Admissions Criteria
Becoming a transfer student at UCCS starts with a transfer application. Carefully read our Transfer Student Admissions Criteria to find out exactly what you need to be admitted. Once your application is accepted and you are admitted to UCCS, you will be able to attend an orientation, claim a student account, apply for financial aid, and more.
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To be considered for admission, transfer students must be eligible to return to all collegiate institutions they previously attended. Students may not disregard any part of a previous collegiate record. Failure to advise the university of all institutions previously attended may be sufficient cause for rejection or dismissal.
Transfer students who graduated from high school in 1988 or later are subject to the same Minimum Academic Preparation Standards (MAPS) as those required of all first-year students. Students with less than 13 credit hours to transfer will be treated as Freshman Admission. Students should be careful to note the different requirements in particular colleges and plan their academic preparation accordingly. Students may be admitted even though they have not met all the MAPS requirements. If that is the case, they are required to make up any deficiencies once enrolled. All MAPS deficiencies must be completed prior to graduation from UCCS.
Official Transcripts must be sent directly to the University of Colorado from each issuing institution. High school transcripts are only required if you have completed less than 24 hours of transferable coursework, but all transfer students must submit transcripts from each and every collegiate institution they attended during and after graduating from high school. All documents submitted become the property of the University of Colorado.
Transfer students must meet a minimum GPA requirement, which varies according to the hours of collegiate work completed, the type of institution in which the course work was taken, and the specific program to which the student applies. Work in progress at the time of application cannot be considered in computing the cumulative average. As there are some schools and colleges at UCCS which require a higher grade point average for transfer, students are urged to investigate specific requirements. Please note: for students transferring with 13-29 credit hours, if you have high school criteria that meet our freshmen minimum requirements, then you are admissible with a 2.0 GPA.
- College of Letters, Arts, & Sciences: 2.4 cumulative GPA
- College of Business: 3.0 cumulative GPA*
- College of Education: 2.4 cumulative GPA
- College of Engineering & Applied Science: 3.0 cumulative GPA**
- Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences (Nursing major) - GPA of 3.0 or above
- Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Science (Health Sciences major) - GPA of 2.5 or above
- School of Public Affairs: 2.4 cumulative GPA
*Students must also have completed ENG 121 and MAT 121 with a C- or better prior to admission.
**Completion of Calculus I and Calculus-based Physics and/or College Chemistry is highly encouraged.
Students who successfully complete a state-guaranteed general education course will receive transfer credits applied to graduation requirements in all majors unless a specific statewide Articulation Agreement exists. Currently, Colorado has several approved statewide articulation agreements in business, nursing, engineering, and elementary teacher education. Information about the state-guaranteed transfer program and articulation agreements is available on the Colorado Department of Higher Education Website.
UCCS will honor the transfer of an associate of arts (AA) degree and the associate of science (AS) degree earned at a Colorado public institution that offers AA or AS degrees. A student who earns an AA or AS with a grade of “C” or better in all courses will transfer with junior standing into any Letters, Arts and Sciences (LAS) degree program offered by UCCS.
The credits earned in the associate degree program will apply at minimum to 35 credits. Because all LAS degrees are designed to be completed in 120 credit hours, a transfer student can complete a four-year degree at the same time as a native student (i.e. 120 hours). Community college transfer students should also refer to the University Connection program described on the Academic Advising page, designed to assist AA or AS students transferring to UCCS. UCCS will evaluate credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and alternate sources of credit following its standard policy.
Coursework that is comparable to the UCCS curriculum will generally be transferred, especially if it was completed at a college or university accredited by one of the regional higher education accreditation commissions (i.e. Higher Learning Commission). Courses that are academic in nature are transferable, but career and technical courses are generally not transferable. Additionally, courses may be considered on a case-by-case basis once the student enrolls at UCCS. Only grades of “C-” or better are acceptable for transfer to UCCS. If applying to a specific degree program, some will require higher grades for specific courses.
- Transfer credit evaluations are made only after a student is admitted. New transfer students will be advised about requirements remaining and completed when they attend one of the mandatory New Student Orientations. College credit is transferable to UCCS according to the following stipulations:
- Credit must have been earned at a college or university of recognized standing.
- Only courses in which a grade of C or better has been attained will be accepted for transfer at this institution. Grades of pass, satisfactory, honors, etc.are also accepted for transfer. However, a limitation is placed on the number of pass hours accepted toward a degree by each school and college.
- Credit is not transferable from vocational or technical curricula.
- Credit will be granted only for course work appropriate to the curricula at UCCS.
- Remedial or sub-college level courses are not transferable.
- A maximum of 72 hours may be transferred from a two-year or community college.
- A maximum of 102 semester hours of transfer credit may be counted toward graduation. Individual schools and colleges determine which courses and hours will apply toward the degree.
- Individual schools and colleges reserve the right to accept or deny credit earned while the student is under scholastic suspension.
- A maximum of 60 semester hours of extension credit (including no more than 30 semester hours of correspondence) may be counted toward an undergraduate degree.
- Advanced placement credit is evaluated upon receipt of an official score report from the College Entrance Examination Board. Usually, only scores of 3, 4, and 5 are considered for credit. Credit is not granted for an advanced placement score if the student has completed a college course which is equivalent to the course for which he/she would receive advanced placement credit.
- College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) credit for approved subject examinations may only be granted if a score of 67 percentile or above is received and if the courses are acceptable to the student’s school or college. A maximum of 30 semester hours may be counted toward a degree. Credit is not granted for a CLEP score if the student has completed a college course which is equivalent to the course for which he/she would receive CLEP credit. Colorado residents may secure CLEP materials from the state regional office by contacting:
College Level Examination Program
c/o College Entrance Exam Board
4155 East Jewell Street, Suite 705
Denver, Colorado 80222
Students outside of Colorado may obtain CLEP information and application forms by writing:
College Level Examination Program
Box 1822
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 - Credit for military schooling is evaluated upon receipt of forms DD 295 and DD 214. Evaluation of credit is in accordance with the American Council on Education’s credit recommendation and is generally considered as elective credit.
- Admission to the University of Colorado does not guarantee eligibility for future transfer into other programs, colleges, or schools within the university.
All colleges accept CLEP credits but apply them differently depending on the student’s degree program. See this chart, then please contact an advisor in the Student Success Center for an interpretation of your score:
CLEP EXAM TITLE | CLEP SCORE | UCCS EQUIVALENT | SEM HRS |
American History I | 55 | HIST 1510 | 3 |
American History II | 55 | HIST 1530 | 3 |
General Biology | 54 | BIOL 1100, 1150 | 6 |
Calculus | 54 | MATH 1350, MATH 1- - - | 6 |
Chemistry | 54 | CHEM 1030 | 5 |
Composition Modular Exam with Essays | 50 w/a “pass” on essay portion | ENGL1310 | 3 |
French | 55 | FR 1010, 1020 | 8 |
German | 55 | GER 1010, 1020 | 8 |
Macroeconomics | 55 | ECON 2020 (Formerly 102) | 3 |
Microeconomics | 55 | ECON 1010 | 3 |
Psychology | 54 | PSY 1000 | 3 |
Sociology | 55 | SOC 1110 | 3 |
Spanish | 56 | SPAN 1010, 1020 | 8 |
Western Civilization I | 55 | HIST 1010 | 3 |
Western Civilization II | 55 | HIST 1030 | 3 |
State-guaranteed courses under the State Guarantee General Education (gtPATHWAYS) policy will transfer to any four-year institution in Colorado to satisfy general education requirements. Other non-guarantee courses are evaluated individually and within 30 days of the date of admission. The procedure for appealing a decision involving the acceptance of course work from a Colorado community college for credit toward a degree is as follows:
- Students must file an appeal within 15 days of receiving their transcript evaluation by writing the office responsible for transfer evaluations at UCCS. The student should complete and return a petition form to the Student Success Center, Main Hall, 2nd floor. The form will be forwarded to the appropriate authority within the college. The decisions made in the transcript evaluation will be binding if the student fails to file an appeal within this time frame.
- UCCS will respond within 30 days in writing to the student appeal.
- If the dispute cannot be resolved between the student and UCCS personnel within 30 days, the student may appeal in writing to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. The student has 15 days from receipt of the written UCCS notification to file an appeal.
More Information concerning the appeal process is available at the Student Success Center, Main Hall, 2nd floor.
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