Admission Factors
What We Consider
All applications for transfer admission are reviewed and evaluated individually. Admission decisions are made after careful consideration of the strength of the applicant's academic background; his or her record of achievement and accomplishment, both in and outside of the classroom; and related information reported in the applicant's essay.
Academic Background
The Office of Admission considers the following indicators as evidence of a strong academic background:
- Required courses for specific areas of study
- Evidence of a positive academic trend
In general, evidence of an applicant's background is determined by grade point average and transferrable coursework submitted on official transcripts.
Application Review Process
The Office of Admission seeks to fill limited space with the most qualified candidates. In addition to considering GPA and specific coursework, other factors that help identify qualified candidates include community service, employment, and extra curricular activities.
In additional to the standard Transfer Requirements, specific colleges have other requirements for certain majors. Please check the college into which you intend to transfer for any specific requirements. You can also click on the name of the college to go explore their web site!
College of Arts and Sciences
Special Requirements:
- For direct admission to Chemistry, Computer Science, and Physics: applicants must have completed pre-calculus or trigonometry.
- Bachelor of Music: students must audition. Contact the Department of Music at 401-874-2431 for audition dates and requirements.
College of Business Administration
Special Requirements:
To be admitted to any of the business majors, applicants must have finished or be enrolled in the following core classes, with an overall grade point average of 2.7 or better:
- Micro and Macro Economics
- Management and Financial Accounting
- Business Statistics
- Calculus (or QBA 1 & 2)
College of Engineering
Special Requirements:
For direct admission to the College of Engineering, applicants must have completed 20 credits from the following list of required courses (or the equivalent) with a minimum grade point average of 2.5 or better:
- General Chemistry I (Lecture and Lab) (4 credits)
- General Chemistry II (Lecture and Lab) (4 credits)
- Foundations of Engineering I (1 credit)
- Foundations of Engineering II (2 credits)
- Introductory Calculus with Analytic Geometry (4 credits)
- Intermediate Calculus with Analytic Geometry (4 credits)
- Elementary Physics I (Lecture and Lab; calculus-based) (4 credits)
- Elementary Physics II (Lecture and Lab; calculus-based) (4 credits)
College of the Environment and Life Sciences
Special Requirements:
Nutrition and Dietetics
The Nutrition and Dietetics major is no longer accepting transfer students directly into the major. Students will be admitted to the program on a space available basis through a competitive wait list system. Admission is a two-step process. The initial decision is made after the student completes 4 courses at URI with a GPA of 2.8 or higher.
- Two-course science sequence" either chemistry (CHM 105/105 and CHM 124/126) or biology (BIO 121 and 242)
- Two-course nutrition sequence: NFS 207 or 210 and NFS 276
Once the courses are completed, the student must meet with the department to have their name added to the wait list. If the student is not selected from the wait list the first time, they will be automatically considered for admission the next semester. If not selected at that time, they will not be considered for the program in the future.
Landscape Architecture
The Landscape Architecture program at the University is extremely competitive and admits students for only the fall semester. Prior to applying to the program all students are required to meet with Professor Will Green, Chair of Landscape Architecture to discuss their academic plan (wagre@uri.edu). After meeting with Professor Green, an application and supporting academic credentials and documents should be submitted to the Office of Admission postmarked by February 1, 2011.
In addition to the standard admission requirements preferred consideration for Landscape Architecture includes:
- Overall GPA of 2.8, with a minimum of 24 transferable college credits including the following courses:
- Pre-Calculus
- Physics (with lab) and/or Chemistry (with lab)
- A letter of recommendation from a Landscape Architecture professor (if the student is currently enrolled or has previously been enrolled in a LAR program).
If admitted to the University, students will be required to complete the departmental application process. For more information visit the Landscape Architecture web page at
College of Human Science and Services
The Kinesiology program is currently closed to transfer students for the fall 2011 semester, with the exception of students interested in Physical Education.
The program is extremely competitive and limited to applicants who have fewer than 45 transferable credits with a strong background in the biological sciences.
Note: The Physical Therapy Program at the University of Rhode Island is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree program. Students may not apply directly to this program; they must first earn a bachelor’s degree in a program such as Kinesiology. Students interested in pursuing the DPT (doctorate of physical therapy program) should visit the program’s web page for post baccalaureate admission information. There is no specific undergraduate major required for students interested in pursuing the DPT program at the university; however, students must successfully complete the following pre-requisite courses:
- Biology (labs required, 12 credits, must include Human Anatomy for 4 credits and Human Physiology for 4 credits)
- Chemistry (labs requires, 8 credits including introductory and second level courses)
- Physics (labs required, 8 credits including introductory and second level courses)
- Psychology (6 credits including introductory and second level courses)
- Mathematics (3 credits at level of pre-calculus or above)
- Communications (3 credits of speech and/or writing)
- Statistics (up to and including ANOVA)
College of Nursing
The College of Nursing admits fewer than 20 transfer students per year. Please note that students who apply to the College of Nursing, and are admitted and enroll with their second choice major, will be unable to transfer into nursing at a later time, due to the limited number of spaces in this program.
Special Requirements:
Admission to the baccalaureate program in Nursing is extremely competitive and space is limited.
- Applicants with fewer than 30 transferable credits in addition to the standard admission requirements must have an overall GPA of 3.0 and a solid background in math and science.
- Applicants with more than 30 transferable credits in addition to the standard transfer admission requirements, must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 for all college coursework, and a
minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the following pre-requisite courses:
- Human Anatomy
- Human Physiology
- Introduction to Chemistry
- Statistics in Modern Society
- College Writing
- Applicants must also have completed an additional nine credits in general education courses.
- If you have been enrolled in another post-secondary registered nursing program, you must send a letter of recommendation from a member of the Nursing Faculty at that institution.
- The College of Nursing RN to BS program requires that applicants have a diploma or associate degree in nursing from an NLN-accredited program with an overall GPA of 2.8 (on a 4.0 scale), as well as a current Rhode Island R.N. license. There is additional information about the RN to BS program.
College of Pharmacy
The College of Pharmacy admits fewer than 20 transfer students into the Doctor of Pharmacy program per year. Please note that students who apply to the College of Pharmacy, and are admitted and enroll with their second choice major, will be unable to transfer into PharmD at a later time, due to the limited number of spaces in this program.
Doctor of Pharmacy
Application Deadline: February 1, 2011.
- Official transcripts of completed course work and all required documents must arrive in the Office of Admission by the application deadline.
- Updated transcripts must arrive no later than June 15 for spring courses and August 15 for summer courses.
Well-qualified transfer students may compete for a limited number of open seats for the first professional year of the program.
In addition to the standard University of Rhode Island transfer admission requirements, students seeking admission into the first professional year of the pharmacy program must have:
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in all college coursework taken after high school.
- Previous work experience in a pharmaceutical or health care environment and/or volunteer service.
- Two letters of recommendation (one professional and one from a science or math instructor).
- An essay which demonstrates knowledge of the pharmacy profession, and highlights ability to foster successful patient relationships as well as leadership skills and ethical values.
- Completion of the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) with a minimum composite score of 400 or in the top 60%. The PCAT score report (sent directly from the Psychological Corporation) must be received by February 1 of the year for which the student is applying.
Students applying to the first professional year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program must participate in a pre-admission interview with Doctor of Pharmacy admission committee. In order to be eligible for an admission interview, students must have completed or be currently enrolled in the following required courses*:
- General Chemistry I and II with labs
- General Biology with lab or General Zoology with lab
- Applied Calculus
- Human Anatomy with lab
- Organic Chemistry I and II with labs
- Principles of Microeconomics
- Introductory Medical Microbiology
- Introductory Human Physiology with Lab
- Introductory Biochemistry
- General Statistics or Introductory Biostatistics
- Oral Communications
- Writing
- Ethics
*Please note courses 3 years or older may need to be repeated depending upon current relevance of course content and academic performance.
Students who do not meet the aforementioned requirements may be eligible for conditional admission to the College of Pharmacy.
Students applying for conditional admission to the College of Pharmacy must meet the following requirements:
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in all college coursework taken after high school.
- Previous work experience in a pharmaceutical or health care environment and/or volunteer service.
- Two letters of recommendation (one professional and one from a science or math instructor)
- An essay which demonstrates knowledge of the pharmacy profession, and highlights ability to foster successful patient relationships as well as leadership skills and ethical values.
Students seeking conditional admission to the College of Pharmacy must have completed or be currently enrolled in the following courses*:
- General Chemistry I and II with labs
- General Biology with lab or General Zoology with lab
- Applied Calculus
- Oral Communications and/or Writing
*Please note courses 3 years or older may need to be repeated depending upon current relevance of course content and academic performance.
