Transfer Students Trail Peers in STEM Degrees

If you plan to move from a community college into a STEM major, the completion gap means building your transfer plan with an adviser early.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Financial Aid

Bold flat-color vector editorial illustration of a wooden footbridge with a missing plank spanning a gap between two uneven stone blocks, against a pale sky. — Community college transfer students earned nearly 56,000 STEM bachelor's degrees but finish those majors less often than peers who started at four-year schools, a six-year study found. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you think community colleges give students a reliable route into STEM careers?

Community college transfer students earned nearly 56,000 STEM bachelor degrees in the studied cohort, making up 15% of all STEM bachelor earners, but they were less likely than their non-transfer peers to finish in those fields. The cohort entered four-year institutions in 2015 to 2016 and was tracked for six years to completion.

Why it matters

For students who start at a community college and plan to transfer into a science, technology, engineering or math major, the findings suggest the path is harder than the headline numbers imply. The report links the gap to highly sequenced STEM coursework and to credit loss, transfer delays and excess credits that slow degree completion.

Nearly 56,000 community college transfer students earned STEM bachelor degrees in the cohort, which is 15% of all STEM bachelor earners studied. Only 17% of transfer bachelor earners graduated in STEM fields, compared with 23% of non-transfer bachelor earners.

The players

Community College Research Center

A research center at Teachers College, Columbia University, that studies community college policy and student success, and produced this report.

National Student Clearinghouse

A nonprofit that maintains national enrollment and degree records, and supplied the data used in this study.

The details

The study followed students who entered four-year institutions in 2015 to 2016 and completed a bachelor degree within six years, using National Student Clearinghouse records. Those records cover 1,965 four-year institutions and 919 community colleges. Researchers point to the mechanics of transfer as the likely obstacle: STEM sequences build on one another, so a missed or non-transferring course can push a student back a term or more. Credits that do not carry over and extra credits earned beyond degree requirements can also delay graduation for transfer students.

Students in the cohort entered four-year institutions in 2015 to 2016.
Cohort members had up to six years from entry to complete a bachelor degree.
The Community College Research Center report on transfer STEM outcomes is scheduled for publication on November 12, 2026.

Education Landscape

The transfer route is a major way students reach a bachelor's degree, and this report shows it carries a measurable STEM completion gap. The finding fits a long-running research focus on credit loss and transfer delays that the Community College Research Center has tracked.

If you are starting at a community college with a STEM major in mind, ask an academic adviser how your credits will transfer and which courses must be completed in sequence. Ask the financial-aid office how credit loss or extra credits could affect your aid eligibility and timeline before you commit to a transfer plan.

The takeaway

The transfer route works for many STEM students, but the completion gap means planning matters more than the headline count suggests. Before transferring, ask your target school's advising office which community college courses will count toward the STEM major and confirm the plan in writing.