Transfer Admission

Prospective transfer applicants should take advantage of the detailed information and resources available on the Transfer Admission Web site . The site offers the latest details about transfer admission application requirements; information about the factors considered in making admission decisions; secure access to personal information such as application status and admission decisions; details about academics, financial aid, housing, and more; event information and registration; and contact information for admission counselors.

Eligibility to Apply

To be eligible for transfer admission consideration, an applicant must be a US citizen or permanent resident and must:

1. Have graduated from high school or earned a GED
2. Have enrolled in an institution of higher education following high school graduation or receipt of the GED
3. Have completed or have in progress the final coursework toward at least thirty semester hours of transferable credit

International applicants interested in applying for undergraduate admission after enrolling in another college or university should review the International Admission information in the General Information catalog and visit the International Undergraduate  Web site.

Transfer applicants to most programs may apply for admission while working to complete the last of their required thirty semester hours of transferable coursework. During the application review process, however, preference is given to applicants who complete the required thirty hours by the deadline. In cases where the applicant has not completed thirty hours by the deadline, all application items, including official transcripts of already completed coursework, must arrive in the Office of Admissions by the deadline. Such applicants must then submit official transcripts showing completed coursework for the current semester as soon as the semester is completed and no later than June 1 for summer/fall applicants and January 5 for spring applicants. The Office of Admissions evaluates such applications for available spaces only after receiving documentation showing completion of the required thirty semester hours of coursework.

An applicant who is ineligible to continue at a previous institution for academic or disciplinary reasons is not eligible for admission to the University. There is no probationary or provisional admission for transfer applicants.

Visit Transfer Eligibility for details about who should and should not apply for transfer admission.

Transfer Application Procedures

To be considered for transfer admission, the applicant must submit the items listed below by the application deadline . Official transcripts and test score reports submitted to the Office of Admissions will not be duplicated or returned to the student. Faxes of transcripts and applications are not accepted.

1. A completed ApplyTexas US Transfer Application, including the required essays and statement of purpose.
2. Separate, official transcripts from each college attended, including any at which the applicant enrolled while in high school. Every college-level course the student took must be reported on a transcript from the institution at which the student enrolled in the course, even if it also appears on the transcript of another institution that accepted it for transfer credit. Summer and fall applicants must submit official transcripts of all coursework undertaken through the previous fall; spring applicants must submit official transcripts of all work undertaken through the previous summer.
3. The nonrefundable application fee or a request for an exemption, described in the section Application Processing Fee .
4. An expanded résumé that provides information about the applicant’s previous five years of academic, extracurricular, community, and work activities, honors, and awards.

The following items are required for some applicants:

1. Permanent resident alien applicants must submit a photocopy of the front of the permanent resident card or temporary evidence of I-551 in the passport.
2. Transfer applicants (both United States citizens and permanent residents) who have undertaken a significant amount of their college coursework in a country in which English is not the only language spoken must show proficiency in English by presenting a score on either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Details about possible exemptions are available on the International Undergraduate  Web site. 

Required for enrollment. Before enrolling at the University, admitted transfer students must submit an official high school transcript. The transcript is used to verify completion of the units in foreign language and mathematics that are requirements of many University degrees. Although the high school transcript is not required for admission, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit it with other admissions credentials by the deadline.

Automatic admission for eligible transfer applicants. Section 51.8035 of the Texas Education Code establishes criteria for automatic admission to the University for qualifying transfer applicants who began their studies at a Texas community or junior college following high school graduation. These criteria were added to the education code in 2009 by SB 175.

For details visit Automatic Transfer Admission .

Transfer Application Review Process

All applications for transfer admission are reviewed and evaluated individually and holistically. Admission decisions are made after careful consideration of the strength of the applicant’s academic background; his or her record of achievement and accomplishment, both in and outside of the classroom; and related factors reported by the applicant in writing.

The Office of Admissions considers the following items when looking for evidence of a strong academic background:

1. Substantial coursework from a challenging academic institution or program
2. Required and appropriate courses for specific areas of study
3. Evidence of a positive academic trend

The following items form the basis for evaluating an applicant’s record of achievement and accomplishment:

1. Indications of a superior level of achievement in a particular area, or particular attributes that would be an asset to a department or college
2. Letters from deans, department chairs, or faculty members that attest to the applicant’s qualifications for their respective programs
3. Information on a personal résumé that attests to the applicant’s skills, abilities, experiences, or background
4. Performance at an audition or the quality of a portfolio, when required for the applicant’s proposed major
5. Scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language or the International English Language Testing System, when required
6. Other special circumstances, including socioeconomic standing; educational goals; cultural background; employment, internships, etc.; race or ethnicity; personal experiences and hardships; personal responsibilities; and any additional information submitted by the applicant

Enrollment pressures at the University may not permit admission of all who qualify for certain academic programs. When this occurs, the Office of Admissions will, within applicable law, admit those students who are judged to be most able to contribute to and benefit from the University’s rich, diverse, and academically challenging environment. Additional admissions requirements for some undergraduate programs are described in Major-Specific Application Requirements .

Grade point average computation. A transfer applicant’s grade point average on transferable college coursework is a significant indicator of the applicant’s academic strength. Because the Office of Admissions considers academic background as a factor when making transfer decisions, the grade point average can play an important role in an applicant’s final admission decision.

The admission grade point average is computed on all transferable college coursework the student has undertaken, whether passed, failed, or repeated. Details about how the Office of Admissions computes GPA for transferable coursework is available on Computing GPA .

Letter grade	Grade points	Letter grade	Grade points
A+	4.00	C	2.00
A	4.00	C-	1.67
A-	3.67	D+	1.33
B+	3.33	D	1.00
B	3.00	D-	0.67
B-	2.67	F	0.00
C+	2.33

Transfer and evaluation of credit. Applicants for transfer admission must submit official transcripts of all coursework taken at all other institutions for evaluation by the Office of Admissions. This evaluation determines whether the coursework could in any circumstance qualify for transfer credit at the University, but it does not constitute approval of the credit for use toward a degree; such approval is solely within the jurisdiction of a student’s academic dean.

Additional information about reporting and awarding college credit, and about the University's coursework resources and tools, is available on Transfer Resources and Credit .

Catalog eligibility for Texas transfer students. A student who transfers from another Texas public institution of higher education has the same catalog choices that he or she would have had if the dates of attendance at the University had been the same as the dates of attendance at the other institution. However, the student’s choice of major may affect whether or not transferable coursework may be counted toward a degree. Rules about catalog choice are given in the undergraduate catalog in the section Graduation Under a Particular Catalog .

Coursework-in-residence requirement. Candidates for all undergraduate degrees must complete at least sixty semester hours of coursework in residence at the University. A transfer student who has completed a substantial amount of transferable, degree-applicable coursework may be obliged to take more courses at the University than his or her degree program requires, simply to meet the residence requirement. Prospective applicants for transfer admission to some majors who have earned more than sixty hours of transferable credit are considered to have excessive hours. Students considering transfer after earning more than sixty hours of transferable credit should carefully review their options and the possible ramifications of the coursework-in-residence requirement before transferring.

Transient Admission (Summer Only)

Undergraduate students who are pursuing degrees at other US colleges and universities and wish to continue their studies at the University during the summer only may be admitted to some undergraduate programs as transient students. A transient student who then wishes to be admitted to the University on a regular basis must apply for admission as a transfer student.

A transient student may not register in the Graduate School but may take graduate courses if qualified. If the student is subsequently admitted to the University as a regular student, credit earned as a transient student may be used to meet undergraduate degree requirements but may not be used to fulfill the requirements for a graduate degree.

Students who attend the University as transient students and then are admitted on a regular basis are immediately subject to the University’s academic regulations. In particular, such a student will be placed on scholastic probation upon enrollment if his or her grade point average for work undertaken as a transient student at the University is below 2.00.

Fresh Start

Section 51.931 of the Texas Education Code provides that a resident of Texas may apply for admission to the University as an undergraduate student without consideration of course credit or grades earned ten or more years prior to the semester the applicant plans to enroll. To be admitted, the applicant must meet the admission standards in effect at the time of application. Students admitted under the fresh start option may not receive credit for any coursework taken ten or more years prior to enrollment.

Additional information about the fresh start option is available from the Office of Admissions and on the Fresh Start page.

Enrollment as a Nondegree Student

A student who holds a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, including the University, may apply for admission as a nondegree student in one of the undergraduate colleges or schools. Students seeking nondegree admission follow the process for undergraduate transfer applicants and are considered on a competitive basis with transfer applicants for the same semester. Some undergraduate majors are not open to nondegree students; applicants must select from available nondegree majors.

Nondegree students are subject to the rules that apply to other undergraduates. With the approval of the director of admissions, nondegree students may change to degree-seeking status in an undergraduate college or school.

With the approval of the instructor and the graduate adviser, a nondegree student may take any graduate course for which he or she meets the prerequisite. However, graduate courses that a student takes while enrolled as an undergraduate nondegree student may not later be counted toward a graduate degree.

Exchange students. A student who is admitted to the University through a reciprocal exchange program is also classified as a nondegree student. An exchange student may not register for more than two long-session semesters and one summer session. The transferability of academic credit to the student’s home institution is determined by the home institution.

An exchange student may later apply for admission to the University as a degree-seeking student, but only after completion of the exchange period. If the student is admitted as a degree-seeker, credit that he or she earned as an exchange student may be counted toward a University degree only on a limited basis and only with the approval of the student’s dean.