Students transfer to Penn State in a variety of programs at all of our campuses across the state of Pennsylvania. You will be considered a transfer applicant if you are:
- A student who has earned a high school diploma or a GED.
- A student who has attempted or will have attempted 18 or more semester hours of college course work at a regionally accredited college/university before enrolling at Penn State. (Please note: transfer status is based on credits earned after high school graduation).
Application Dates & Deadlines
Transfer applicants are evaluated on a rolling admissions basis. However, the evaluation of transfer applications does lengthen the review period, so transfer students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Please submit a complete application including all supplemental materials and transcripts from previous institutions.
Application Review & Decisions
The University Admission Office at University Park reviews all transfer applications regardless of campus choice. 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 Dates & Deadlines for more information about when transfer applicants can anticipate an admission decision. Transfer student admission decisions are made on the basis of several combined factors.
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.
GPA Requirements
The total cumulative grade point average (GPA) from all colleges and universities attended. The minimum GPA required to transfer to Penn State is dependent on both campus and intended major.
The minimum GPAs are:
- Brandywine: 2.0
- The Business Administration and IST degrees require a 2.5 cumulative grade point average but will review all applications.
- University Park: 2.5
Some programs require a higher GPA than the minimums outlined above for transfer admission.
Campus and Program Requirements
Transfer students may also have to meet additional requirements to be eligible for their chosen campus and/or academic program.
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.
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. Determine if your intended program requires specific course work or has an application deadline.
Transferring Credits to Penn State
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 Transferring Credits Tool.
For courses to be eligible for review: The grade received in the course must be equivalent to a "C" (2.00) or higher at Penn State. Penn State must have a similar program or course offering. The course should be useful in the student's program of study at Penn State.
Coursework successfully completed at other colleges and universities that are members of the six regional accrediting associations will be considered for transfer credit. College level coursework completed at colleges or universities that are licensed by state boards of education to award associate degrees or higher but that are not members of one of the six regional accrediting associations may be eligible for credit by validation.
