Applicants who have attended other colleges or universities are considered transfer students, regardless of the period of enrollment or amount of credit earned. Students who are currently in high school and have dual enrollment or concurrent college credit are not considered transfer students. Students seeking to transfer to The University of Alabama must meet the following requirements:
- Students must have one official transcript sent directly to the Office of the University Registrar from each college or university previously attended. Faxed and/or emailed transcripts are not considered official transcripts.
- Students who have completed fewer than 24 semester GPA hours (or 36 quarter hours) of collegiate work must also submit official copies of their ACT or SAT scores and final high-school transcript to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Documents must be sent directly from the testing agency and/or high school to be considered official.
- An average cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all college-level work attempted is required for admission. UA accepts transfer work from postsecondary institutions that are fully accredited by regional accrediting agencies. College-level work does not include vocational, technical, or remedial/developmental course work. Some divisions may set slightly higher GPA and/or hour requirements in order to register for upper division courses. Students who are unable to return to the last collegiate institution they attended will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Additional documentation may be requested.
Transferring from Two-year Colleges in Alabama
Students transferring from two-year colleges in the Alabama Community College System may contract with UA under STARS (Statewide Articulation Reporting System). The STARS program will guarantee the transfer and applicability of the two-year college credit under the following restrictions:
- This agreement will be honored for a period of four years from the date of the agreement. The student will be required to satisfy the requirements for graduation as described in the undergraduate catalog in effect at the time of execution of this agreement. However, UA may change such requirements if the student is given a reasonable opportunity to comply with the changed requirements. The student may choose to comply with the requirements in effect at the time of transfer.
- Under this agreement, the student must be officially admitted and enrolled at UA immediately following his or her tenure at the two-year college at which the contract was initiated. Should the student enroll in another post-secondary institution during the interim, this agreement is void.
This agreement is subject to termination should changes in UA requirements be initiated by any agency outside University control. Such agencies include, but are not limited to, the State Department of Education, ACHE, SACS, NCATE, CLN, AACSB, ABET, and other accreditation agencies.
Conversion of Credits
The University of Alabama is on the semester system. Credits earned as quarter hours will be evaluated as semester hours. One quarter hour is equal to two-thirds of one semester hour; for example, a five-quarter-hours course equals three and one-third semester hours. However, when a student is seeking to transfer credit that will be applied toward degree requirements, final authority for evaluating that credit rests with the academic division, which may use a different formula.
Transfer Student Orientation and Registration
Participation in an orientation session (Bama Bound) is required of each newly admitted transfer student. Considerable assistance is available at each session, and the groups are kept small to encourage individual attention. For more information, visit orientation.ua.edu.
Distance Learning students should contact UA Online at online@ua.edu for registration information.