Transferring to Suffolk?

Transferring to Suffolk from Another College?

Every year many transfer students begin their studies at Suffolk County Community College by transferring college credits from other colleges and universities. Your transfer to Suffolk begins by applying online.

Request your official college transcript(s) be sent directly from your previous institution to transfercredits@sunysuffolk.edu or directly mailed to:

Suffolk County Community College
Transfer Credits
533 College Road
Selden, NY 11784-2899

After your college transcript(s) arrive, your transfer credits will be evaluated for applicable credits toward your program, and an official transfer evaluation will be mailed to you. You can also view your transferred courses in your Student Portal. You can view the Transfer Evaluation Tables to see unofficially how your courses may transfer. Grades for prior coursework accepted for Suffolk credit are not noted on our transcript, nor considered in computing the grade point average. However, grades for such courses may be used for admission decisions for curricula with competitive admission.

Suffolk also awards transfer credits from a number of different sources. Below is a brief description of the various ways students can receive college credit.

Students who avail themselves of these opportunities for advanced standing credit and/or receive transfer credit for prior coursework are required to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of academic course work at Suffolk County Community College to obtain an associate degree.

Certificate programs require half of the required credits of academic coursework needed, to be earned at SUNY Suffolk County Community College.

Please email transfercredits@sunysuffolk.edu for further information. 

Steps on applying to College: 10 Steps to Enrollment Guide.

Colleges and Universities

Suffolk County Community College will recognize academic credit from colleges and universities that are accredited by regional institutional accrediting organizations, or national institutional accrediting organizations that are recognized by both the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the U.S. Department of Education.

Credit for coursework successfully completed with a grade of C minus (C-) or higher may be awarded for courses deemed equivalent to Suffolk County Community College courses. Exceptions exist to this rule for certain majors.

For institutions that have closed, please refer to Obtaining Closed School Student Records.

Advanced Placement (AP)

Credit may be awarded to students who have taken Advanced Placement courses in high school and have attained scores of 3 or higher on the appropriate Advanced Placement examinations administered through College Board.

To be awarded AP credit, request your official Advanced Placement score report from College Board, using CEEB code 2827, be sent to the mailing address provided above.

International Baccalaureate

Credit may be awarded to students who have taken International Baccalaureate courses in high school and who attained a score of 4 or higher on the IBO higher level (HL) exams. If the student has successfully completed the diploma program, then credit may be awarded for the standard level (SL) courses as well with a score of 4 or higher. You may request an official transcript from the International Baccalaureate^® (IB) website.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Credit may also be awarded to students who pass CLEP exams with a score of 50 or higher. CLEP examinations are offered throughout the year in group sessions at the Ammerman and Michael J. Grant campuses. Visit College Level Examination Program (CLEP) for more information.

Challenge Exam

When a CLEP examination is not available to test prior learning in a course or subject offered at Suffolk County Community College, the student may request, and the College may agree, to prepare and administer a special Challenge Examination for the student.

Portfolio Assessment

Portfolio Assessment is an alternative vehicle for defining, demonstrating and documenting college-level learning achieved outside the classroom. Students may take COL120: Portfolio Preparation, a one-credit course available in the fall and spring semesters. The course encompasses relevant academic content, skill development and ongoing guidance during the process of developing a learning portfolio. Upon completion of the course, students may submit the learning portfolio for evaluation for possible college credit. For additional information, read more about Portfolio Assessment.

Educational Programs Sponsored by Certain Non-Collegiate Organizations

Suffolk County Community College will recognize and may award academic credit for non-collegiate training if the training has been evaluated by either the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) or the American Council on Education (ACE), and college level credit has been recommended by the aforementioned agencies. Students are required to submit an official ACE or NCCRS transcript for evaluation. For military personnel, an Official Joint Services Transcript (JST) should be submitted for review.

Foreign Credential Evaluations

Suffolk County Community College will recognize and may award credit for coursework successfully completed at a foreign college or university if the foreign institution is shown to be equivalent to a regionally accredited institution in the United States. A course-by-course evaluation (which includes a document-to-document evaluation) must be submitted by the student to the Transfer Credit Department (see address above) from a credential evaluation service that is a member of either the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE).

For non F1 visa students, if your U.S. transcripts are not in English, they must be translated. All foreign educational credentials must be evaluated by an accredited agency (see below). Please visit NACES and AICE to select one of the evaluation agencies.

The Educational Credential Evaluation must be sent to:

Suffolk County Community College
Central Admissions/Transfer Credit Department 
533 College Road
Selden, NY 11784-2899

Restrictions on Advanced Standing Credit

Where an appropriate standardized examination or Challenge Examination is available, students may be required to demonstrate prior learning by taking the examination in lieu of requesting credit by portfolio assessment.

The College will not award credit by examination, nor will it entertain petitions for credit by portfolio assessment, when to do so would jeopardize its accreditation by the relevant professional association.