Transfer Admission

College Transfer

A transfer student is a student who has enrolled and completed at least one credit hour in a college or university after high school (not including the summer immediately following high school graduation), but has never attended Missouri Western. 

To be admitted in this category, applicants must provide:

  1. An application for admission.
  2. An official transcript from each undergraduate college and university attended. Student transcripts received from other colleges and universities become the property of Missouri Western, and are not reissued to the student or to another institution. Transcript(s) must be sent from the college/university that credit was granted through.
  3. An official high school transcript (if less than 24 credit hours earned).

Students who have completed an Associate of Arts degree (AA), a bachelors degree or the Missouri 42-hour general education block (must be noted on the transcript or other official document) from an accredited institution, are considered to have satisfactorily completed Missouri Western’s general studies requirements. Completion of general studies requirements does not waive departmental major pre-requisites. 

Missouri Western accepts unlimited lower division transfer hours (100-200 level) from accredited colleges. Graduation requirements which may impact a transfer student include:

  • Earn a minimum of 120 credit hours;
  • Earn a minimum of 30 credits in upper-division coursework (300-400 level). Lower division transfer courses accepted as meeting upper division departmental course requirements cannot be used to fulfill this requirement;
  • Earn 30 of the last 45 credits at Missouri Western in institutional coursework;
  • Refer to missouriwestern.edu/transfer for transfer credit equivalencies and guidelines.

CORE 42 General Education for Transfer Students

The Missouri Higher Education Core Transfer Curriculum is a lower-division core curriculum of forty-two semester credit hours intended to facilitate student transfer among Missouri’s public institutions of higher education. It is a statewide general education course of study intended to ensure that all graduates possess a common core of college-level skills and knowledge. Effective Fall 2021 CORE42 has been adopted by Missouri Western as the general studies curriculum for all bachelor's degrees.

CORE 42 courses are distributed across five knowledge areas and transfer coursework is evaluated to fit appropriately within these areas. 

  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Written and Oral Communications
  • Natural Sciences
  • Social & Behavioral Sciences
  • Humanities and Fine Arts

Approved courses from Missouri schools are designated with a Missouri Transfer (MOTR) course number, which guarantees a one-to-one transfer among all Missouri public institutions of higher education. Missouri Western MOTR courses are identified within the course description in the University catalog and within the semester schedule missouriwestern.edu/schedule. MOTR courses from other Missouri schools can be found at dhewd.mo.gov/core42.php. 

More information about CORE 42 can be found at

Determination of Transferability

Missouri Western adheres to the guidelines of the Missouri Articulation Agreement. Transfer coursework is evaluated, credit is awarded and policies applied in the same manner applicable to currently enrolled Missouri Western students. Applicants who are considering transferring to Missouri Western should refer to the Table of Academic Standards to determine their incoming academic standing for transfer admission purposes.

Missouri Western awards transfer credit for undergraduate coursework completed at institutions accredited by one of the following agencies:

  • Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACCJC)
  • Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
  • Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
  • New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
  • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
  • WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)

Transfer credit is:

  • Awarded if it was completed at the prior institution after they received accreditation or during the period that they were granted candidacy status from an accrediting body as stated above.
  • Not awarded for coursework completed at institutions not accredited as stated above. 
  • Typically not awarded for vocational-technical programs or practical training. Exceptions may be approved for specific programs, degrees, articulated agreements or by approval of the appropriate academic department chair, dean or the Admissions and Graduation Committee. Note: The Bachelor of Science in Technology (BST) has been designed to incorporate AAS degrees from accredited institutions. Approved vocational-technical or practical training credit will not be placed on a student's record until a BST degree has been officially declared.
  • Awarded for a limited number of religion courses that are substantially similar to courses offered at Missouri Western. Courses in mission, theology, doctrine, and religious education are not accepted.
  • Awarded to students only if they enroll at Missouri Western subsequent to completing coursework at other institutions (exceptions may be approved by the Registrar’s Office).
  • Not awarded for prior learning and work experiences with the exception of military credit posted on a Joint Services transcript.

Appeal Procedure for Transfer Credits

A student has the right to appeal a denial of transfer credit to Missouri Western. After consulting the Office of Admissions, a student wishing to appeal should take the following steps:

The student wishing to appeal must:

  1. File an appeal with the Admissions and Graduation Committee (contact the Registrar’s Office, Eder 102 with questions).
  2. Indicate specific transfer course and proposed MWSU equivalent/requirement for each transfer course.
  3. For each transfer course submit a course description, a course syllabus and if appealing coursework from an institution not regionally accredited, the credentials of the instructor.
  4. For each general studies transfer request provide documentation if the course was considered a general education course at the transfer school.

After all appeal steps internal to Missouri Western have been exhausted, a transfer student may appeal to the state level Committee on Transfer and Articulation, dhewd.mo.gov/cota/.

Misrepresenting or Falsifying Information

Any student who misrepresents, falsifies or withholds required information will be referred to the Admissions and Graduation Committee for review and appropriate action. Such action may result in being denied admission to Missouri Western or immediate dismissal from Missouri Western. The University reserves the right to investigate and review the records of any prospective student to determine the applicant's eligibility to enroll.