Credit Transfer Pre-Approval Application Form

This application is intended for use by students who wish to transfer courses taken at other North American institutions for "Field of Study: Historical Studies (FSHT)" or "Area of Historical Inquiry (AIHS)." Those who are seeking elective credit, credits toward the history major, or FSHT/AIHS credit for a course taken abroad do not need to fill out the application.

Guidelines

Please bear in mind that courses taken elsewhere for the FSHT/AIHS credit are not automatically approved even if the course is taught in a history department. Not all history courses at the University of Richmond are eligible for this designation: they must meet very specific criteria to qualify. For a course taken elsewhere to satisfy the FSHT/AIHS requirement, it must:

  • Be demanding. It should have substantial and challenging reading beyond a textbook and ask for considerable writing. All examinations should of the essay type.
  • Pay special attention to the questions and methods of historical study. It should be designed to help you see how historians think and what the nature of historical knowledge is.
  • Place emphasis on the critical analysis of primary sources.

Courses offered by community colleges and many other four-year colleges and universities are unlikely to meet the criteria. Please pick your courses carefully. Please also note that online or distance-learning courses will not be approved for FSHT/AIHS credit.

Procedures

You must seek approval well in advance of taking the course. For approval, in addition to submitting this form, you must turn into Pippa Holloway, the chair of the Department of History, the following:

  • A thorough description of the course you intend to take that clearly describes the approach of the course as well as the amount and kind of reading and writing it will require. The syllabus will usually suffice, but if it isn't very detailed on these matters, ask the instructor to provide a fuller description.
  • The form that the registrar provides needs to be filled out in as much detail as possible.

There is a bin on Professor Holloway's door (Humanities Building, Room 315) for turning in these materials. You may also e-mail the course descriptions and syllabi to Professor Holloway (phollowa@richmond.edu), and please make sure that the instructor identifies you as the person on whose behalf the information is being sent.