Transfer Credit

The Student Services Office helps graduate students transfer several types of transfer credit.

  • Transferring Master’s degree credit as a block of 30 credit hours to a Doctoral degree
  • Transferring Individual Credits from another University
  • Ohio State Graduate Non-Degree Transfer Credit
  • Post-Degree Transfer Credit

Please refer to the appropriate section below for more information and instructions.

Transferring Master’s degree credit as a block of 30 credit hours to a Doctoral degree 

If you are a doctoral student requesting to transfer your master’s degree as a block of 30 credit hours to Ohio State, complete the steps below:

NOTE: If your Master’s degree was earned in Educational Studies at Ohio State, you do not need to transfer in your Master’s credit to your Doctoral program.

If your Master’s degree was completed at another university:

  1. Go to http://gradforms.osu.edu. Log in with your Ohio State username and password.
  2. Click on View Enrollment Forms.
  3. Select Create New Transfer of Graduate Credit Form.
  4. Select your Current Program and Type of Credit (e.g. outside institution if you are transferring in your master’s degree or individual coursework from another institution).
    1. NOTE: EdD students must change Graduation Level to Professional. Then select EDUCST-ED as the Academic Plan.
  5. Fill in the Institution, type All in the Course Title box, type Courses in the Course Number box and then type 30 in the Credit Hours box.
  6. Include you advisor’s information (name.#). We require your advisor to approve your request.
  7. Select save and continue.
  8. You have the option to review the request prior to submitting and there is an option to Edit at this point.
  9. If there are not errors, select Submit Request.

If your Master’s degree was completed at Ohio State outside of the Department of Educational Studies:

  1. Go to http://gradforms.osu.edu. Log in with your Ohio State username and password.
  2. Click on Graduation & Examination Forms.
  3. Select Committee & Examination Petition Forms and click Create New Committee and Examination Petition
  4. Under Please select the option that pertains to your request, select Other (Use Reason section below; be specific)
  5. In the Reason for Petition box, enter: Request to transfer my master’s degree from (insert name of Master’s program/college) as a 30 credit hour block to my Educational Studies (insert either PhD or EdD).
  6. Select any of the options in Application Type (this box does not matter for this request).
  7. In Graduation Level, select Doctoral if you are a PhD student or Professional if you are an EdD student, then select your appropriate degree plan under Graduation Plan.
  8. Include you advisor’s information (name.#). We require your advisor to approve your request.
  9. Select save and continue.
  10. You have the option to review the request prior to submitting and there is an option to Edit at this point.
  11. If there are not errors, select Submit Request.

Transferring Individual Credits from another University

If you have taken graduate course work at another university, it is possible to transfer that credit to Ohio State and have it count toward a graduate degree. Here is the process for transferring that credit:

  1. Go to http://gradforms.osu.edu. Log in with your Ohio State username and password.
  2. Click on View Enrollment Forms.
  3. Select Create New Transfer of Graduate Credit Form.
  4. Select your Current Program and Type of Credit (e.g. outside institution if you are transferring in your master’s degree or individual coursework from another institution).
    1. NOTE: EdD students must change Graduation Level to Professional. Then select EDUCST-ED as the Academic Plan. MLT students must change Graduation Level to Master‘s – Course Based. Then select LRNTCH-MLT as the Academic Plan.
  5. If you are requesting transfer credit for individual courses, list each course individually. Fill in the Institution, the Course Title, the Course Number and the Credit Hours for each course. Click Add if you are requesting transfer credit for more than one course.
    1. NOTE: If you are a doctoral student requesting to transfer your master’s degree as a block of 30 credit hours to Ohio State, fill in the Institution, type All in the Course Title box, type Courses in the Course Number box and then type 30 in the Credit Hours box.
  6. Include you advisor’s information (name.#). We require your advisor to approve your request.
  7. Select save and continue.
  8. You have the option to review the request prior to submitting and there is an option to Edit at this point.
  9. If there are not errors, select Submit Request.

The following conditions must be satisfied in order to transfer graduate credit:

  • The graduate credit was earned as a graduate student at an accredited university
  • The student earned at least a grade of “B” or satisfactory in each course for which credit is to be transferred
  • The Graduate Studies Committee has approved the transfer

Credits should be transferred at the time the student is admitted but no later than the end of the second semester of enrollment in the Graduate School. Transfer credits count in the student’s total earned hours but do not count in the student’s graduate cumulative point-hour ratio. The credit hours and the mark “K” appear on the student’s official permanent record.

For any transfer credit to count toward a master’s degree, the courses transferred must have been taken within the time limit established by the Graduate Studies Committee. Please refer to your program handbook or your degree handbook for more information.

Master’s Degree students: must complete 80 percent of the program at Ohio State.  The Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Educational Studies requires that coursework applied toward the Master’s Degree be completed within six years of graduation.

Doctoral Degree students: A minimum of 50 post-master’s graduate credit hours are required for the doctoral degrees. Many of our doctoral degrees require more than 50 hours. Graduate transfer credit from another university must be in excess of the master’s degree requirements for that institution to count towards the 50 post-master’s hours. It must be course work normally taken by doctoral students at the other institution. There is no time limit on transferring a master’s degree toward your PhD. However, any coursework in addition to the master’s degree must have been taken within eight years of being admitted to our PhD program. If you need clarification, please speak to your faculty advisor or the Student Services Office.

Ohio State Graduate Non-Degree Transfer Credit

Students often take graduate level coursework at Ohio State prior to being admitted to a degree program. This coursework can be applied toward a future degree at Ohio State. No more than 10 credit hours can be transferred toward a future degree. To initiate the transfer of this credit, log into http://gradforms.osu.edu/.

  1. Click on View Enrollment Forms.
  2. Select Create New Transfer of Graduate Credit Form.
  3. Select your Current Program and Type of Credit (e.g. Select Graduate Non-Degree if selecting graduate non-degree credit (up to 10 credit hours) be applied towards your current program.)
    NOTE: EdD students must change Graduation Level to Professional. Then select EDUCST-ED as the Academic Plan. MLT students must change Graduation Level to Master‘s – Course Based. Then select LRNTCH-MLT as the Academic Plan.
  4. Ohio State University will automatically populate in the Institution field.
  5. List the Course Title, Course Number and Credit Hours for each graduate non-degree course for which you want credit. If you choose three classes worth nine hours, you will only revceive credit for seven hours toward your degree.
  6. Include your advisor information (name.#). We require your advisor to approve your request.
  7. Select Save and Continue.
  8. You have the option to review the request prior to submitting and there is an option to edit at this point.
  9. If there are no errors, select Submit Request.

Post-Degree Transfer Credit

Students who have completed a graduate degree at Ohio State and have taken more graduate- level coursework at Ohio State following the successful completion of the previous degree are eligible to transfer in coursework. There is no limit on the amount of coursework that can be transferred in, but it must be approved by your advisor and the graduate studies committee. To initiate the transfer of this credit, log into http://gradforms.osu.edu/.

  1. Click on View Enrollment Forms.
  2. Select Create New Transfer of Graduate Credit Form.
  3. Select your Current Program and Type of Credit (e.g. Select Post-degree Credit)
    NOTE:EdD students must change Graduation Level to Professional. Then select EDUCST-ED as the Academic Plan. MLT students must change Graduation Level to Master’s- Course Based. Then select LRNTCH-MLT as the Academic Plan.
  4. Fill in Ohio State University in the Institution field.
  5. List the Course Title, Course Number and Credit Hours for each course for which you want credit.
  6. Include your advisor’s information (name.#). We require your advisor to approve your request.
  7. Select Save and Continue.
  8. You have the option to review the request prior to submitting and there is an option to edit.
  9. If there are no errors, select Submit Request.