Transfer Student Admission Requirements

Illinois State University is a leading destination for transfer students in Illinois. With 30 percent of our students transferring from other colleges and universities, Illinois State is known for being a transfer-friendly institution.

Many programs have required and recommended courses and minimum GPA requirements, in addition to the University Requirements listed below.

Due to space limitations and the competitiveness of the applicant pool, it may not be possible to offer admission to all qualified applicants. Highest admission priority will be granted to transfer students with the strongest academic records. Earning an associate's degree does not guarantee admission.

Transfer students with a minimum 2.4 GPA may be admitted to the University as undeclared if program prerequisites were not met or if space is not available in the preferred major. Students with 75 or more semester hours completed will not be admitted as undeclared.

University Requirements

What Admissions considers:

Other considerations:

If you are a transfer student with fewer than 24 semester hours at the time you apply, you will also need:

  • High school transcript (cumulative GPA, grade trends, and rigor of courses completed)
  • Official SAT or ACT scores sent from the testing agency (optional)
  • GED scores (if non-high school graduate)
    • Test-takers must score a minimum of 150 on each part of the GED
    • If all four sections were completed prior to December 31, 2013:
      • Minimum score of 410 on each of the five tests
      • Average battery score of 450

Please note: Remedial coursework will not be taken into consideration when calculating the admission GPA or the number of semester hours earned at the time of application.

General Coursework Recommendations

We encourage all transfer students to complete the course equivalents of the following courses before they enroll at Illinois State:

  • Introductory-level composition (ENG 101)
  • Intermediate-level composition (ENG 145)
  • Introductory-level speech (COM 110)
  • An Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) approved math course (non-remedial, transferable math)

The Associate of Science degree from an Illinois public community college does not require the following courses: one humanities/fine art and one social and behavioral science. If you would like your Associate of Science degree to complete your general education requirements, we recommend completing these two courses at the community college before you transfer. However, these two courses can also be completed while attending Illinois State.

The Associate of Arts degree will fulfill general education requirements automatically.

Many programs have required and recommended courses and minimum GPA requirements, in addition to the University requirements. Please review the program requirements for your intended major before you apply.

Foreign Language Graduation Requirements

It is helpful for transfer students who wish to pursue a major in the College of Arts and Sciences or any Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree to complete foreign language graduation requirements prior to attending Illinois State.

The College of Arts and Sciences requirement may be met by:

  • Three years of one language in high school, OR
  • Completion of the second semester (LAN 112) or higher of a college-level foreign language (including American Sign Language) with a grade of C or better.

B.A. candidates must successfully complete three semesters (through LAN 115) OR pass a course proficiency test. These are required for graduation, not admission.

Admitted Transfer Student Profile

Middle 50% ranges for 2021

2.93-3.67 GPA

Personal Statement

All applicants are welcome to submit a personal statement for review, though it is not required to complete your application. This statement may be considered along with other application materials to determine eligibility for admission. If you opt not to submit a statement and further review is needed to make an admission decision, we will request a personal statement from you at that time.

If you would like to submit a personal statement, your submission should be approximately 500 words in length and address the contributions you are prepared to make to our community, both academically and otherwise. Specifically, your statement should:

  • Identify any circumstances that affected your academic performance, if applicable
  • Make clear your commitment to academic success in college, acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses and your plans to utilize available resources
  • Articulate your readiness to engage productively in our campus community outside the classroom