Admission

Students applying for admission may be categorized as:

• New Freshmen
• Transfer Students
• Special Students
• Graduate Students

New Freshman

For admission purposes, new freshmen are classified as students currently in high school and planning to attend a college or university after graduation from high school or students who have graduated from high school but have not attended a college or university anywhere in the past.

New freshman are required to submit high school transcripts (or GED/HSED equivalent). Most students are also required to submit ACT or SAT test scores as well. Returning adult students may not be required to provide test scores.

New freshman may use the UW System Application for Undergraduate Admission to apply for admission.

Transfer Students

If you attended another college before applying for admission to one of the UW campuses, you must complete the University of Wisconsin System Application for Undergraduate Admission and submit official transcripts from all colleges you attended as well as your final high school transcript.

Transfer students should make themselves aware of minimum grade point average requirements and/or minimum credit requirements prior to applying for admission. Transfer admission policies may be found on UW HELP Online.

Check the UW System Transfer Information System (TIS) for information on course transfer between UW System campuses and between some UW campuses and Wisconsin Technical Colleges.

Special Students

Persons interested in taking certain courses, but not seeking a degree, are classified as "special students."

Go to the special student application.

Graduate Students

As you apply to graduate schools in the UW System, students need to be aware of two different sets of requirements:

1. Graduate School minimum admissions requirements, and
2. Department admission requirements

1. The graduate schools in the UW System set minimum admission requirements for all prospective graduate students. Minimum requirements may include:
• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution.
• A minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA)
• An applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, may be required to provide an English proficiency test such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
• International applicants will likely be asked to have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree, with strong academic performance.
• International applicants will likely be required to have adequate financial resources to cover their expenses completely while attending a UW System campus.
2. Department admission requirements are often more rigorous than the minimum requirements set by the Graduate School. Some departments may require additional test results such as the GRE or GMAT.

Graduate students may apply using the graduate student application.

Updated: March 31, 2006

If you have trouble accessing this page, require this information in an alternative format or wish to request a reasonable accommodation because of a disability, please contact us. Copyright ©2005 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.