Chalkboard with words talking about the grad student transfer credit policy

Big News for Transfer Grad Students!

| | 1 minute read

Southern Miss is making it easier for graduate students who transfer to our university! As of Fall 2019, we accept up to 33% of credit hours required to complete a graduate program. That means you will be able to bring more of your graduate coursework with you!

Interested in an MBA?
Our 33 hour MBA allows you to transfer up to 11 hours!
Interested in PhD in Nursing Leadership?
Our 48 hour Nursing PhD allows you to transfer up to 16 hours!

That’s right! Graduation could be closer than you think! You’ve worked hard for your hours so don’t lose them. Bring your qualifying credits with you and graduate faster at Southern Miss!

The checklist below will help you decide which of your credits will transfer:

  • The coursework to be transferred is time limited; it must have been taken within the time period allowed for the graduate degree program. For instance, if your program allows eight years to complete, your classes must have been taken within eight years of graduation.
  • The credit must carry a letter or numeric grade of “B” or better; courses assigned the grade pass/fail, satisfactory/unsatisfactory, incomplete “I”, or other ungraded designation cannot be transferred.
  • Course credit applied toward another earned degree cannot be transferred. Non-content courses, such as thesis or dissertation research, cannot be transferred.
  • Transfer grades will not be calculated in the USM GPA.
  • Transfer credit is not automatic and will be awarded only after course content is evaluated and approved by the graduate committee chair and/or graduate committee, school director, and graduate dean.
  • Students will supply syllabi, course descriptions, and other requested materials for review. For doctoral programs, final evaluation and acceptance of transfer credit will be made after the student has been enrolled for one semester.
  • A total sum of no more than one-third (33%) of combined transfer and non-degree coursework may be applied toward a graduate degree.

If you have any questions, please contact the Graduate School for more information. But while you’re here, check out our list of fully online degrees to find the program you want to finish!


Office of Online Learning

All blog posts are written and maintained by the Office of Online Learning at The University of Southern Mississippi. We provide support to online students, to faculty teaching online courses, and to units seeking to develop, grow, or improve online programs at the University.

For more information, email us at online@usm.edu.