No matter where you used to be, we are grateful that you are learning with us now.
In fact, of the Department of Communication’s 500+ majors and minors, roughly 40% are transfer students. Whether you are coming to us from a community college, the armed services, or another four-year university, we welcome you to the team.
We are also proud to welcome our transfer students coming to us from international settings, or returning to college after joining the workforce, or landing on campus after spending time incarcerated. As part of our social justice mission and community-building ethic, all are welcome here.
For most transfer students, the first and most important question is how to transfer previous credits into the CU system. We make this process easy by assigning you a college-level advisor, who will work with you to map out a route toward graduation, and a department-level advisor, who will work with you to map out how to fulfill your major requirements.
Here’s a handy chart to help clarify how this will work, in terms of your prior credits and our required classes:
The Department’s Required Classes |
How Transfer Students Fulfill Them |
| Communication 1001, Public Presentations, OR Communication 2050, Professional Presentations | Most transfer students have taken a public speaking class, which will automatically transfer into CU credits for this class. |
| Communication 1011, Fundamentals of Communication | Most transfer students have taken some version of this survey class; we will work with you to find prior courses than can transfer into CU credits for this class. |
| Communication 1021, Introduction to Media Studies | Most transfer students have taken either introduction to film and television, or introduction to pop culture, or other such classes; we will review your transcript to find what prior classes you have taken that can transfer into CU credits for this class. |
| Communication 2020, Communication, Citizenship, and Social Justice | This is a unique class not taught at other institutions; most transfer students will need to take this class with us. |
| Communication 2075, Research and Writing for the Communication Major | Many transfer students have already taken classes like Qualitative Methods, or Quantitative Methods, or Research Methods; we will review your transcript to find what prior classes you have taken that can transfer into CU credits for this class. |
| 7 upper-division electives from any “pathways” of your choosing. | We will review your transcript to find what prior classes you have taken that can transfer into CU credits for some of these classes. |
| 1 senior-level capstone | This final, college-ending capstone class may not be transferred in, you need to complete it with us. |
- Any transfer student who brings in 15 credits or more of prior classes in Communication may waive the requirement to complete Communication 1011.
- If you have completed other Communication classes not referenced above, we will work with you to transfer those credits into our CU System. You will NOT lose any prior credits.
- Most of our required classes are offered either in-person, or online, and can be taken in the Fall, Spring, or Summer terms. We even have new 8-week versions of many classes, adding more flexibility to how you complete your classes.
- Regardless of where you started your college career, you will fulfill the major by completing at least 13 Communication classes, earning at least 39 credits. Of these classes, 7 may be transferred in from other institutions.
As a first step in your transferring into CU Denver, please make an appointment with a CLAS advisor—they will welcome you into our community and begin the process of choosing your pathway to success. Once you have met with a CLAS advisor, then you should meet with a department advisor.