UT Austin Transfer Acceptance Rate and Requirements – 2024
December 14, 2023
Those seeking to enter the University of Texas at Austin directly out of high school face an extremely selective admissions process. If they are from in-state and finish in the top 6% of their high school class, acceptance is guaranteed. If you are not in the top 6% and/or not from Texas, the road gets much tougher. Perhaps a more uplifting fact is that UT Austin is a very transfer-friendly school. In fact, the transfer acceptance rate is higher than that for first-years in some application cycles. This blog will share the UT Austin transfer acceptance rate as well as other essential pieces of information like the UT Austin transfer deadline, requirements, transfer decision date, and much more.
UT Austin Transfer Acceptance Rate
Below we present the most current available UT Austin transfer acceptance rate as well as historical data.
In the fall of 2022, 6,961 students applied for transfer admission, and 2,358 were successful. This means that the UT Austin transfer acceptance rate is 33.8%. If we break this down by gender, the acceptance rates are as follows:
- Male transfer applicants: 30.8%
- Female transfer applicants: 36.8%
In the fall of 2021, there were 7,966 transfer applicants and 2,306 individuals were accepted. This means that the UT Austin transfer acceptance rate was 29%.
While they have not released official numbers recently, UT Austin generally has a better acceptance rate for in-state applicants than for non-residents. In terms of overall historical acceptance rates, the chart below reveals that the figure has ranged from 24% to 37% in recent years.
Historical transfer rates are as follows:
| Year | Acceptance Rate |
| 2020 | 32% |
| 2019 | 28% |
| 2018 | 24% |
| 2017 | 37% |
UT Austin Transfer Deadline
The university offers a fall and spring transfer option. The UT Austin transfer deadline for summer and fall applicants is March 1. Spring applicants apply by September 1. However, some departments only allow for fall transfer only. These include the Jackson School of Geosciences and the College of Fine Arts, among others.
UT Austin Transfer Requirements
The UT Austin transfer requirements are as follows:
- Common App for Transfer or ApplyTexas
- Official high school transcripts
- Official college transcripts
- An expanded resume
- Letters of recommendation (optional but encouraged)
- Automatic Transfer Admission form (if you graduated from a Texas high school in the top 10% of your class)
- Supplemental materials, if required. For example, transfer applicants to the School of Architecture must submit a portfolio and two letters of recommendation. College of Education applicants interested in the teacher certification professional sequence must complete a separate, additional application.
Students who have the best chance to gain admission to UT Austin have done the following:
- Are in the process of completing at least 24 semester credit hours. Note that some programs require more than this, such as some engineering programs.
- Have completed their major’s stated Course Requirements. For example, prospective engineering students should have completed differential, integral, or multivariable calculus and engineering physics w/lab along with at least two additional courses in math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, computer science, and/or engineering. Business applicants should have completed (or be in the process of completing) Calculus I & II as well as microeconomics and macroeconomics.
- Earned exceptional grades in their first year at a community college or 4-year university.
- Possess a strong high school record.
University of Texas Austin Transfer GPA
The minimum GPA is a 3.0 in order to be eligible to apply. Yet, in our experience, most successful Longhorn transfer applicants have at least a 3.5 college GPA. In past years, 3.75 has been the average GPA for admitted applicants. Those with a 3.75 or above will fare best. That said, aim for even higher —in the 3.8 to 4.0 range—if you’re applying to highly competitive programs like business or engineering.
UT Austin Transfer Writing Supplement
Transfer applicants only have one required essay, with some important distinctions if applying to programs in natural sciences, nursing, or social work:
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The statement of purpose will provide an opportunity to explain any extenuating circumstances that you feel could add value to your application. You may also want to explain unique aspects of your academic background or valued experiences you may have had that relate to your academic discipline. The statement of purpose is not meant to be a listing of accomplishments in high school/college or a record of your participation in school-related activities. Rather, this is your opportunity to address the admission committee directly and to let us know more about you as an individual, in a manner that your transcripts and the other application information cannot convey.
Natural Sciences requires a statement of purpose essay that describes how your intended major would impact achievement of your educational and career goals.
Nursing requires that the statement of purpose focus on your goal of becoming a nurse and/or a career in nursing.
Social Work requires that the statement of purpose focus on your goal of earning a social work degree and how it will prepare you for the future.
Please keep your essay between 500–700 words (typically two to three paragraphs and no more than 4500 characters with spaces).
UT Austin Transfer Acceptance Rate (Continued)
Additionally, Architecture and Art & Art History applicants are required to complete the following:
TOPIC D
Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?
Please keep your essay between 500–700 words (typically two to three paragraphs and no more than 4500 characters with spaces).
Transfer Decision Date
UT Austin transfer decisions are made by mid- to late June for those joining the university in the fall. Spring hopefuls are notified by mid-December at the latest.
Final Thoughts – UT Austin Transfer Acceptance Rate
When aiming to transfer to UT Austin, you’ll want to pay particular attention to various coursework guidelines, particularly for highly selective programs like business, computer science, and engineering. In those cases, you’ll want to have taken challenging coursework above and beyond the requirements. You also should have earned stellar grades in all courses. Moreover, admissions will look to see that you have undertaken both coursework and experiences related to your intended major.
While UT Austin is a highly selective institution, you should feel encouraged by the fact that they accept 2,000+ transfer students each year. If you get stellar grades at your current college, transferring to UT Austin is a genuinely realistic dream.
If you are looking for information on how to apply to UT Austin as a first-year student, you may find the following blogs to be of interest:
Those searching for application info on other institutions may wish to visit our Dataverse pages/blogs:
