Transferring to M State
Welcome to M State! We're ready to make your transfer process as smooth as possible. If you have questions or need assistance, contact a member of our admissions team at info@minnesota.edu or call, text or chat 877.450.3322, or email enroll@minnesota.edu.
Apply
Complete the application for admission to M State.
Submit your transcript
Submit your high school/GED and all college transcripts to M State. Transcripts should be emailed in PDF format to records@minnesota.edu or mailed directly from the high school/college you attended to:
M State Processing Center
1414 College Way
Fergus Falls, MN 56537
Only official college transcripts will be reviewed for transfer credits (sent directly from the institution to M State).
If you have taken courses at another institution that is part of the Minnesota State college and university system, M State is able to access your transcript electronically, as long as you do not have an outstanding financial obligation at that institution. (Please note that the University of Minnesota is not part of the Minnesota State system.) You will not need to request transcripts from these institutions. However, it is your responsibility to notify us of new or updated transcripts that become available electronically after initial admission to M State. Please use the eTranscript Request Form (found under Student Records, Academic Record Forms) to notify us of eTranscripts that become available.
Transfer of credit for courses taken at institutions outside the United States will be based on evaluation by a NACES accredited international evaluating agency such as WES, ECE or SpanTran. If you wish to have these credits evaluated, it is your responsibility to obtain a course-by-course evaluation from one of these agencies and provide it to M State.
Transfer of credit for courses taken at non-regionally accredited institutions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. If you wish to have these courses reviewed, you will be required to provide additional documentation (course outline, instructor credentials, and a course schedule) prior to decisions being made regarding the transferability of these courses.
Students who wish to transfer credits earned through military education or training must request their official Joint Services Transcript be sent directly to M State Processing Center, 1414 College Way, Fergus Falls, MN 56537. M State awards credit for military training based on ACE recommendations. Information is available regarding military credit transfers to institutions in the Minnesota State system.
If you have received credit through other agencies such as Advanced Placement (AP), the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), DSST (Dantes), International Baccalaureate (IB), Tech Prep certificates, etc., those transcripts also should be submitted to M State for evaluation. You may also utilize Transferology for additional information about how these exams or credits will transfer to M State.
How we evaluate your credits
Once all transcripts and any necessary supporting documentation have been received, M State will take up to four weeks to evaluate your credits. After your transcripts have been evaluated, you can view your Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) audit to see how the credits have been transferred and applied to your chosen major at M State.
Some courses may transfer as equivalent to an M State course, some may be assigned within a Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) goal area and others may be elective transfer credits. See the "How we evaluate your courses" below for details.
Not every course may be applicable to your chosen major. How your transfer credits are used at M State also may change if you declare a new major.
How we evaluate your courses
Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) courses
- Courses completed at MnSCU system institutions that fulfill any MnTC goal area(s) will be accepted at M State based on the goal area(s) assigned at the institution where the course was taken.
- Courses will be considered for direct equivalency to specific M State courses. If equivalency is granted and there is a discrepancy of goal area(s) assigned between the course taken and the equivalent M State course, the course will retain the sending institution's goal area(s) only.
- Courses completed at non-MnSCU institutions may be given MnTC credits in one of the following ways:
- If the course is given direct equivalency to an M State course within the MnTC, it will be assigned to the goal area(s) associated to the M State course.
- If the course is not equivalent to a specific M State course, it may still be assigned into one or more MnTC goal area(s).
Courses that are not part of the MnTC
- Courses are first considered for direct equivalency to any courses currently in M State's course inventory.
- Courses that are not directly equivalent to an M State course will be given general transfer credit for possible use as an elective, depending on the student's chosen major. These courses are identified on the DARS audit with a prefix of TRANT or TECHT.
- Any courses that are considered technical in nature are subject to the College's Recency Policy
- Courses that are below college level will be assigned as preparatory and may not be used to fulfill program requirements, although courses may be considered as equivalent to M State's preparatory courses for the purposes of fulfilling developmental course requirements and/or course prerequisites. Preparatory courses that are not considered equivalent to any M State course will be identified on the DARS audit with a prefix of REMDT.
Technical transfer courses
If you have taken technical courses which you wish to transfer to M State, the evaluation of those credits may take additional time. Faculty within the specific program area will be consulted to assist in determining equivalency. It may be determined that, because of the specialized contents and/or skills related to those courses, the course may not be equivalent to those of your chosen program.
Technical transfer courses are subject to M State's Recency Policy, which states that technical courses have a life span of five years from the date the course was completed. Program-specific exceptions may be granted.
A student may appeal decisions regarding the Transfer of Credit Policy or Procedure.
As provided in the M State Transfer of Credit Procedure, students may request further review of a course by providing additional documentation related to the course. This is especially important if the course was taken at an institution outside of the region, was taken many years ago or if there is any other reason why our transfer specialist may not have had access to detailed information about the course.
To request further review of a course, you must log in to eServices. In the left menu, click on "Grades and Transcripts" then "Transfer Review/Appeal." You will be able to view your DARS audit and follow the instructions to have any courses or credits reviewed. You will submit supporting documentation and comments through this tool. M State's transfer specialist will review this information. The status of the review will be visible to you in eServices throughout the process.
After initial review, if you are not satisfied with the result, you may go to the next step as directed on the Transfer Review/Appeal page where you can submit additional documentation and/or rationale. If you are still not satisfied with the college's transfer appeal decision, you may complete the final step as directed on the Transfer Review/Appeal page for consideration at the system office level. The procedure for a system-level appeal is defined in Minnesota State Procedure 3.21.1 Undergraduate Course Credit Transfer.
If you received a grade of D in a course that was taken at another MinnState institution and was assigned within any of the MnTC goal area(s), the course will transfer with the D grade regardless of your GPA at that institution. Remember that if you are completing the entire MnTC or the Liberal Arts & Sciences AA degree, the MnTC will need to be completed with a minimum 2.0 GPA.
For any other courses taken at MinnState institutions and for all courses taken at institutions outside of the MinnState system, courses in which you earned a grade of D will be accepted in transfer if your overall GPA at the sending college or university is 2.0 or higher. If your GPA at the sending institution is below 2.0, the D grade courses will not be accepted in transfer.
Individual M State programs reserve the right to not accept D grade courses in fulfillment of program requirements.
