Transferring from community college to a university
How moving from a community college to a university works: transfer degrees, statewide agreements, what happens to your credits, the Common App for transfer, and the national numbers. Every fact below names its official source.
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What transferring means
Transfer rules differ by state, school and major and change from year to year. Confirm with a transfer counselor at your community college and with the admissions office of each university.
Citing the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 37% of students transfer at least once in their college careers, and nearly half of those change schools more than once. [1]
Students transfer from community college, between four-year colleges or as returning adult students. [1]
More details
An estimated 35 percent of college students transferred to a new school at least once from 2004 to 2009, and an estimated 62 percent of these transfers were between public schools. [2]
College students sometimes transfer because of changing interests or for financial reasons, and students seeking a bachelor’s degree at a more expensive school may save on tuition by transferring from a less expensive school. [2]
Articulation agreements and transfer degrees
Two state systems are shown below as examples. Many other states have their own transfer degrees and agreements, so ask your community college’s transfer center which ones apply to you.
Articulation agreements are transfer agreements or partnerships between schools that designate how credits earned at one school will transfer to another, and students can face challenges transferring credits between schools that have no statewide policies or articulation agreements. [2]
Example: California
- The Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T) degrees of the California Community Colleges are two-year associate degrees that are fully transferable to the CSU and are no more than 60 semester units or 90 quarter units. [3]
- Students with these Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) who meet the CSU’s minimum eligibility requirements get priority admission to a CSU campus, though not necessarily to a particular campus or major. [3]
- A student with an ADT who transfers into a similar CSU program can earn an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree with only 120 units. [3]
More details
- ADT applicants must have completed at least 18 semester or 27 quarter units in a major or area of emphasis and an approved set of general education requirements (CSU GE-Breadth or IGETC). [3]
- Students who know their major can follow UC Transfer Pathways, a single set of courses to get ready for the major that lets them choose from any of the nine UC undergraduate campuses that offer it. [4]
- Six UC campuses offer its TAG program, in which a student submits a separate TAG application to the chosen campus and is admitted to that campus by meeting the course and GPA requirements. [4]
- ASSIST is the official course transfer and articulation system for California colleges and universities, and it does not take the place of a counselor on campus. [5]
Example: Florida (2+2)
- Florida’s Statewide Articulation Agreement (2+2) gives students who earn an Associate in Arts (AA) degree, and certain Associate in Science degrees, from one of the Florida College System’s 28 public state colleges admission to one of the State University System of Florida’s 12 public state universities, but not to all of them or necessarily to the student’s top choice. [6]
- Students who hold an AA degree from a Florida College System institution will be awarded at least 60 credit hours toward the bachelor’s degree. [6]
- The 36-hour general education block earned at any public college or university in Florida will be accepted in total by any other public institution in Florida. [6]
More details
- Students who transfer to a state university before earning an AA degree may be denied admission or lose credit, and in most cases must meet freshman admission standards. [6]
- Most bachelor’s degree programs require specific coursework, called common prerequisites, before admission, so AA students should decide on a bachelor’s program of interest as early as possible. [6]
- By Florida law an institution accepting a transfer student from another institution in the Statewide Course Numbering System must award credit for equivalent courses. [6]
How credits transfer and what to check
Before you transfer, ask each university in writing which of your courses it will accept, whether they count toward your major or only as electives, and what grade and GPA it needs.
Students who transferred from 2004 to 2009 lost, on average, an estimated 43 percent of their credits, and students who transferred between public schools lost an estimated 37 percent. [2]
Transfer students may have additional costs to repeat credits that do not transfer or count toward their degree, and may use up their financial aid eligibility. [2]
More details
Almost all schools’ websites provided credit transfer policies, as the Department of Education requires, but about 29 percent did not list the other schools with which they had articulation agreements. [2]
Some colleges offer unofficial credit evaluations before students apply, so students should ask an advisor at the school how their credits can be evaluated for transfer. [1]
The Common App for transfer
Common App is a trademark of its owner. Common App, the CSU, the University of California, ASSIST and the Florida Department of Education are not affiliated with and do not endorse UpOnly Learning.
Common App is a non-profit membership organization representing more than 700 colleges that accept transfer applications, and transfer students create a transfer account. [1]
Transfer applicants must report all colleges or universities where they have taken a course, and some programs also ask for a high school transcript, self-reported college courses or an unofficial copy of college transcripts. [1]
Transfer by the numbers
National averages from one cohort of students. They describe what happened to past students, not what will happen to you.
Fewer than a third of first-time-ever-in-college students who began at a community college in fall 2018 transferred to a four-year institution within six years (31.6%). [7]
Slightly less than half of those who transferred completed a bachelor’s degree (48.7%). [7]
More details
Students who entered community college in fall 2018 with prior dual enrollment had higher transfer-out (45.4%) and bachelor’s completion rates (58.6%) than first-time-ever-in-college students. [7]
Most community college transfer students attended a public four-year institution (73.1%), and 71.2% of students who transferred to a public four-year institution in the 2018-2019 academic year earned a bachelor’s degree within six years. [7]
81.8 percent of students re-enrolled at their four-year transfer institution in the following academic year, and retention was higher (86.9%) for students who had earned an award before transferring. [7]
Questions people search
Chosen from our search-question research. Every answer is cited.
Do community college credits transfer to universities?
Articulation agreements are transfer agreements or partnerships between schools that designate how credits earned at one school will transfer to another, and students can face challenges transferring credits between schools that have no statewide policies or articulation agreements. [2]
Students who transferred from 2004 to 2009 lost, on average, an estimated 43 percent of their credits, and students who transferred between public schools lost an estimated 37 percent. [2]
What is an Associate Degree for Transfer?
The Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T) degrees of the California Community Colleges are two-year associate degrees that are fully transferable to the CSU and are no more than 60 semester units or 90 quarter units. [3]
Students with these Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) who meet the CSU’s minimum eligibility requirements get priority admission to a CSU campus, though not necessarily to a particular campus or major. [3]
How many community college students transfer to a four-year college?
Fewer than a third of first-time-ever-in-college students who began at a community college in fall 2018 transferred to a four-year institution within six years (31.6%). [7]
Slightly less than half of those who transferred completed a bachelor’s degree (48.7%). [7]
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Sources
- Common App. Transfer resource center. https://www.commonapp.org/transfer/. no edition stated. Checked .
- U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Higher Education: Students Need More Information to Help Reduce Challenges in Transferring College Credits (GAO-17-574). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-17-574. Published Aug 14, 2017 (data on students who transferred from 2004 to 2009). Checked .
- The California State University (CSU), Office of the Chancellor. CCC-Associate Degree for Transfer. https://www.calstate.edu/apply/transfer/Pages/ccc-associate-degree-for-transfer.aspx. no edition stated. Checked .
- University of California, UC Admissions. UC transfer programs. https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/transfer-requirements/uc-transfer-programs/. no edition stated. Checked .
- ASSIST (California Community Colleges, California State University and University of California). Welcome to ASSIST. https://assist.org/. no edition stated (2026-2027 academic year live). Checked .
- Florida Department of Education, Division of Florida Colleges. College & University Transfer (Postsecondary Articulation). https://www.fldoe.org/schools/higher-ed/fl-college-system/dual-enroll-transfer/postsecondary-articulation.stml. no edition stated. Checked .
- National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Tracking Transfer: Measures of Effectiveness in Helping Community College Students to Complete Bachelor’s Degrees. https://nscresearchcenter.org/tracking-transfer/. Updated March 18, 2026 (fall 2018 entering community college cohort). Checked .
Format: Publisher. Page title. URL. Edition or catalog year. Checked date.