11 Best Online Schools for Transferring Credits: Transferring Graduate Schools in 2023

To cut down on the time and money you spend on your education, you need to know about the best online schools for transferring credits. If you choose the right institution when transferring graduate schools, you won’t have to repeat classes and can save both time and money!

If you’re not sure where to start, read on. We’ll break down everything you need to know about the best online colleges for transferring credits in detail. We’ll also go over what you need to know about transferring graduate schools and what’s involved in transferring master’s programs from start to finish.

Article Navigation: How to Transfer Graduate Schools | Articulation Agreements for Online Degrees | Can You Transfer Credits for a Master’s Degree? | Types of Transfer Credits | Top 6 Best Online Colleges That Accept Transfer Credits | The Most Affordable Transfer-Friendly Online Colleges | Use GetEducated’s Online Resources Today!

How to Transfer Graduate Schools – The Best Online Schools for Transferring Credits

Sometimes, you may need to transfer your credits from one school to another, even at the graduate or master’s level. That’s more than possible, and transferring graduate schools isn’t as complex as you think.

But to transfer graduate credits, you’ll need to:

• Do plenty of research
• Determine which courses count for credits at your new university
• Come up with a graduation plan so you can project how long you’ll need to spend completing your education
• And more

Each of the best online schools for transferring credits has a different policy regarding transfer credits and the maximum number you can transfer from your old school to your new school. If you’re starting to re-explore your options for a master’s, keep the following 4 critical questions in mind before you commit to a new program.

1. How many credits or courses will you be allowed to transfer?

To begin with, check transfer credit policies at your new program. You want to make sure your hard-earned credits will count for as much as possible towards your new degree. Transfer credit policies can vary widely from school to school.

For example, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s MBA allows students to transfer up to 12 credits from other AACSB-accredited programs. In general, you can transfer up to one-half of your program’s required credits from another accredited institution for a master’s degree.

Some degree programs, such as the University of North Carolina’s Master of Business Administration, have stricter course schedules. These programs, as a matter of policy, do not accept any transfer credits.

Even if a graduate school indicates they can accept transfer credits, don’t automatically assume they will. For example, you might apply to a graduate school, given its generous transfer credit policies. However, when you try to transfer your credits over, you find that there are no exact equivalent classes for your previously completed courses. Then you may discover you’ll need to retake a few classes covering topics you already mastered.

Transfer approval is always at the discretion of the graduate office. Be prepared to defend why you think your previously earned credits might be a good substitution for theirs when transferring master’s programs. Even the best online schools for transferring credits may have requirements you need to meet before getting approval.

2. Is there a minimum GPA for admission for the Best Online Schools for Transferring Credits?

Could your undergraduate GPA keep you from being admitted as a transfer student? Even if you’ve already made it into a program, remember that online universities that accept transfer credits might go back in your academic history and take your undergraduate GPA into consideration when admitting you.

If your bachelor’s grades don’t quite match your new school’s requirements, include a letter in your application that highlights the strong points in your undergraduate record. Because all college admissions are decided on a case-by-case basis, showing areas where you excel could convince an admissions officer that you’re still worth bringing into your new school.

3. Are entrance exams like the GRE/GMAT recommended or required for admission?

Depending on the school, an entrance exam like the GRE or GMAT might be required or simply recommended. Ask yourself, if you haven’t done so before, are you open to taking these entrance tests? If you’re not up for these exams, does the new masters you are considering allow for some kind of test waiver? Which leads to question #4…

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MBA AACSB Accreditation, No GRE/GMAT
MBA Regionally Accredited, No GRE/GMAT

4. Can the program’s admission recommendations be waived due to experience?

If you’re in good standing at your current university, the prospective graduate school may take this into account and waive the GMAT/GRE and/or other entrance requirements in your particular situation. This is most likely to happen if you have some solid career experience in your major area or if you have already taken some graduate-level courses with a good GPA.

For example, say you’re transferring master’s programs in order to acquire a degree from Dakota State University’s Online School of Information Systems. You think you’ll have to study for the GMAT.

But when you speak to the graduate office at Dakota State, you learn that you qualify for the school’s policy that enables graduate applicants with previous graduate credits to waive the GRE/GMAT requirement entirely. This benefit could make your decision to transfer to Dakota State much easier.

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Dakota State University - Master of Science in Information Systems

Articulation Agreements for The Best Online Schools for Transferring Credits

An articulation agreement is a document shared between two distinct colleges or universities. It describes the transfer plan between their different program offerings.

Articulation agreements are extremely helpful. They ensure that all the completed classes for the students of the two schools can transfer or somehow be equivalent. In students’ cases, it also shows a pathway for graduation or other advancement at the best online schools for transferring credits.

For example, if a community college wants to ensure that its associate-level degree classes will be accepted as transfer credits from a local four-year university, the two schools will draw up an articulation agreement. Then, a student can confidently attend the community college and earn an associate degree, knowing for sure that all the classes they complete at the community college will transfer over to the four-year university for their bachelor’s degree later.

Articulation agreements are described and drawn up using four different data points:

1. Statewide common-course numbering, which is a uniform numbering convention. All public postsecondary institutions use this for lower-division courses
2. Statewide guaranteed transfer of an associate degree. This guarantees that any students who receive an associate degree before transferring to a four-year school can transfer those credits to the four-year institution and enter class as a junior.
3. Statewide reverse transfer, which requires public institutions to retroactively grant associate degrees to students who previously hadn’t completed the associate degree requirements before transferring to a four-year school
4. Transferable core of lower division courses. These are sets of general education courses agreed upon by all public postsecondary schools. For a class to qualify, it must be fully transferable at all public institutions, although public institutions can have different naming conventions for their classes.

Which States Use All 4 Data Points?

At the time of this writing, only eight states use all four data points for articulation agreements. These states are:

• Colorado
• Florida
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Tennessee

If you want to know whether your transfer credits are likely to count at a particular school, look up that institution’s articulation agreements. If it has an articulation agreement with your previous school, there’s a good chance that all or most of your transfer credits will qualify.

Can You Transfer Credits for a Master’s Degree?

Many students ask, “Can you transfer graduate programs” or the credits within them?

The answer is: Sometimes, though, it depends on the school and the perspective the school(s) used when designing their articulation agreements. A school can look at three different perspectives of agreements for graduate credit transfers:

• Student perspective
• Sender college’s perspective
• Receiving institution’s perspective

Looking at all three perspectives is important because it benefits all the parties involved. Good articulation agreements simplify college transitions. Meanwhile, sending colleges are able to market the accessibility of their institutions and courses. Receiving institutions benefit by drawing more students to their course offerings. Students can benefit by knowing well ahead of time which classes they should take in which they should save for later.

Transferring Master’s Program Credits – Best Online Schools for Transferring Credits

What about post-bachelor’s education? Can you transfer grad schools or can you transfer in a master’s program?

Graduate credits are less likely to transfer between schools because they are generally more specific. Schools may include specific coursework or ideas in their offerings, so each course isn’t as similar or universal in terms of its subject matter/learning material as many undergrad courses.

If all else fails, asking can you switch master’s programs to the graduate program you wish to attend should give you the answer you need quickly.

Types of Transfer Credits

There are several types of transfer credits you may be able to move from one university to another. These include:

• Examination Credits: Received by completing specific exams related to a skill or knowledge set (e.g., a certificate exam)
• Experiential Learning Credits: Received by having applicable life experience that relates to the course and its subject matter
• Career and Technical Education Credits: Received by having a significant amount of on-the-job or relevant work experience related to the course credits
• Military Credits: Received by having performed a certain task in the military or worked on certain projects to a satisfactory standard
• Dual Enrollment Credits: Obtained from other colleges or high schools. Dual enrollment credits enable a student. For example, to take a high-level college course at a community college and count that course as its higher-level counterpart when they finally attend a four-year university.

Online colleges that accept the most transfer credits may accept all these credit types, offering excellent flexibility for online students!

Top 6 Best Online Schools for Transferring Credits

Want to maximize your previous credits’ value and minimize the time you have to spend completing your education? Take a look at these six top online schools that accept transfer credits.

1. Franklin University

   Tuition (In-State & Out-of-State): $9,577

   Franklin University is one of the best online colleges that accept transfer credits. This is because you can transfer up to 94 community or tech college credits toward a bachelor’s program. In most cases, that’s more than half of the credits you need to complete your education!

   On top of that, Franklin accepts five different means of earning credits. Work experience credits, military experience credits, and more. You can apply credits toward associate degrees up to doctoral degrees, so this could also be an excellent school if you wish to pursue a post bachelor’s education. Just note that the transfer credit limits are different for other degree types. You can transfer up to 24 credits toward a doctoral degree and up to 44 toward an associate degree.

   Lastly, Franklin has a myTransfer tool for new transfer students. It makes it quick and seamless to both see which credits qualify for equivalent credits here and to facilitate the transfer process. Bottom line: it’s easier than you think to progress your career at Franklin if you’ve already completed plenty of credits elsewhere.

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   Franklin University

    

2. Oregon State University

   Tuition (In-State): $12,664
   Tuition (Out-of-State): $33,439

   Oregon State University is noteworthy thanks to its transfer equivalency self-service tool. In a matter of minutes, you can easily see which of your previous college courses are perfect equivalents to existing OSU courses. Then, use the single course search tool to identify which holes in your degree you need to patch up to graduate.

   In total, you can transfer up to 22 graduate credits toward any 45-credit master’s program here. You can also transfer up to nine credits toward an 18-credit graduate certificate. If you’re an undergrad student, you could receive credit for graduate courses completed above the requirements for a bachelor’s degree.

   On the downside, you can’t transfer associate or bachelor’s credits. Your credits also all have to come from a regionally accredited institution. But on the plus side, OSU does recognize accredited institutions from outside the US, making this a stellar choice if you are an international student looking to complete your education in America.

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   Oregon State University

    

3. Colorado State University-Fort Collins

   Tuition (In-State): $12,874
   Tuition (Out-of-State): $32,734

   At Colorado State University’s Fort Collins campus, you have to pass a math requirement to be admitted. You need at least three credits of mathematics for graduation. However, if you are a transfer student and have completed an associate of arts or associate of science degree from a regionally accredited community college or junior college in Colorado, you’ll be guaranteed admission if that was the last institution you attended and you had a 2.0 cumulative GPA.

   You’ll have to prove transfer equivalency on a course-by-course basis for out-of-state courses. Furthermore, there are limits on some graduate degree transfers. For example, if you want to earn an MFA or Master of Fine Arts degree at CSU, no transfer credits can be accepted. The same is true if you’re looking for MBA programs that accept transfer credits; it’s not here.

   Want to earn a doctorate here? If you haven’t earned a graduate degree, you can transfer up to 10 credits earned at an accredited college or university if they are approved by your advisory committee and the graduate school you attend. Similar policies exist if you’ve already earned a master’s degree. Overall, CSU offers somewhat complex yet still very generous transfer opportunities to incoming students.

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   Colorado State University Fort-Collins

    

4. Capella University

   Tuition (In-State & Out-of-State): $14,328

   Capella University requires transcripts from all incoming students. If you’re an undergraduate student, you can transfer up to 135 quarter credits to this institution. If you’re pursuing a master’s degree, you can transfer up to a quarter of the necessary credits for that degree. Thus, this is one of the best graduate schools that accept transfer credits.

   Things are more varied with doctoral programs. However, Capella could be a good choice because it accepts transfer credits from many different programs and sources, including:

   – Advanced placement examinations
   – International baccalaureate examinations
   – College-level examination programs
   – DANTES Subject Standardized Tests
   – ACE-recommended learning experiences, including those that you earn from the military
   – Sophia for College Credit
   – And more

   Overall, there are 12 different ways to earn credit or reduce your tuition at Capella. It’s a highly accessible online university with 52 different degree programs and over 1,900 online courses. In fact, most of the education here is online, making it a prime choice for exclusively online learners. Check out this school if you’re looking for online graduate programs that accept transfer credits.

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   Capella University

    

5. Liberty University

   Tuition (In-State & Out-of-State): $22,511

   Liberty University is one of the most comprehensive online schools. It offers dozens of programs in different disciplines. But it’s an excellent choice for those who want to transfer a lot of credits into a new program, as Liberty lets you transfer up to 75% of your degree or up to 90 credits (for undergrad programs). It’s arguably the best school for finishing a degree for which you only need a few more classes.

   Up to 50% of your required program hours can transfer into a Liberty master’s degree, and the online university overall lets you earn credits in six different ways. Even better, the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) has a guaranteed admission agreement with Liberty. Transfer students from VCCS institutions are guaranteed admission to Liberty if they have a minimum GPA of 2.0 or higher.

   Add to that the Tau Sigma National Honor Society, which is specifically for transfer students, and it’s clear that Liberty is one of the best online colleges for transfer credits, bar none.

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   Liberty University

    

6. Saint Louis University

   Tuition (In-State & Out-of-State): $50,644

   If you attend Saint Louis University as a transfer student, note that 50% of the courses that fulfill major requirements for your degree and 75% of the courses for minor requirements for your degree have to be taken at SLU. That’s fairly restrictive at first glance.

   However, SLU does allow you to count courses that the school can’t match as elective credits. In this way, you could substantially reduce how many elective courses you have to complete for a bachelor’s degree. If you are pursuing a graduate degree, your transfer credits can’t exceed more than 20% of the total credits required for the degree.

   Most noteworthy is the 1818 Advanced College Credit Program. This college course is offered for a fraction of the normal price and is taught at local high schools. This is a potentially good way for high school students to get a jump on their college educations quite cheaply. Any credits earned through this program are immediately transferable to one’s program.

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   Saint Louis University

    

The Most Affordable Transfer-Friendly Online Colleges

If you’re trying to graduate from college without racking up a lot of student debt, the most affordable transfer-friendly online colleges could be just what you need. Take a look.

1. University of Central Florida

   Tuition (In-State): $6,368
   Tuition (Out-of-State): $22,467

   The University of Central Florida isn’t just one of the most affordable online colleges that accept transfer credits. It’s also one of the best online schools for transferring credits overall because you can transfer up to 50% of your graduate credits toward a new degree. So if you complete half of your degree elsewhere, you can still finish your education at UC Florida without worry.

   There are other elements to like about this school as well. It’s regionally accredited by SACSCOC, and it has a 73% graduate rate. All online transfer students get access to a highly convenient and intuitive tool that allows them to access the established course equivalencies for their transfer credits.

   In this way, you’ll always know what credits will transfer and what won’t, giving you total control over your transfer plan. With this tool, you’ll immediately grasp whether the University of Central Florida is right for your needs and your current credit load.

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   University of Central Florida

    

2. California State University-Fullerton

   Tuition (In-State): $7,007
   Tuition (Out-of-State): $18,887

   California State University’s Fullerton campus is pretty affordable. But it’s also an excellent college for transfer credits for graduate programs. More specifically, you only need to complete 21 semester units or half of the units required by your program to complete a master’s degree at Fullerton. In other words, half your degree can be completed elsewhere.

   There are specific credit requirements for other graduate or doctoral programs, as well. For an EdD degree, 48 of your units need to be completed at Fullerton. For a DNP degree, you only need to complete 30 units at Fullerton.

   This accredited online university has a reasonable acceptance rate of 59%. Some of its most popular degrees include bachelor’s degrees in business administration, sociology, and the humanities and social sciences. It’s overall one of the best places to get an online bachelor’s degree or master’s degree, thanks to its generous transfer credit policies.

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   California State University-Fullerton

    

3. American Public University System

   Tuition (In-State & Out-of-State): $7,360

   The American Public University System is also quite transfer-friendly. There are seven different ways in which to transfer credits to a new degree program. Just how many credits you can transfer depends on your degree level:

   – Associate programs let you transfer up to 45 credits
   – Bachelor’s programs let you transfer up to 90 credits
   – Master’s programs and certification program credit transfer limits vary

   As if that wasn’t enough, this transfer-friendly online school has no transfer credit evaluation fee. This way, you can quickly and cost-effectively see whether this is the right school for your needs, given your previous education.

   Credits by examination and self-paced coursework credits are accepted, making this one of the best online colleges with transferable credits for those who’ve already gained a lot of skills and knowledge from prior professions or career benchmarks. Consider this, for example, if you have served in the military and want to make sure your military education counts toward your new degree goals.

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   American Public University System

    

4. University of Maryland Global Campus

   Tuition (In-State): $7,848
   Tuition (Out-of-State): $12,336

   The University of Maryland Global is one of the best online schools that accept transfer credits. It is well known for its affordability and reasonable student body. However, it has a competitive graduation rate of just 21%. This is partially thanks to the rigor and comprehensiveness of its online programs.

   You can transfer up to 90 credits to this university if you have earned credits from an examination, military service, or any other type of non-collegiate training. In total, you can transfer up to 12 credits toward a graduate degree and up to six credits toward a graduate certificate.

   More importantly, students can take full advantage of a website called Transferology. This software shows exactly how many credits they can transfer to their new degree program and how to do so. There are six different ways to transfer your credits in total, maximizing flexibility and ease-of-use for incoming online students.

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   University of Maryland Global Campus

    

5. Western Governors University

   Tuition (In-State & Out-of-State): $8,010

   At WGU, you’ll find that your bachelor’s and associate program credits are evaluated on a course-by-course basis. But don’t assume that none of your credits will transfer in. This is one of the most generous transfer friendly online colleges available.

   Indeed, many students can transfer into bachelor’s and master’s programs at the Colleges of:

   – Business
   – Health
   – IT
   – the Teachers College

   WGU has a very comprehensive transfer policy regarding community college transcripts, as well. Completing all of your general education requirements at a community college should facilitate a smooth transfer to a bachelor’s or higher program here.

   Of course, Western Governors University also accepts some online college transfer credits by exam, as well as credits through:

   – Military transcripts
   – Industry certifications
   – International institutions

   This could be one of the best choices for veterans looking to transfer as many credits as possible or international students who have completed some education at non-US universities.

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   Western Governors University

    

Use GetEducated’s Online Resources for the Best Online Schools for Transferring Credits

You may find yourself transferring masters programs mid-degree for many valid reasons. Maybe you come across another graduate program that appears a better career fit. This new masters may require fewer credit hours, have a more flexible schedule, offer a better selection of courses, or offer lower tuition. Maybe it also offers a higher accreditation level than the masters you are currently enrolled in.

As noted in a previous article on choosing the best online PhD, it’s important to find a graduate degree program that fits your unique needs. After all, no one wants to spend years studying something they hate or earning a degree that does not pay off in the workplace.

Don’t feel like you’re stuck with your first pick. Go ahead, it’s OK to transfer. But look before you leap… Just because you’re thinking of starting at a new graduate school doesn’t mean you have to start back at square one! Your new graduate school might be one of the online colleges that accepts the most transfer credits.

Even better, you can use GetEducated to find the perfect online university based on your budget, schedule, and other factors today!