How to Import Content from a Previous Canvas Course

Within Canvas you can choose to copy entire course content or selected course content, such as assignments, modules, pages, and discussions from previous Canvas courses into existing courses. You only have access to copy content from courses in which you are enrolled as an instructor or TA.

Step 1: Open the new course that you want to import content into. Select"Import Existing Content" from the menu on the right.

Step 2: In the Content Type dropdown menu, select "Copy a Canvas Course".

Step 3: In the Search for a Course dropdown menu, you will see a list of the courses you have access to copy. The list is organized with the most recent courses appearing first. In this example, we are copying a course from Fall 2024 into a Spring 2025 course and will select "Applied Legal Reasoning (D-01)" under the Academic Year 2024-2025 header.

You will now see your selected course appear in the Search for a Course field.

Option 1: Import All Content

Now that you have selected your course in Step 3 above, you have two options for importing content: "All Content" or "Select Specific Content". This set of steps covers Option 1: Import All Content.

Step 4: Select "All Content", then select "Import".

Please note, if you have assignments or quizzes in your course that you are planning to reuse, the "Adjust events and due dates" option will automatically apply new due dates to match the upcoming semester or remove all due dates. You are welcome to use this feature, but you do not need it if you do not have assignments or quizzes in your course. Some professors prefer to skip this option and manually adjust assignment and quiz due dates after importing.

You will now see the status of your import request under Current Jobs. You will see "Completed" when the import process has finished. Please note, this may take a few minutes.

Option 2: Select Specific Content to Import

Now that you have selected your course in Step 3 above, you have two options for importing content: "All Content" or "Select Specific Content". This set of steps covers Option 2: Select Specific Content to Import.

Step 4: Select the button for "Select Specific Content" then select "Import".

Step 5: You will now see your pending imports, select the "Select Content" button.

Step 6: Select the specific content that you would like imported from the previous Canvas course into the new Canvas course by checking the boxes to the left of the category. You can select the arrow to expand the menu and select specific pages, assignments, quizzes, etc. When you have made your selection(s), click "Select Content".

You will now see the status of your import request under Current Jobs. You will see "Completed" when the import process has finished. Please note, this may take a few minutes.