Military Credits

This page provides information regarding students bringing military educational credits into Iowa State and applying them to their degree program.

Acceptance of Credit 

The Joint Services Transcripts (JST) or the Community College of the Air Force Transcript is submitted by student to the University.  The JST provides a summary of the individual’s military course completions and training and shows the credit that is recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE). The ACE Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Service is available and searchable online as well. 

Iowa State will grant credit, in accordance with the ACE recommendations, for basic training and any military courses that have been completed at the vocational certificate, lower-division undergraduate and upper-division undergraduate level. The Transfer Credit Evaluation for a student will typically show generic credit at 100 level for lower-division recommendations and 300 level credit for upper-division recommendations.  

We do not award credit for military experience or "military occupational specialty" (MOS) credit. We also do not accept transfer credit awarded from other institutions based on military experience or MOS credit.

A maximum of 16 career-technical credits can be accepted and applied to a student’s degree program. This includes credit awarded for military vocational certificate recommendations and career-technical credit granted from regionally accredited colleges.

Application of Credit to Degree Program

After admissions has evaluated the credit for acceptance to the University, the academic adviser works with the student to determine the application of those credits to the student’s degree program.  In-depth information about the process is provided in this PDF document.

Additional Resources

While the primary contact for the student is his/her academic adviser, each undergraduate college has identified an additional resource person (listed below) whom military students can contact with questions about the transfer/application of credit towards their degree.