Transfer FAQs

You are considered a transfer student if ALL of the following statements describe you:

• You wish to enroll at the UW Tacoma to earn your first bachelor's degree.
• You are no longer in high school (regardless of how old you are or whether you graduated).
• You will have completed any course work at a regionally accredited college or university.

Currently all transfer students to the UW Tacoma must complete the following requirements:

• Intermediate algebra with a minimum grade of 2.0 (either in high school or college)
• Have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale at the time of application
• Completed two years of World Language (the same World Language through level 102 or two years in high school).

Read more about transfer admission requirements.

Any amount of transfer credit from a regionally accredited institution qualifies you to apply as a transfer student.

If you have also attended a college, university or post-secondary school outside of the U.S., we will need official transcripts from that school, along with a word-for-word, literal, English translation if the transcript is not in English. If we are unable to accurately evaluate those transcripts we reserve the right to require a course-by-course evaluation from AACRAO or a NACES approved educational credentialing service such as WES or FIS.

Applicants with 40 or fewer transferable college academic credits at the time of application must submit SAT or ACT Plus Writing scores and also must:

• Fulfill the College Academic Distribution Requirements (CADRs)
• Submit high school transcripts

An associate degree is not required to transfer to the UW Tacoma.

Students who are Washington state residents and have completed an approved transfer degree at a Washington state community college with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 are guaranteed admission to UW Tacoma. Please note that this guarantees admission to the university and not to a specific academic program or major. Students must still submit an application by the application deadline to be admitted.

• Learn more about the guaranteed admission program

UW Tacoma admits students every quarter except summer. Review the application deadlines for more information.

Review the general transfer credit policies or look up the courses you have completed in the University of Washington's online course equivalency database. You may also make an appointment with an admissions advisor to review your transcripts by calling 253-692-4742.

In most cases, the answer is yes. There are no time limitations on most credits used to satisfy admission requirements. Some prerequisite classes (usually in math or science) must have been completed within the last five years. Of course, if you haven’t taken math for 20 years, you may want to enroll in a basic math course to refresh your skills. An admissions advisor can help you evaluate your existing college credits.

One semester credit is equivalent to 1.5 quarter credits. Therefore, a 3-semester-credit course is equivalent to 4.5 quarter credits, and 60 semester credits are equivalent to 90 quarter credits.

In some circumstances, you can defer your application to a future quarter within the same academic year without having to re-apply or pay another application fee. Learn more about deferring your application.

Your admission to UW Tacoma is ONLY available for the quarter you were offered. Please see the Office of Admission about your options to attend in the future and decline your offer of admission.

Most academic programs offer a part-time option. Check with an admissions advisor or the academic program for more information.

Limited student housing options at UW Tacoma are available and increasing each year, and there are many other housing options available in the area. Learn more about housing options.