You are a transfer applicant if you: have already completed high school, OR have received a General Education Diploma (GED), OR have successfully completed a State High School Proficiency Examination AND have enrolled in college classes.
Admission Eligibility
Your international college or university may have a different credit system. If this is the case and you anticipate having completed one year of full-time college work by your term of enrollment at USD, you are eligible to apply
How to Apply
The following credentials must be submitted for your application to be reviewed:
- Completed Common Application, including:
- Official college transcript(s) from all institutions you have attended
- Official course by course evaluation is required if you have foreign college/post-secondary transcripts
- We accept evaluations from any member of NACES such as World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), International Education Research Foundation (IERF), or SPANTRAN
- Your transfer application will be considered incomplete if you do not submit this with your application
- Official final high school transcript or proof of high school completion or equivalency
- One academic letter of recommendation from your college advisor or college instructor
- Transfer College Report (download the College Report here or from your Common Application account)
- Transfer Mid-Term Report (download the Mid-Term Report here or from your Common Application account)
- Application fee of $55 or application fee waiver submitted by your college
After Applying
In order to facilitate your admission decision, a Transfer Mid-Term Report (PDF) must be submitted so that we may review your grades for the term in progress. Please obtain your grade as well as the signature from each of your professors and submit the completed form to us. Spring applicants should submit their Mid-Term Report no earlier than the third week of November while Fall applicants should submit the Mid-Term Report no earlier than the third week of March.
If attending a 4-year institution, the Transfer College Report should be filled out and sent to us directly by the registrar’s office at your current institution or the academic dean of the college that houses your major. If attending a 2-year institution, the Transfer College Report should be filled out and sent to us directly by your community college’s admissions and records office.
Transferring College Credits
After being admitted to USD and submitting your enrollment confirmation form, a transfer credit analysis will determine which of your credits are transferable.
- General education classes from accredited institutions are generally transferable with a grade of C- or better.
- Classes from non-accredited institutions or trade schools will not transfer to USD.
All transferable coursework will count toward unit credits only and will not be calculated into your USD GPA. Unfortunately, transfer credit analyses are only conducted after you have confirmed your enrollment to USD.
Selecting Coursework at Your Current Institution
We understand that your international curriculum may differ and that you may not have the same courses available to you as listed in the Core Curriculum requirements. In this case, we recommend that you reach out to our International Admission Counselor with any questions. Please note that assistance with course selection is strictly conducted for admission purposes only. An official transfer analysis will be done after you have submitted your enrollment confirmation form.
Transfer Credit Process for Admitted Students
Prior to the start of your first term, students who are transferring should send any official transcripts to the Undergraduate Admissions Office. These transcripts will then be sent to the Transfer Analyst in the Registrar’s Office to evaluate coursework.
The Pre-USD Transfer Course Evaluation Form is used to request an additional evaluation of a course you completed at another university before you began taking courses at USD that you are currently receiving elective credit for to see if it may fulfill a core curriculum, major or minor requirement. Refer to the Companion Guide for more information about how to decide which courses to submit a petition for, as well as instructions for completing the form in consultation with your academic advisor.
Please note: Recent revisions to USD's Core Curriculum have impacted the way in which general education classes transfer into USD. Learning outcomes are a significant point of consideration used by the Core Curriculum Committee when determining whether or not classes taken at other institutions meet core curriculum criteria. As a result, classes that bear a title similar to USD classes but differ in learning outcomes may not satisfy core requirements for graduation (though they may transfer into USD for elective credit). This may impact the length of time you will need to study at USD in order to satisfy the Core Curriculum as well as the requirements for your degree(s).
Should you have any questions, you may contact our Associate Director and International Admission Manager, Maria S. Malloy.