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

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 the same department as your Doctoral degree 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 Graduation Level, Graduation Plan, and Credit Type (Outside Institution – Transfer Master’s Degree)
    1. NOTE: This is where you enter your current program information. Do not enter your Master’s degree information here.
    2. NOTE: EdD students must change Graduation Level to Professional. Then select EDUCST-ED as the Graduation Plan.
  5. Fill in your Master’s degree Institution, type All in the Course Title box, type Courses in the Course Number box and then type 30 in the Credit Hours box.
    Example:
  6. Include you advisor’s information (name.#). We require your advisor to approve your request.
  7. If there are not errors, select Submit.

If your Master’s degree was completed at Ohio State in a different degree/department:

  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 Graduation Level, Graduation Plan, and Credit Type (Previous OSU Master’s Degree)
    1. NOTE: This is where you enter your current program information. Do not enter your Master’s degree information here.
    2. NOTE: EdD students must change Graduation Level to Professional. Then select EDUCST-ED as the Graduation 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.
    Example:
  6. Include you advisor’s information (name.#). We require your advisor to approve your request.
  7. If there are not errors, select Submit.

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 Graduation Level, Graduation Plan, and Credit Type (Outside Institution – Transfer Individual Courses).
    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. If there are not errors, select Submit.

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. 

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 Graduation Level, Graduation Plan, and Credit Type (Graduate Non-degree)
    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.
    NOTE: Only a total of 10 credit hours taken under Graduate Non-degree status can be transferred to your degree program.
  6. Include your advisor information (name.#). We require your advisor to approve your request.
  7. If there are not errors, select Submit.