Can You Transfer Grad Schools?

Searching for, applying to and being accepted into the right grad school program is no easy feat. If you sense once you've started that you've made a mistake, the feeling can be daunting if not overwhelming. While it isn't impossible to do, it does require some legwork and will have a few challenges.

Reasons for wanting to transfer

• Financial reasons or life events. This could be a matter of just biting off more than you can chew financially, or encountering a life event that has affected your financial situation, making it impossible to continue with the current program you're enrolled in. In this case, you may be thinking of taking a break and transferring to a more affordable program.
• Not the right research match. Despite doing (hopefully) extensive research, it is possible that once you start working within the program, some unexpected differences may start to surface. Perhaps the professor has a different end goal, and you feel it's not in line with what you expected to accomplish, which can lead to looking for other programs where you may have more opportunity to conduct the type of research you want. This situation more often, though not exclusively, happens with Ph.D. students versus master's students.
• Need a change of format. Sometimes a job, family conflict or other situation arises causing you to have to search for a program with a more flexible learning format. Obviously, this would mainly pertain to students participating in full-time, on-campus programs that no longer suit their life situation.
• Unacceptable grades. If your grades are less than stellar, or even failing, you may be dismissed from the program you're currently participating in. However, if your overall GPA is still acceptable, you may be able to transfer some of your credits to another program.
• Your interests changed. Most graduate students have a pretty good idea what they're going to study when they decide to go to grad school. However, on occasion, you may decide it's not what you thought, or you may find another avenue that would be better suited for your intended career path. If the new program you want to pursue is somewhat related to your current one, you may be able to transfer some of your credits. In this case, it may be worth exploring the possibility of transferring within the same institution, if available. An example of this may be switching from a STEM MBA to a Professional Science Master's.
• Advisor-related issues. There can be several issues related to your program advisor that can precipitate a desire to transfer:
  • If your interest in your program was in part based on the reputation of the advisor or a desire to work with them, and then that person either passes away or leaves the program while you're still in there, it may prompt you to leave the program or follow the advisor to their new institution.
  • Unbecoming and unprofessional behaviors by graduate level advisors have surfaced recently at many reputable institutions and have had a serious impact on some students' educational careers. If you have had a negative experience with an advisor that you don't feel has been remedied to your satisfaction, you may be considering a transfer for the sake of your goals and mental health.

  What to do if you need to transfer

  If you decide that transferring is your only option, you should know that it will require some work on your part.

  • Make sure you've exhausted all options within your program depending on your reason or reasons for wanting to transfer. Whether that's speaking to the financial aid office, your program advisors or administrators, or your family, transferring is not a decision to be made lightly and without a great deal of proactive efforts and introspection.
  • If it's a matter of feeling like the program's concentration isn't right for you, you may be able to just switch concentrations and stay within the general program. If you think this would solve your concerns, it's worth looking into before switching institutions altogether.
  • Speak with the program advisors of the new program you want to transfer to so that you're aware of what, if any, credits will transfer and what documentation and requirements you will need to provide. Some programs may not accept transfer credits from another grad school program, and you may have to start from scratch.
  • Make sure the school that you want to transfer to addresses all the reasons you wanted from your original program in the first place. You want to learn from your previous experience in order to make the next one the right one, and the final one.
  • You will most likely need letters of recommendation from your current program, so don't burn bridges. Talk through your reasons for wanting to transfer and do your best to leave on good terms.
  • If you're finishing out the year or term, make the most of it. Take a class that will transfer or help you in the new program you want to transfer to.

  The bottom line

  Transferring graduate programs is not ideal and is something that should be given a great deal of thought and consideration before proceeding. However, if after weighing all your options and issues, you decide that transferring is in your best interest, then it's important to take the proper steps to ensure that you will be able to transfer with as much of your completed coursework as possible. Ultimately you must do what's best for you. With the right amount of thought, research and effort you can still complete the grad school program of your dreams.