Transfer Students

Common App

It’s time to make a change. Whether you are transferring from a large university or another small institution, Hampshire College offers transfer students the opportunity to build a customized program of study drawing upon coursework they have already completed. Transfer students are eligible for merit scholarships and will be automatically considered when they apply to Hampshire.

To be considered eligible to apply as a transfer student, you must have completed at least 15 transferable college credits with a grade of C or better. These courses cannot have been recorded for credit on your high school diploma. Hampshire College accepts transfer credits for courses taken at a regionally accredited college or university if the courses are comparable in content, nature, and intensity to courses offered at Hampshire College. The minimum residency requirement for graduation is three semesters, regardless of how many credits are transferable. Students receiving financial aid should consult with the financial aid office regarding the number of semesters of financial aid eligibility.

Hampshire has negotiated articulation agreements with Holyoke Community College and Palm Beach Community College. Students who earn the associate of arts degree at either institution will receive additional faculty assistance in setting up their concentration of study at Hampshire. Please submit the form on the last page of the pdf document below to the admissions office to take full advantage of the benefits of the articulation agreement.

• Holyoke Community College (pdf)  
• Palm Beach Community College (pdf)

Questions? Contact admissions@hampshire.edu

Application Deadlines

Spring 2021	Deadline	Notification
Domestic Transfer Students	November 1	December 1
International Transfer Students	November 1	November 10
Fall 2021	Deadline	Notification
Domestic Transfer Students	March 15	April 15
International Transfer Students	March 15	April 15

Required Application Materials

We do a holistic read of your application, meaning we look at everything. To apply, submit the following materials:

• Completed Common Application and Writing Supplement (Proposed Program of Study) 
• All college transcripts
• College Report (from most recent college/university)
• Transfer Mid-Term Report (if currently enrolled)
• Final high school transcript
• One (1) academic letter of recommendation

In addition to the above materials, international students will need to submit:

• English Proficiency Requirement: If available, please submit a TOEFL iBT (minimum score of 91), IELTS (minimum score of 6.5), or Duolingo English Test (DET) (minimum score of 110). If you haven’t taken the TOEFL, IELTS, or DET, we will also accept the following as evidence of English proficiency:
  • IB (Higher Level) English A1 or A2 grades
  • AP English Literature and Composition grades
  • Predicted A-level English exam marks
  • If none of these apply, you may also request an English Proficiency waiver by contacting our Coordinator of International Recruitment, Dalton Lewis, at dclAD@hampshire.edu.
  • Any international transfer applicants who have studied for at least one year at a U.S. college or university will automatically have their English Proficiency requirement waived.

Optional Application Materials

Some optional application materials can be submitted through the Common Application. You will also have the opportunity, after applying, to submit additional optional materials such as photos, videos, PDFs, Word documents, and music files through your online application portal with Hampshire College.

• Tell us about a collaborative, group, or community-engaged activity that has been especially meaningful to you and why.
• Video/media supplement. This could be music, dance, film, animation, monologue, etc.
• Project sample: Submit an example of your independent or collaborative project work. This project can be creative, scientific, or otherwise showcase the type of work you've done.
• Additional letters of recommendation, up to three.

We also highly recommend an interview (must occur prior to the application completion deadline).

Common Application Writing Supplement

Proposed Program of Study

Please describe your academic interests and goals in one to three paragraphs. You might include the types of courses you wish to take (although a listing of course titles alone is insufficient) and any independent projects, internships, or field studies you envision yourself doing. The Proposed Program of Study is not a contract; it is intended to help determine whether Hampshire is an appropriate place for you to continue your academic studies.

Optional Writing Supplement

Please respond to the following question in 500 words or less:

• At Hampshire College students take ownership of their learning and customize their curriculum. With that in mind, tell us something you recently learned about and find fascinating. What else do you want to learn about this topic and how will you continue to deepen your knowledge about it?

How is transfer credit applied?

Hampshire's academic program is organized into three stages, or Divisions, of study. Each Division has a discrete set of requirements that transfer credit can be applied to. Most students transfer into Hampshire after their first or second year of college elsewhere and start their journey at Hampshire in Division II.

Faculty advisors can guide students in planning a curriculum that takes advantage of as much prior college work as possible. The number of courses and learning activities necessary to complete Division II will be determined by the individual student's Division II committee. Each student's program is individually designed and rates of progress vary.

We conduct a course-by-course evaluation of college work to determine how each transfer course fits into Division I, which requires that students take one course in four out of the five following areas listed below. To illustrate how transfer courses may be applied toward the Division I distribution requirement, the following list of subject areas is provided as a representative sample of the array of courses offered by each area:

• Mind, Brain, and Information: Animal Behavior, Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Philosophy, Education, and Psychology
• Arts, Design, and Media: Digital Design, Poetry, Creative Writing, Studio Arts, Literary Nonfiction, Theater, Playwrighting, and Visual Media
• Culture, Humanities, and Language: Architecture, Film, Video, Photography, Ecological Design, Philosophy, Art/Art History, Dance, Religion, and English
• Physical and Biological Sciences: Agriculture, Chemistry, Ecology, Astronomy, Biology, Physics, Zoology, and Mathematics
• Power, Community, and Social Justice: Anthropology, Peace Studies, Community Studies, Political Economy, Environmental Policy, Psychology, Feminist Studies, and Sociology

Application Status

Once we process your application, we will send an acknowledgment email that includes a username and password for you to check the completeness of your admissions file online. To make sure that you receive your decision, we recommend not opting out of email communications.

MA Community College Scholarship: Transfer Students

Students from Massachusetts' community colleges are eligible for one of two awards:

• A $2,000 award for students who complete over 30 credits with a C grade or better, including credits with a Pass grade
• A $4,000 award to recognize students who have completed their Associate's Degree at a MA Community College

These awards are renewable for three years and will be in addition to other Hampshire College merit scholarship awards.