General Guidelines
Students transferring to TCNJ who have completed AA or AS degrees (NOT AAS) from New Jersey public community colleges are waived from College Core requirements. Transfer students with eight or more course units are exempt from meeting the civic responsibilities requirement and taking an FYS course.
Residency Requirement
At least 12 courses must be taken within the TCNJ’s Department of Art and Art Education. “Credits by exam” doesn’t count as one of the twelve.
Sophomore Review
Transfer students who entered the program as freshmen or sophomores will have a Sophomore Review during the second semester of their junior year.
Maximum Number of Transfer Credits
Transfer students cannot exceed the following number of units to TCNJ:
- 16 course units (64 credits) from a community college
- 20 course units (80 credits) from a four-year college
- Combination of 2 and 4 year college: 16 course units as the maximum for 2 year
- Three-course units transferred during the senior year
Once the maximum number of transfer credits has been accepted, students may not transfer additional credits to replace those already accepted.
Minors
Transfer students who want to pursue a minor should be aware that one-half of the courses required for the minor must be completed at TCNJ.
Credit Evaluation Process
Transfer applicants admitted to TCNJ receive an “official” transfer credit evaluation with their admission materials. Credits are evaluated by an Academic Evaluator in the Office of Records and Registration and only occur after an applicant has been admitted. Please be sure all official transcripts have been submitted to TCNJ. If a student attended a NJ Community College, s/he should refer to the NJTransfer website for transfer equivalencies.
After the “official” review, all transfer credits and course equivalents are posted on the student’s PAWS account. Transfer courses are sometimes accepted as general or college core courses. If a student would like to request that a transfer course fulfill a specific course requirement for the major, the Department can review the coursework and syllabus. Please see the information below to transfer courses to the Department of Art and Art Education.
External Transfer
For a 100-level Foundation Visual Arts (AAV) course
Please contact the Department Chair, Professor Liselot van der Heijden, at vanderhe@tcnj.edu or the appropriate program coordinator. The Chair or coordinator must review a portfolio with 3-5 artworks from the course and the course syllabus/description/assignment sheets.
- Foundation courses that can be considered for transfer include AAV 111 Drawing, AAV 113 3-D, AAV 130 Photo I, and AAV 140 4-D.
- Transfer courses typically are not accepted for AAV 112 2-D since AAV 112 2-D includes a digital component. If the 2-D transfer course includes a digital component, the Department Advisor can review the portfolio with 3-5 artworks from the course and course syllabus/description.
- Transfer courses typically are not accepted for AAV 102 Visual Thinking.
For a 200-level Intermediate (or 300-level advanced) Visual Arts (AAV) Course in Fine Art or Photo/Video Art
Please contact the Fine Art and Photo/Video Art Coordinator, Anita Allyn, at allyn@tcnj.edu.
For a 200-level intermediate (or 300-level advanced) Visual Arts (AAV) course in Graphic Design
Please contact the Graphic Design Coordinator, Belinda Haikes, at haikesb@tcnj.edu.
The area coordinator must review a portfolio with 3-5 artworks from the course and the course syllabus/description/assignment sheets. As per College policy, 300 and 400-level transfer courses are generally not accepted. Typically, 2-year community college courses cannot fulfill the requirements of advanced 300-level studio courses.
Courses in Art History
For Art History (AAH) courses, please contact an Art History Professor. For Visual Arts (AAV) courses, please contact the appropriate professor, as stated below, and schedule a meeting to review your artwork and syllabus/description for each course you wish to have evaluated.
Courses in Art Education
Typically, no Art Education (AAE) transfer courses are accepted.
Internal Transfer (Current TCNJ students)
Current TCNJ students planning to transfer into the Visual Art program must submit a portfolio via SlideRoom. Internal applicants should use the Internal Transfer SlideRoom portal at this link.
Internal transfer applications are rolling, but it is recommended that students submit their portfolio by the first week of October or the first week of March. This allows adequate time for faculty to review portfolios, advise students, and process change of major paperwork prior to spring or fall registration. Please contact the program coordinators with any questions.
Note: Portfolio submission is OPTIONAL for Art Education students.