Issue 142 - July 16, 2009
Reminder: All Applicants Must Document Transfer Credits When Applying for Examination
Applicants are reminded that they are required to disclose and document all transfer credits when they apply to ECFMG for examination, regardless of when the credits were earned. Failure to disclose and document these credits may have a number of negative consequences, including delaying exam registration and certification by ECFMG. Such delays may prevent you from starting a residency program. Additionally, failure to disclose and document these credits may result in a finding of irregular behavior. See Irregular Behavior in the ECFMG Information Booklet.
Transfer credits are credits earned for a course taken at one institution (such as a medical school) that are accepted by another medical school toward meeting its degree requirements. For example, a student attends a medical school for one year and earns credits for 12 courses. The student transfers to another medical school, which accepts the credits for those 12 courses toward meeting its degree requirements. The credits for those 12 courses are then referred to as transfer credits. The applicant must inform ECFMG of these transfer credits at the time of application.
Additionally, there are restrictions on transfer credits that can be used to meet ECFMG’s certification requirement that an applicant must have been awarded credit for at least four credit years (academic years for which credit has been given toward completion of the medical curriculum) by a medical school that is listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED). For the purpose of ECFMG Certification, credits earned on or after January 1, 2008 that are transferred to the medical school that awarded or will award an applicant’s medical degree must meet all of the following criteria:
- Credits must be transferred from one IMED-listed medical school to another IMED-listed medical school.
- Credits must be for courses taken at one medical school within seven years of the date of graduation at the medical school that accepts the transferred courses.
- Credits must be for courses that were passed at the medical school at which the course was taken.
Applicants whose transferred credits do not comply with the policy outlined above will not meet the requirements to be registered by ECFMG for examination or the requirements for ECFMG Certification. Applicants whose transferred credits do not meet all the criteria listed above may request an exception from the ECFMG Medical Education Credentials Committee.
See Credentials for Exam Registration in the ECFMG Information Booklet for instructions on how to submit transcripts to document transfer credits.
