The University of Wisconsin is a world-class university and admission is both competitive and selective.

Our international admission counselors review each application individually and are looking for students who demonstrate strong academic ability in secondary school and at a recognized institution of higher education. We consider the characteristics of your national system of education, level and stream of studies completed, quality of achievement, and type of institution(s) attended. Other personal characteristics that will contribute to the strength and diversity of our university are also considered.

A transfer student is one who has already completed one or more years of university-level studies. You should apply for transfer admission (as opposed to freshman admission) if you have completed secondary school and have begun university-level studies.

Please note: You must list all institutions of higher education attended, both U.S. and international (even if you withdrew). Failure to list all institutions may result in disciplinary action, rescission of admission, and/or invalidation of credits or degrees earned for any admitted student.

Academic Course Preparation

Prior to applying for transfer admission, students must have completed (or be completing) the equivalent of at least 24 UW–Madison transferable course credits. This essentially equates to one year of college-level study. We do not accept transfer students at the freshman level. When reviewing applications, we pay particular attention to the college-level course work you have completed, and specifically:

• Cumulative grade point average (GPA). Your GPA will include courses taken at all post-secondary institutions and will need to be competitive not only for admission to the university, but for your intended major as well. Most transfer students have a GPA of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Please note: GPA calculations will include all grades received for repeated courses; the initial grade, as well as grades received in second and subsequent attempts will be included in the GPA calculation.
• Rigor of course work. Appropriate for continued study at UW–Madison and increasing in difficulty.
• Course breadth. Showing a combination of English, math, science, literature, and social science.
• Grade trends and patterns. Steady or improving trends and patterns that show consistency across all academic areas.
• Required courses. Applicants must have completed one year each of high school algebra, plane geometry, and college-preparatory math, and two high school years or two college semesters of a single foreign language. English courses will not satisfy this foreign language requirement, however students who have studied in a language other than English will likely have fulfilled the foreign language requirement.

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High School Record

All transfer applicants must have completed a university-preparatory secondary school curriculum and have earned a completion certificate or diploma that leads to university admission in the country where you studied in secondary school. Your academic performance in high school will be more or less important to us depending on how many college credits you have earned. Generally speaking, students who are in their first two years of college-level course work will have their high school records more carefully analyzed. The more college-level work you have completed, the less we will rely on high school performance criteria such as rigor of course work, academic GPA, grade trends, and class rank.

Regardless of the number of college credits earned, your high school transcript (supplemented in some cases by your college transcript) must show that you completed the following required course work:

• Algebra: One year in high school
• Plane Geometry: One year in high school (cannot be modified, basic, or informal)
• College-Preparatory Math: One year in high school
• Single Foreign Language: Two years of the same language in high school or two semesters of the same language in college. English courses will not satisfy this foreign language requirement and will not always transfer to UW–Madison. However, students who have studied in a language other than English will likely have fulfilled the foreign language requirement.

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Test Scores

ACT/SAT
Results from the ACT or the SAT are not required of transfer applicants. However, if you've taken either test, we encourage you to provide us with your scores. Your results will be considered as supplemental academic information and may help strengthen your application. Test scores should be sent directly from the testing service. Our test codes are 4656 for the ACT and 1846 for the SAT.

TOEFL OR IELTS
Students for whom English is not their first language, and who have studied in a language other than English must take an official test of English as a foreign language. UW–Madison accepts both the TOEFL and the IELTS tests. These tests are meant to give our admission counselors a more accurate reading of the applicant’s English level. A minimum TOEFL score of 550 on the paper test, 213 on the computer test, or 80 on the Internet-based test is required. The minimum score for the IELTS test is 6.0. We must receive all TOEFL and IELTS scores directly from the testing service. Our TOEFL test code is 1846.

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Extracurricular Commitments

Numbers alone do not determine admissibility. Nonacademic factors may also be considered. We look for students with special or unique talents, who bring significant extracurricular or employment experiences, and those who give of themselves and who will enrich our campus community. While nonacademic factors will make a good applicant strong, they will never make an academically weak applicant admissible.

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