Transfer FAQ [ Expand All ]

Fall 2013 applicants may fill out either the apply online before the March 31st deadline. To receive full consideration you will have to submit all official college transcripts. Please see the Transfer Admissions Requirements page for more detailed information.

Transfer applications are considered for the following colleges:

College of Applied Health Sciences
College of Architecture and Arts
College of Business Administration
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
College of Nursing
School of Public Health
College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs

Please keep in mind that students will only be able to submit ONE Common Application to UIC per year. For a list of degree programs within these colleges, please refer to the undergraduate degree programs and minors list: Degree Programs.

The deadline for Fall 2013 applicants is March 31st. More information can be found at the Applications Deadline page.

UIC's Supplement Application will be available at or around September 1st.

There are no ACT/SAT requirements for transfer admission to UIC. For fullest consideration, a transfer grade point average of 2.50/4.00 on the basis of all transferable work attempted is recommended. Transcripts should illustrate a minimum of 24 semester or 36 quarter hours of transferable college classroom credit at the time of application. Colleges and departmental requirements vary.

Below is a brief description of each citizenship category available on the Common Application:

• U.S. Citizen or U.S. National - Born or naturalized.
• Dual-Citizen - Concurrently holds citizenship in more than one country.
• U.S. Permanent Resident or Refugee - Green card holder. You should submit an Alien Registration Number and a copy of your PR card with your supporting documents.
• Other
  • International applicants, those in the process of becoming a Permanent Resident, and undocumented students living in the U.S. 
    
  • International - If you are on a valid visa, you should submit a copy with your       application. If you require an I-20 or DS-2019 to study, you will need to submit evidence of financial support.
  • Adjustment in Status - This category is for applicants who are in the process of    becoming a permanent resident. You should submit any documentation that can provide details of your status such as receipts or petitions from USCIS.
  • Non-citizen (Other) - This should only be used if none of the other categories apply to you. Once again, valid visa holders or those seeking a visa should not use this category.

Yes, it is possible for permanent resident, international, adjustment in status, and non-citizen applicants to receive in-state tuition if they or a parent have resided in Illinois for at least 12 months prior to the term for which they are applying. Non-citizens should submit a Residency Affidavit, while all other citizenship categories should look into the Residency Petition.

• Affidavit (pdf)
• Residency Info/Petition

A first year applicant is either a current high school student or any other student who has never attended any college, university, or post-secondary institution. A transfer applicant is one who has attended any college or university.

There are many degree programs open to transfer students. Applicants who are considering multiple majors may also apply to the College Liberal Arts and Sciences as "Undeclared" and declare a major at a later point. Please see the full Degree list: Degree Programs

Most transfer applicants will only need to meet the general Transfer Requirements. The specific exceptions are as follows:

• Any applicants who has attended an international college or University may be required to submit the TOEFL/IELTS scores. These situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis. English Competency requirements are outlined in the international requirements.
  
• The College of Architecture and the Arts has special requirements for certain majors. Music and Theatre majors are required to audition with the college. Art-Foundation applicants are required to select a concentration in the personal statement. For more information, please visit the A&A website. 
  
• The College of Engineering Computer Science major requires a minimum of 12 hours of lab sciences at the time of enrollment.
  
• GPA may change due to college and or program; those requirements are listed in the college specific admissions requirements.

See also:

• Transfer Requirements
• International Requirements
• Architecture and the Art

No, UIC does not consider legacies during the review process.

Go to: Application Deadlines

Yes, an application acknowledgment email will be sent as a receipt of your application. Contact the Office of Admissions if you applied but did not receive the acknowledgment letter.

Many professional programs, such as Medicine or Nursing do not admit incoming transfer students. Instead, students should apply to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where they will complete the necessary pre-required courses for those desired programs.

Advising tracks, such as "Pre-Nursing" and "Pre-Law," are used for advising purposes and are meant to compliment a major. In addition to their major, applicants may select one educational goal, enabling academic advisors to guide the student towards the necessary prerequisite courses for a specific professional program.

No, students may submit only one application per calendar year. Applicants who are unsure regarding which college or program in which they are most interested may apply to the College Liberal Arts and Sciences with an “Undeclared” major. Students may then declare a major within Liberal Arts and Sciences at a later time or complete an inter-college transfer.

The Common Application Online with UIC Supplement, official college transcripts, and a $50 application fee or application fee waiver. For more details, please visit the Transfer Requirements: Transfer Requirements

The transfer application fee is $50 for all domestic and international students. Some applicants may be eligible to have their fee waived.

The Common Application offers only one fee waiver option - the CollegeBoard Waiver. If you are eligible based on the criteria listed, please select that option when submitting your Common Application.

If you do not have a CollegeBoard Waiver, but have an Illinois Veterans Grant (IVG) letter or a waiver from your community college Financial Aid Office, please select the College Board option when completing the Common Application. We will accept the IVG letter or completed financial Waiver via fax at 312.413.7628 or mail it to our office. If you need the waiver form to complete at your Financial Aid office, please click here. If you are not currently enrolled in college, you can contact our Financial Aid Office to verify your aid status and sign off on the form.

No, neither the ACT nor SAT/SAT-I are required for transfer applicants. The proper credit will be given though if the scores are provided.

After applying you will establish a WebID and PIN with which you can Check the Status of your application and view your application checklist online. A received date next to the request means that the document has been received. If there is no date, then the document is either still being processed, was never received, or was deemed unofficial. Please keep in mind that document processing may take up to two or three weeks.

See also: Check Status

In order for UIC to accept your transcript as official, it needs to come in a sealed envelope from the University or College. Your transcript may be mailed in a sealed envelope directly from your school or submitted through a secure online transcript service such as E-Script. UIC will accept hand-delivered transcripts at the Office of Admissions only if they are in an unopened envelope that was clearly sealed by the University or College.

UIC requires official transcripts from every college or university you have attended. This also applies to students who have studied overseas.

We will make a request in your application checklist, which can be viewed by checking your status online. Your application checklist will usually include a note regarding the institution or academic years that are being requested.

See also: Check Status

Yes, UIC considers letters of recommendation a valuable insight into a student's character and ability in the classroom. Letters of recommendation, however, do not generally make up for students under-performing in key areas such as the GPA.

The TOEFL/IELTS exam may be required of any applicant who studied overseas prior to applying to UIC. The exam may be required regardless of citizenship status or current residency. The only exemptions to TOEFL/IELTS requirements are as follows:

• Native English speakers from countries where English is the only official language.
• Non-native English speakers who have completed two consecutive years of full-time high school or university study in the U.S. or other country where the only official language of the country is English.
• Non-native English speakers who have a minimum of one year full-time employment in the U.S. or other country where the official language of the country is English. Applicants must submit a letter from their employer verifying at least 12 consecutive months of employment and describing their English language ability.

NOTE: Applicants from countries where the official language of the country is not English, but who attended a university where English was the language of instruction, are not exempt from submitting TOEFL scores.

UIC employs a holistic review process, taking everything in the application into account during the review. Transfer grades for all baccalaureate-oriented course work are used in computing the student’s transfer GPA. When a course is repeated, the grade point average is computed using both grades and all hours for the course. This GPA is looked at alongside the college specific required courses for admissions. The college specific minimum requirements can be viewed below.

College of Applied Health Sciences
College of Architecture and Arts
College of Business Administration
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
College of Nursing
School of Public Health
College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs

You can log in to check the status of your application online with your WebID and PIN. The status of your application will be on the line marked, "Application Decision," but please keep in mind that a majority of the decisions are released after the March 31st deadline. 

See also: Check Status

No, UIC does not interview general transfer applicants. However, some performance-based programs within the college of Architecture and the Arts require auditions and College of Education applicants are often asked to interview for those more selective programs.

Due to the holistic nature of our review process, a majority of the application decisions for Fall 2013 applicants will be released between the March 31st deadline and the end of April. A small percentage of applications will receive decisions during the initial review while most transfer applications undergo multiple reviews. UIC does not offer early decisions or a priority decision date.

This indicates that an application is awaiting another round of reviews. It is neither a good nor bad designation regarding the application because a majority of the transfer applications undergo multiple reviews. It is essentially a holding pattern for the file until we receive the exact admissions requirements from the specific colleges.

Decisions appear online as soon as they are made in the system and can be seen by checking your status online. A decision letter is also mailed out the day following the decision. 

If you did not receive the decision letter through the mail, you may contact the Office of Admissions at 312-996-4350 to request another be mailed. Keep in mind that you can still view your decision by checking your status online. If you have been admitted, much of the same information in the mailed admit packet can also be found online at the Admitted Student's Checklist.

Your admissions packet provides step-by-step directions for completing your next steps towards enrollment. That same information can be found online at the Admitted Student's Checklist.

Admitted Student's Checklist
Admitted First Year Student FAQ

Consider applying for another term. Please be sure to submit updated copies of official transcripts. You always have the option to appeal the admission decision, in which more information can be found at the link below.

Appealing the Decision
Denied transfer FAQ ( page not yet established)

Yes, the colleges at UIC have unique college specifics requirements for transfer students. All of those requirements can be seen at our admissions requirements page.