Transfer Students

UND is the next step in your academic career.

You've already started college, so you've already taken a huge step toward completing a bachelor's degree at UND. Your next step is applying to UND.

Note: If you've earned college credits after graduating from high school, you're considered a transfer student and should follow the process below to apply to UND. If you have not attended college after high school graduation, please follow the process for freshmen.

1. Guidelines

Review the following FAQs for guidelines about applying to UND as a transfer student:

Transfer Admission Criteria

Specific admission requirements for transfer students are based upon the total number of transferable college credits completed at the time of your application.

If you've completed 24 (including in progress) transferable college credits, you must meet the following criteria to be admitted to UND:

  • Minimum of a 2.0 cumulative GPA
  • Be in good standing at the college(s) you previously attended

If you've completed fewer than 24 (including in progress) transferable college credits, you must meet the criteria above in addition to the criteria for freshmen.

Application Requirements

To be considered for admission, you must submit the following:

Note: Transferable credit is defined as college-level credits completed at the time of application with a grade of "D" or above from an institution accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), including the American Council on Education (ACE). Remedial coursework does not qualify for credit at UND. Credits transferred from schools that use a quarter or other system will be converted to semester credits.

Depending on your major, some programs may have additional requirements beyond the general university admission standards.

Refer to the UND Academic Catalog, visit the department website or contact an advisor for more information.

Your first step is to get admitted to UND and if your major has additional admission requirements, you may be asked to complete a separate application to be accepted into your degree program.

In general, all college-level credits attempted at institutions accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), including the American Council on Education (ACE), will be transferred to UND. 

Certain exceptions to this rule include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Remedial or preparatory courses
  • Credit granted for life experience by other institutions
  • Institution-based credit by examination
  • Non-degree continuing education courses

UND's academic departments will determine if the transferred credits will apply to your specific major and degree program.

To graduate from UND, you must take a minimum of 30 semester credits from UND, including 15 semester credits in your major and/or 4 semester credits in your minor. Depending on your major, you may be required to complete more than 15 semester credits at UND.

Refer to the Transfer Program Agreements or Course Equivalencies (TES) to see how your credits may transfer to UND.

Step 1

After you've submitted your completed application with all required documents, the UND Registrar's Office will evaluate your transcript(s) to determine which courses will transfer to UND, approximately a 2-week process. In general, all attempted credits will transfer to UND.


Refer to the Transfer Program Agreements or Course Equivalencies (TES) to see how your credits may transfer to UND.

Step 2

After the UND Registrar's Office completes the evaluation AND you've been admitted officially to UND, you'll receive an admissions packet with a credit summary. The credit summary includes: 

  • Credits that transferred
  • The institution of origin
  • Your transfer GPA

All of your previous undergraduate work will be recorded as semester credits (converted from quarter or other systems as necessary) on your permanent, official UND transcript.

Step 3

After you receive your credit summary, you'll need to contact your advisor within your academic department to determine how your transferred credits will apply to your degree program. Please note that some credits accepted by UND may NOT satisfy the specific requirements for your degree program.

Yes. UND has Transfer Program Agreements (also known as Articulation Agreements) with other colleges and universities. Transfer Program Agreements will help you see exactly which courses are guaranteed to transfer to UND and your major from our partner schools.

Ask your college advisor about your school's agreements with UND, or refer to the Transfer Program Agreements from the UND Registrar's Office.

If your school doesn't have an agreement with UND, you may review Course Equivalencies (TES) for guidance on how courses from your school may transfer to UND.

If you're transferring from one of the institutions within UND's transfer network, you may be able to complete all of your lower-division general education requirements at your current school and transfer the credits to fulfill UND's 39-credit general education requirements (referred to as Essential Studies).

Transferring from North Dakota

UND participates in the General Education Requirements Transfer Agreement (GERTA) with other ND University System (NDUS) schools. If you're transferring from another institution recognized by GERTA or from a tribal college, you'll satisfy UND's Essential Studies requirements (with the exception of a 3-Credit Upper-Division Capstone Course) if either of the following conditions is met:

  1. You completed a Bachelor's Degree, an Associate of Arts degree, or an Associate of Science degree at an NDUS institution or tribal college; OR
  2. You completed 36 credits of general education requirements as verified by your NDUS institution or tribal college. To verify that you've completed the requirements, request your school to send a confirmation letter to the UND Registrar's Office.

Transferring from Minnesota

If you're transferring from one of Minnesota's State Colleges & Universities (MnSCU) institutions, you'll satisfy UND's Essential Studies requirements (with the exception of a 3-Credit Upper-Division Capstone Course) if either of the following conditions is met during or after 2001:

  1. You completed a Bachelor's Degree or an Associate of Arts degree at an MnSCU institution; OR
  2. You completed the 39 to 44 credits of MnSCU general education requirements (MnTransfer Curriculum) as verified by the MnSCU institution. To verify that you've completed the requirements, request your school to send a confirmation letter to the UND Registrar's Office.

Transferring from Other States

If you're transferring from another state, your transfer credits will be evaluated on an individual, course-by-course basis. Refer to the UND Registrar's Office for Course Equivalencies (TES) and Transfer Program Agreements for more information on how your credits may transfer to UND.

Refer to the transfer advisor contact list to find the best person from your major of interest to answer your advisement-related questions.

After you're admitted and have declared a major, you'll be assigned an academic advisor within your college. You should visit with your advisor early and often to discuss your educational goals and ensure you stay on track for graduation. Your advisor assignment will be posted in Campus Connection, UND's student account system.

2. Application

Up to 1 year in advance of when you plan to start at UND:

Applications are currently being accepted for the Summer 2018, Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters.

To automatically be awarded the UND Transfer Student Scholarship, you must meet the criteria and submit your completed application by April 15 (priority deadline) for the upcoming fall semester.

Note: If you haven't already created your VIP@UND account, you'll need to create an account to access the online application form.

3. Transcripts

Request that your official college and high school transcripts* be sent directly from all previously attended schools (including any study abroad coursework**) to:

UND Office of Admissions
3501 University Avenue, Stop 8357
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8357

*If you've completed 24 (including in progress) transferable college credits from an institution accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), including the American Council on Education (ACE), you do not need to send your high school transcripts.

**Coursework taken outside the U.S. may require additional evaluation by World Education Services (WES ICAP).

4. Test Scores

If necessary, request that your official standardized test scores be sent to UND:

*If you're 25+ years old on the first day of class OR you've completed 24 (including in progress) transferable college credits after graduating high school, you're not required to submit ACT or SAT test scores. However, if you've taken the ACT or SAT, it's highly recommended that you submit your official scores to UND for proper placement into English and math courses.