Application Review Process for Transfer Students
High School Requirements
While the admissions decision is based on college performance, we need a high school transcript to verify graduation and ensure that the minimum admissions requirements are met.
Transfer applicants are expected to have met the minimum high school requirements to be eligible for enrollment. Deficiencies in any of these requirements may be fulfilled by equivalent college course work prior to enrolling at Penn State. Please review the high school course requirements on .
GPA Requirements
The minimum GPA required to transfer to Penn State is dependent on both campus and intended major. The minimum GPAs are:
Campuses other than University Park: 2.0
University Park: 2.5
Some programs require a higher GPA than the minimums outlined above for transfer admission. To determine if your program of interest requires a higher GPA, please review .
Campus and Program Requirements
Transfer students may also have to meet additional requirements to be eligible for their chosen campus and/or academic program.
Campus Information
Students with less than two years, or the equivalent of four semesters, of full-time college course work are not eligible to transfer directly to the University Park campus. Transfer students with less than this requirement must apply to transfer to a campus other than University Park, allowing them to complete their general education and prerequisite course work in order to be eligible to transition to University Park to complete their degree.
Program Information
In addition to the campus requirement, transfer students may have to meet specific course requirements to be eligible for admission to a specific program. Successful completion of the required course work is not a guarantee of admission to the program. To determine if your intended program requires specific course work or has an application deadline, please review .
Unless specified otherwise, course requirements apply regardless of a student’s campus choice. Additionally, all course requirement credits on the pages above are listed in semester hours. In order for course work from a different institution to meet these requirements, students must complete the required credits with a grade of C (2.0) or better.
Should you not qualify for a program or you have not completed all of the required prerequisites, you may change your major to a program for which you may qualify. Please note: Changing your major in order to gain admission to Penn State with the intention of switching to your original program is not advisable. Many academic colleges, like the College of Engineering or the Smeal College of Business, will not accept students who are not accepted into the college upon transfer.
Should you have questions about your application or the requirements for your intended program, please to discuss your status and program options.
Application Evaluation
Transfer applicants that meet the necessary high school requirements, GPA minimum, application deadline (if applicable), and campus and/or program requirements, are eligible for review for transfer admission. Meeting all of the established criteria is not a guarantee of admission to the program.
The application will be reviewed once Penn State receives a complete application.
Some students may receive a decision within a few weeks, but the majority of reviews take 6-8 weeks to reach a decision. Please refer to our for more information about when transfer applicants can anticipate an admission decision.
If accepted, students will receive an evaluation of transferable credits. Domestic students will receive the evaluation of credits in the mail with their offer of admission, while international students will receive the evaluation via email.
The evaluation of transfer credits is based on any transcripts Penn State receives with the application. Prior to receiving this evaluation, students can also check how their course work will transfer using our .
Please refer to the Understanding Penn State section for details about how to interpret the evaluation of credit.
Please note: Students that apply for fall admission during their spring semester at another institution may have to wait longer to receive a final decision. Penn State may contact you to provide your final spring semester transcript before an admission decision can be reached.