
Knowledge test
If necessary, the assessment may need to be supplemented with a knowledge test or similar to verify your knowledge and skills. If such a knowledge test is necessary, Luleå University of Technology will contact you.
I want to transfer workplace-based credited education (VFU)
When crediting VFU based on work experience:
- Signed certificate from the principal or responsible manager showing how you meet the course objectives. (You cannot certify yourself that you meet the objectives)
- Signed certificate showing how long you have worked, to what extent, and at what level.
- If you are studying to become a subject teacher, you also need to show to what extent you have worked with “your” subject.
If you have an individual study plan established at LTU, attach it to your application.
If you have completed VFU at another institution, you only need to submit the documents referred to here.
You cannot use courses that have already been used to qualify you for an education. This is relevant if you are studying a supplementary education that required you to have completed certain university courses to be admitted to the education. These courses cannot be used as a basis for crediting in the current education.
Application is made via Ladok
You apply for credit transfer of studies and attach appendices with your application via
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Before applying for credit transfer
Contact the institution offering the course. They usually have a copy of both the syllabus and the reading list for the course.
No, we need documentation from the institution providing the course in order to assess your application.
No, it must be a certificate of achievement from the institution providing the course. You can download a certificate of results from Ladok yourself. Remember to specify that you want the certificate to show course codes. Most universities and colleges have order forms for this on their website.
When assessing the application for credit transfer, Luleå University of Technology takes into account the objectives of the education or the course as a whole, i.e. we make an overall assessment. In order to make an assessment, we need both a certificate of achievement, which shows that you have taken the course with at least a passing grade, and a syllabus including a literature list. The syllabus must contain information such as the objectives and content of the course and the reading list gives us important information about what the course contained.
No, if you have previously used a course as a basis for a credit transfer, you cannot use it again to transfer another course in the same degree. It is then "used up" in this respect.
Exception: For example, if you have taken a course equivalent to 30 credits and you have only earned 7.5 credits, you can use the course as a basis for a new credit transfer.
No, you can enter all courses on the same application.
You must make a comparison of the objectives of the course you have studied previously with the objectives of the course you want to transfer credits. Search curricula at LTU here.
What is the minimum part I can get credit for?
The minimum part is a module in a course. You can find the modules for each course in the syllabus. Search course syllabi at LTU here.
If your application for credit transfer is granted, it may affect your study grant from CSN. Contact CSN if you have questions about your study grant.
After submitting your application
The processing time is normally four weeks from when the application is complete.
As long as you have not received a decision on your application, we recommend that you do the assignment. If your application is rejected, you will have missed the assignment that was part of the course.
Yes, as long as a decision has not been taken, you can withdraw your application. Please contact the Service Point if you wish to withdraw your application.
Decision on your application
You will receive an email to your student email when something happens in your credit transfer case in Ladok. Therefore, it is important that you read your student email regularly. You can check Ladok at any time to see what has happened in your case.
A credited course or module within a course is not graded, as no re-examination has taken place.
Yes, a decision on credit transfer is an appealable decision. What you are appealing is the decision we made on the documents you submitted in your application. The letter must be received by the University within three weeks from the date you have taken note of the decision.
If the application is rejected because of insufficient documentation or rejected because the application cannot be approved on the basis of the documentation submitted, you have the opportunity to submit a new application once you have obtained the required documents.
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