Academic Advising

Credit by Exam

The University of Texas MD Anderson School of Health Professions (SHP) may accept courses accepted or taken at other institutions if deemed to include the appropriate content required for advancement in the programs. The student should request a course equivalency review from their program director or other designated faculty. Credit by Exam may include College Level Examination Program (CLEP) dual credit courses or SHP administered program examinations. (A maximum of 8 hours of credit earned in this manner may be applied to the science prerequisites in biology, chemistry or physics.)

The Program Director and/or Course Instructor will evaluate all official transcripts from regionally accredited institutions on an individual basis to determine if course work is acceptable as credit towards the satisfaction of prerequisite courses at the SHP. Credit will not be given for experiential learning or for courses that duplicate prior credit given by another institution. Credit is awarded only in areas offered within the current curricular requirements of the institution and related to the student's program of study.

Credit Earned by Equivalency

Course-equivalency credit is the substitution of credit for a course taken at another institution in place of a specific SHP course in place This type of credit is only granted when the non-SHP course contains course content that is equivalent to the SHP course for which the student is requesting equivalency.

Courses must be upper-level courses taken at the university level. Courses in which grades lower than C are not eligible for credit by equivalency. Requests for obtaining course-equivalency must be submitted prior to the start of the semester using the approved Petition for Equivalency (pdf) form.

General Academic Advising

Program directors and education coordinators further assist students in developing intellectual potential and exploring educational opportunities and life goals. Many people in the campus community contribute to the advising process, including faculty and staff. Through the relationship established between adviser and student within a friendly, helpful and professional atmosphere, a student has the opportunity to:

• Learn about educational options, degree requirements and academic policies and procedures.
• Clarify educational objectives.
• Plan for professional employment and life goals.

Ultimately, the student is responsible for seeking adequate academic advice, knowing and meeting degree requirements and enrolling in appropriate courses to ensure orderly and timely progress toward a degree. Adviser contact each semester provides students with current academic information and promotes progress toward educational goals. MD Anderson supports that progress and encourages effective academic advising campus-wide.