How to Make a Grad School Transfer Seamless

When it comes to earning a graduate degree, getting accepted into grad school is the hardest part, right? Not necessarily. A study by the Council of Graduate Schools shows that about 50% of PhD students never finish their degrees, and 10% to 23% of master’s degree students drop out of their programs. While students drop out for many reasons, it’s fair to assume that at least some of these students might have completed their degree if they had just transferred to another graduate program.

Changing graduate schools isn’t a simple process, but it’s possible. Finding a new graduate school program might be the best option if you’ve had a major shift in your personal life or professional goals. Try our transfer quiz to see if transferring is the right move for you. If it turns out transferring is in your future, read the rest of our guide to make your transfer process as seamless as possible.

Getting into the grad school of your choice is an achievement. But what if you want to transfer in the middle of your master’s program? You’ve invested a significant amount of your time and resources already, but you’ll need to ask yourself a few key questions to see if transferring is the right choice. This quiz will help determine if restarting at a new institution would benefit you.

Deciding to switch master’s degree programs is a hard decision. One of the biggest concerns is whether the new program will be better for you and make the transfer worthwhile. One way to lessen this risk is to transfer into an online master’s degree program.

Online master’s degrees provide more flexibility in class formats. Because classes are offered online, you can attend classes from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Many programs offer classes asynchronously, meaning you can attend class at any time. This flexibility makes learning more accessible and lets you slow down or speed up your learning, allowing you to graduate sooner. It can also allow you to continue working while in school.

Online programs can save money, especially for nonresident students. Many online master’s degree programs offer in-state or special remote learning tuition rates that are lower than what a nonresident student pays. Plus, if online learning allows you to graduate sooner, you’ll lower your learning costs overall.

When you broaden your search to include online master’s programs, you’ll be able to consider programs anywhere and programs with different emphases than your original pick, increasing the odds of a good fit. Plus, you won’t have the stress of moving across the country, finding a new apartment, finding a new job, and making new friends. Your new master’s program will be your main focus.

The exact transfer process for master’s students depends primarily on the policies of the program the student will transfer into. Most universities allow each program and department to establish its transfer policies. The following is a rough walkthrough of what most master’s degree transfer students can expect.

How the new master’s program treats transfer students could add or subtract years—and tens of thousands of dollars—to your degree. When choosing a transfer school, the most critical factor is how many credits they’ll accept. The decision will depend on several variables, such as the minimum grade required for transfer, how many credits can transfer, and what types of classes are eligible. The more the new program takes, the better off you’ll be.

Another critical factor to consider is whether student support services are offered for transfer students. For instance, does the new school have advisers to walk the incoming student through the transfer process? Or are students on their own to figure things out? Solid support will drastically increase the odds that your transfer will be a success.

After you figure out which schools you’re considering for a transfer, meet with your advisers to discuss the process and see if they have any insights. They might even have connections for you to ask questions and get help once you arrive at your new school.

Talking to your school’s financial aid counselor is also a good idea. For example, you’ll need to know what happens to scholarship money you haven’t used and if you need to complete paperwork concerning your student loans.

Last but certainly not least, find out if your current or potential new school has a transfer counselor. They can answer any questions and raise potential issues you might never have considered.

An articulation agreement is an agreement between schools promising that a class completed at one school will be accepted at another school. These agreements may be between just two schools or involve many schools that are part of a state’s public community college and university system. Articulation agreements often guide how many completed credits can transfer.

The agreement may outline which program requirements the transfer credit will apply. For example, will a completed course count as a core course or an elective? The agreement may also spell out how many credits you will receive at the new school, especially if one school operates on quarters and another on semesters.

The articulation agreement may also cover how grades transfer, if at all. Usually, transfer credits granted by the new institution provide credit toward graduation but aren’t factored into your GPA in the new master’s program.

In most situations, the application process for a transfer student is very similar to that of a first-time applicant. Depending on the school, prospective transfer students may use the same application form, check a different box to indicate they’re a transfer student, and complete a few other sections.

The primary difference is that as a transfer student, you will likely need to provide an official copy of your graduate school transcript. You also may be asked to explain why you want to transfer. This information could be covered in a short answer question on the application, a personal statement, or an interview with an admissions official.

Even though you may be eligible for government loans, grants, and scholarships as a transfer student, what you’ve already been awarded won’t usually transfer with you. This is especially true with federal student aid. When you begin the transfer process, you’ll want to update your FAFSA and work closely with your new school on what else you need to do to make sure funding issues don’t derail your plans. Complete exit counseling with your old school and ensure all academic costs and debts have been paid. If you don’t, they may withhold your transcripts. If you were receiving a direct subsidized or unsubsidized federal loan, you might need to start making payments on that unless you can get an in-school deferment.

The status of your private grants, scholarships, and fellowships will depend on the entity funding them. If the scholarship came from your old program, that funding would cease after your transfer. But if you have a scholarship from an organization that isn’t part of your prior school, contact the organization to learn how transferring schools affect your scholarship.

One of the biggest reasons a student will choose not to transfer schools is that they can’t get enough prior credits to be accepted by the new school. Variations in rules and policies between programs and schools mean every transfer process will be slightly different.

Some schools have special agreements regarding how credits transfer between schools and programs. The best and easiest way to learn about these is to ask both your current and prospective transfer school. You also can do an online search for transfer or articulation agreements between schools. Some schools have a database or online tool showing which courses they’ve accepted and from what school.

In a straightforward transfer where there’s an agreement or the transfer is between public schools that are part of the same state system, you’ll need to complete a transfer credit request form. This is where you list the new classes you want credit for using the results from your old classes. You’ll usually need to describe the old class, including its requirements and how it satisfies the requirements of the new class. Providing a course description and class syllabus is helpful.

Below is a discussion of other variables that determine whether a class credit transfers and how that process occurs.

Course equivalency refers to how much credit you’ll receive and which specific course requirements you will have fulfilled. Many schools post course equivalency guides on their websites to show what prior students were able to transfer. In most instances, these guides aren’t binding, and the transfer school can alter the course equivalency if they feel it’s necessary.

In general, the higher the course level, the less likely a school will accept it as transfer credit. That’s because lower-level courses are more foundational, meaning there’s less variation in how they’re taught and the material covered. This doesn’t mean a 500-level graduate school course from School A won’t transfer to School B. But it means School B is less likely to grant a transfer student credit for a 500-level class toward the transfer student’s major. Instead, the course may be accepted as an elective or on a pass/fail basis.

A core waiver is a request that a school waives a core class requirement because of prior coursework. A core substitution requests that a core class requirement be met by completing a different class. Transfer students often use core substitutions and waivers when their new school doesn’t have an articulation agreement or course equivalency reference in place.

With a quarter system, classes are shorter per term, but students have more terms in a school year. For example, a typical semester system course lasts about 15 weeks, while a quarter system class lasts about 10 weeks. This means that one credit in one school won’t equal one credit at another school. For instance, if a student earned 15 credits under a quarter system, it’ll be roughly equal to 10 credits in a semester system.