Transfer of Credit and Challenge Examinations
The following policies apply to the transfer of credit from previous SANS and GIAC coursework.
Because of the fact that SANS courses are based on original research, and not generally available sources, the Institute is not able to accept coursework from other higher education institutions.
Students who have earned GIAC Gold certifications, whether gained through Conference Attendance, Mentor, On Demand, Self Study, or challenge in courses equivalent to SANS Institute core or elective courses will be granted appropriate credit for each course that they have completed if the final score is 80 or higher. GIAC practical assignments were scored internally. The two exam scores and the practical score are averaged together and a final score that is 80 or higher may be transferred into the program. In the event a practical assignment does not have a numeric score, the average of the two exam scores will be used.*
Students who hold a GIAC Silver certification must complete all additional work to reach Gold status if Gold status is needed for that course. Two of the courses for the MS in Information Security Engineering degree are electives and do not require Gold status. An applicable GIAC Silver 500 or 600 level course may be transferred in for full credit for an elective.
There is no charge to transfer in an existing GIAC Silver or Gold course. You do not have to pay for those credit hours or retake those courses.
NOTE: It is not possible to substitute a different course for a required course.