Requests for Credits

The granting of credits is governed by the Senate Standing Orders on Course Credit Recognition and Exemptions, as well as relevant aspects of Faculty policy.


The following general points should be noted about the granting of credits:
- The Undergraduate Coordinator in Psychology is delegated the authority to advise the Head of Psychology, the Head of School, and the faculties on the granting of credits in Psychology.


- Applications for the recognition of course credits in Psychology obtained at other tertiary institutions, and/or the recognition of credits obtained more than four years before the intended date of registration at Wits(but see restrictions, below), must be made to the Undergraduate Coordinator, preferably by way of email (see Contact Details).


- Applications should include a scanned copy of an official institutional transcript reflecting the courses completed and marks obtained, together with any relevant details of qualifications registered for and/or completed.


- Applicants should also provide an outline of their intended goals in studying Psychology at Wits - e.g. obtaining/ completing a degree, obtaining a major in Psychology for non-degree purposes, proceeding to postgraduate studies in Psychology, etc.


- In all applications for credit based on courses completed at other tertiary institutions, the onus is on the applicant to provide whatever details may be deemed necessary by the Undergraduate Coordinator in order to determine the comparability of these courses to the undergraduate Psychology curriculum taught at Wits.




The following restrictions on the granting of credits should be noted:
- If a student wishes to transfer credits to Wits in order to complete and obtain a qualification (e.g. BA, BSc or BCom) from Wits, the Senate policy limits the maximum number of credits thus carried over or transferred to 50% of the credits required for the qualification.


- In terms of the Senate policy, credits cannot typically be granted at the third-year level of study. For example, a student wishing to complete their degree at Wits with a major in Psychology would, at the very least, have to complete all of their third year Psychology courses at Wits.


- The Senate policy recommends a maximum shelf-life of four years on credits - whether obtained from other institutions, or during a previous registration at Wits. (Some leeway is possible - the issue of age of credits should be highlighted in any application to the Undergraduate Coordinator.)


- In general, it is only possible to grant credits in Psychology when there is sufficient evidence of syllabus overlap and equivalence of outcomes between the courses completed and the courses on offer at Wits. In particular (a) second year Psychology at Wits comprises a core curriculum of topics (in Developmental Psychology, Personality, Cognitive Psychology, and Social Psychology) for all students completing the majors in Psychology and Organisational Psychology, and credit will only be granted at this level when non-Wits courses are demonstrated (by the applicant) to be sufficiently equivalent to the Wits curriculum; and (b) the compulsory Psychological Research Design and Analysis IIA course comprises significant components in Statistics, Research Design and Psychometrics, such that credit for this course can only be considered when an applicant has completed a course/ courses that cover all three topic areas.


- The Undergraduate Coordinator reserves the right to recommend, under appropriate circumstances, the granting of credit without permission to proceed to the next level of study in Psychology at Wits.