Many students are surprised at the leeway they have in choosing the order of the courses in POS. While this freedom makes for flexible scheduling, it can also make decision making about each semester’s course load less straightforward. Take a look in the sub-pages to learn more (e.g., qualitative and quantitative course options and what course you should take early in the program).
Regarding transfer credit: Students are advised to be aggressive about what courses to waived or transferred. Some students have gotten as many as four courses waived/transferred. You can transfer MA courses and sometimes even undergraduate ones. Talk to your advisor and also other PhD students to get information on this process.