Waiver Exams & Transfer Credits

Waiver Exams

Incoming MBA students can apply to take a waiver exam for the following courses:

• Accounting Fundamentals (ACCT 5500)

• Corporate Financial Reporting (ACCT 6500)

• Financial Markets and Corporate Decision Making (FINC 6500)

• Managerial Statistics (OPAN 6500)

Students must pass the ACCT 5500 waiver exam to be eligible to pass the waiver exam for ACCT 6500.

If you pass a waiver exam, you waive the appropriate class and then take elective classes to replace the credits. No academic credit is awarded for passing a waiver exam.

Please note that the standard for passing the waiver exams is quite high and that a relatively small proportion of students successfully waive these core courses.

Waiver exam requests will be accepted on a rolling basis through July 19. Contact the MBA Program Office if you have difficulty accessing the request form. Flex Program students have the opportunity to request a waiver exam for FINC 6500 at a later date as well.

Requests will be reviewed after July 19. The Program Office will contact you with the schedule of your exam. Exams will be held virtually in the evenings during the week of July 29-August 2. 

Transfer Credits

You may petition for the transfer of a maximum of 12 credits for specific courses taken at an accredited institution prior to your admission to McDonough. Only courses that satisfy the following requirements will be considered for transfer credit:

• Courses must be graduate level, relevant to the MBA, taken for credit at degree-granting institutions, and meet McDonough academic standards as determined by the associate dean of MBA Programs in consultation with appropriate faculty.

• Only courses completed in the last seven years (from the time of request) for which you earned a “B” or better (or the equivalent) will be considered.

• Courses applied toward a previous degree cannot be approved for transfer. If the course to be transferred is on a transcript for a previous degree, it must be clearly noted that it was not used to satisfy any degree requirements.

• Transfer credit requests for core courses will only be approved if you also pass a waiver exam proving mastery of core concepts. If the waiver exam is not passed, no transfer credits will be granted.

You must complete a minimum of 75% of the credits required for the MBA at Georgetown McDonough. Therefore, transferring credits may limit opportunities for registration in the Consortium of Universities in D.C. courses and study abroad.

Requests for transfer credit will be reviewed for Flex MBA and Flex MBA Online students after admission to McDonough is granted; Full-time students’ requests will be reviewed after being admitted and submitting a deposit. Requests for Opening Term and first-semester core courses should be submitted as early as possible and no later than July 19 so there is time for you to access the waiver exam(s). Transfer approvals will be noted on your transcript after completion of your first MBA semester.