Transfer Students

Your GPA is comprised from all transfer credit from your studies at all institutions you attended. This would include institutions you attended in the past and the courses you took, which includes any failed ones. Career technical credits are not factored into your GPA. Your GPA doesn’t start over at UNI, it continues on from all previous transfer credit.

If you are transferring from a four-year institution, apply, as much as possible, in advance of the semester you'd like to start. If you're transferring from a community college, we recommend applying one year from your desired start at UNI.

Credit earned at regionally-accredited colleges and universities is generally acceptable for transfer to UNI. Credit in courses determined by UNI to be of remedial, career and technical nature, or credit in courses or programs in which the institution granting the credit is not directly involved, may not be accepted, or accepted to a limited extent. For schools not regionally-accredited, the current issue of Transfer Credit Practices of Designated Educational Institutions, published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AARAO), is an example of reference used to determine transfer credit.

A maximum of 16 hours of credit is accepted for non-technology majors. A maximum of 48 semester hours are accepted for articulated technology majors. Career technical credits transfers to UNI as ungraded credit, it does not count toward the 24 transferable semester hours needed for admission to UNI. Career technical credit does not apply toward your grade point average (GPA) at UNI.

Credit for military courses will be granted according to the guidelines in the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Guide to Credit for Educational Experiences in the Armed Services when that recommendation is for vocational certificate and lower and/or upper division baccalaureate degrees. A maximum of 16 credits will be awarded for vocational-technical training and can be used in accordance with the Career – Technical Credit policy stated above. Credit for Military Occupational Specialist (Military Experience) will be evaluated on a case-by case-basis using ACE recommendations.

• 65 credits from a community college.
• No limit from a four-year institution, however, 32 hours must be earned at UNI for graduation. 

AA or AS degrees from any regionally-accredited institution will satisfy UNI’s general education requirements (UNIFI).  Coursework within the degree must be from regionally-accredited institutions.  UNI does not accept Sophia Learning or Straighterline coursework toward general education requirements.

UNI has various articulation agreements for students with AAS degrees. Reach out to transfer@uni.edu to learn how your AAS will transfer to UNI.

See here for more information on transferring in credit from AP, CLEP and IB.

Yes, official transcripts from all institutions previously attended must be sent to UNI's Office of Admissions directly from the institutions, prior to enrolling at UNI. See here for more information about requesting official transcripts. When applying for admission, you can submit unofficial transcript(s).

A high school transcript is not required for admission unless you have below 24 credits completed post-high school. However, we do require that a high school transcript be sent if you are receiving federal financial aid or need to validate your completion of the UNI world language requirement.

Information about sending your transcript can be found here.

Check out UNI’s transfer plans of study to help plan your community college courses. We also encourage students to sign up for UNI’s Transfer Connection program.

The Transfer Connection program is a coordinated plan between UNI and Iowa community colleges. It helps students like you seamlessly transition from community college to UNI. You can easily sign up here. Reverse credit transfer is a partnership developed by the Board of Regents and Iowa's public universities and Iowa's community colleges to facilitate the transfer of credits back to one of Iowa's community colleges for the purpose of allowing students to attain a degree, diploma or certification. See more information here.

Students who have satisfied the general education requirements for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University or the University of Iowa's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will have the UNI general education requirements (UNIFI) satisfied. Reach out to transfer@uni.edu for more information on the steps.