Transfer students are students who have earned or are currently earning college credit after high school. Students who previously attended UWM but have since enrolled at another institution should apply to UWM as a transfer student.

Application requirements for transfer students are below.

Preparing to Apply to UWM as a Transfer Student

During the college application process, you’ll be asked for a variety of information, including personal information and academic history. To make completing the application as easy as possible, we recommend having this information available when you start:

  • A list of courses that are in progress if you are currently enrolled at another institution
  • A list of activities and work experience
  • Personal and parent information (if applicable), including address and contact information

UWM Application Essay

Please note: Students transferring from another UW school are not required to submit an application essay.

For all other transfer students, the application essay is your opportunity to tell your story by responding to the following prompt:

Tell us about something you’ve done — academically or personally — and what you’ve learned from it. Was it a success or a challenge? Did it represent a turning point in your life? How did this particular moment in your life influence you, and how will it continue to influence you as you pursue your college education?

Your application essay should include:

  • Any academic and personal hurdles and/or challenges you’d like us to know about in the context of your application.
  • Any information that is inclusive of your family or your community experiences.

Before you submit your application essay, please make sure to:

  • Review your spelling and grammar.
  • Ask someone to proofread your final version.
  • Check that your essay is between 250 and 650 words in length.

Required Application Materials

High School and College/University Transcripts

Official final high school or GED/HSED and college transcripts must be sent directly from the schools you’ve attended for application review. UWM can’t accept copies from you. If you’ve attended multiple schools, official college transcripts from each school attended are required. If you’re currently taking college classes, please include a list of your current college classes on the application form.

Official transcripts can be sent to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions through an approved electronic service or via mail to:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
P.O. Box 749
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0749

undergraduateadmissions@uwm.edu

Test Scores (optional)

UW System institutions, including UWM, are not requiring applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores as part of the application process this year. UWM will consider applicants for admission with or without one of these standardized test scores. On the application, students can indicate whether or not they intend to send an ACT or SAT score to be reviewed with their application. Students who plan to send test scores can submit official scores directly from the testing service, self-report their test scores on the Common App, or complete the electronic self-reported test scores form.

Submission of test results is never required for students age 21 and older or applicants with at least 12 transferrable credits.

To send scores directly from the testing service, select UW-Milwaukee as a recipient (ACT school code: 4658; SAT school code: 1473).

Application Review

Transfer admission is a holistic process, and no single criterion guarantees admission. We take these factors into consideration:

  • Demonstrated satisfactory academic progress
  • Successful completion of college-level math and English courses
  • Total credit hours completed
  • Academic standing at your previous institution

If you have fewer than 12 transferable credits, UWM will also review your high school academic records.

Please keep in mind that some of UWM’s academic programs may have additional requirements for direct admission into their majors.

Credit Transfer

We value your work at other institutions, and we want to award as much credit as possible. After you’ve been admitted, the UWM Registrar’s Office will conduct an evaluation of your transfer credits. If you would like to assess how your courses may transfer before you receive your official evaluation, check out the Transfer Equivalency Database or create a Transferology account.

If you would like an unofficial credit evaluation prior to admission, please contact your admissions advisor. They will provide the evaluation for you, or connect you with an academic advisor in your intended major.

In general, transfer credit is awarded for college-level work completed at institutions accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Foreign institutions must be recognized by their ministry of education or the equivalent organization in their home country. Courses must be similar in nature, level, and content to a course in UWM’s undergraduate curriculum and applicable to one of our academic programs. Continuing education courses, graduate-level courses, and courses that are remedial, technical, vocational or doctrinal in nature are not transferable. 

Go to Transfer Wisconsin to learn more about how courses transfer in the University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Technical College, and Tribal College systems. If you have other questions regarding transfer credit, see UWM’s transfer credit policies.

Please note: If you’ve taken Advanced Placement (AP) exams, International Baccalaureate (IB) exams or the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams, UWM must receive official test scores to evaluate your results for possible credit. These scores are not required for admission but are helpful in determining credits. See the Registrar’s Office credit policies regarding the transfer of non-coursework credit and military credit.