Everything you need to know (and do) to transfer to IU Bloomington
IU Bloomington is a great place to finish your degree, and the campus welcomes approximately 1,000 transfer students each year.
Students who are enrolled at an accredited, two- or four-year college, including another IU campus, and meet published IU Bloomington eligibility requirements will be guaranteed admission to the IU Bloomington campus. Once admitted, students have the opportunity to pursue and complete the admission requirements for their preferred academic program.
Get your copy of the IU Transfer Guide and learn more about applying for admission, transferring credits, and gaining admission to your school or college.
Ready to become a Hoosier?
Go straight to the Apply IU Application if you’re ready to apply to IU Bloomington as a transfer student.
The next deadline is March 1 for applications for summer 2025.
Before you apply
Before you begin the application process, learn what you need to do to get ready to apply.
If you’ve completed at least 12 semester hours of college coursework following your graduation from high school, you’re eligible to apply as a transfer student. If you have completed fewer than 12 semester hours, please complete the freshman application.
If you have completed fewer than 26 semester hours (or 39 quarter hours) of transferable college coursework, you also need to submit your official high school transcript as part of your application to IU.
If you have been a degree-seeking student at any IU campus, or any other regionally accredited two- or four-year institution, please complete the Apply IU application.
Find out when to apply, when you’ll be notified of acceptance, when you need to pay your enrollment deposit, and more. Please note that the deposit is nonrefundable and will be credited toward your first-semester tuition expenses.
These are the minimum requirements to transfer to IU Bloomington. In most cases, admitted students exceed these standards.
We pay particular attention to grade trends, your cumulative and most recent term grade point averages (GPA), and the breadth and depth of your previous college program. It’s also important that you have maintained good standing with your previous institution.
Grade trends
If you have grades that are consistently above average, or show steady improvement in a challenging academic program, your application will likely be competitive for admission. If your transcript shows declining grades, grades below C in the most recent term, or a less demanding academic program, we may ask you to take additional coursework to demonstrate your readiness to be successful at IU and reapply for admission for a future term.
Cumulative college grade point average (GPA)
Indiana residents should have a minimum college cumulative GPA of 2.3 on a 4.0-point scale before applying to IU Bloomington.
Nonresidents should have a minimum college cumulative GPA of 2.5.
Because of the competitive nature of our applicant pool, few transfers are admitted with a GPA below those listed above.
High school record
If you have completed fewer than 26 transferable semester hours (or 39 quarter hours) of college coursework, your high school transcript will be reviewed as part of the holistic admissions process.
Generally, a transfer student who earned a 3.0 cumulative high school grade point average and met the high school curriculum requirements set by faculty could be considered for transfer admission after only one semester of college level work after high school. Transfer students who earned less than a 3.0 cumulative high school grade point average could still be considered based on a holistic review of their application and early success in college level work, including AP, IB, and Dual Credit earned while in high school, but may be asked to complete additional coursework at the college level prior to admission.
Please review the “When you Apply” section for details as to how to send your high school transcript.
Other decision-making factors
SAT/ACT scores are not required for transfer students. However, you may submit test scores if you would like to have them considered as a part of your admissions review.
Self-reported race or ethnicity information will not be made available to individuals responsible for reviewing admission applications and/or making admission decisions.
Before you apply, make sure you spend some time exploring our different schools and 200+ majors.
When you fill out your application, you’ll be asked to choose an intended major.
If you don’t know what you want to major in, that’s okay! IU students who have not yet chosen a major are considered exploratory students. Indiana University promotes academic exploration and encourages students to spend time discovering the path that’s right for them. Exploratory students are supported by Advising & Major Exploration Services, where they receive expert advising to help them find their ideal major and fulfill the general requirements needed to certify into a degree-granting school or college.
If you are admitted to IU, we will evaluate your transcript(s) to determine if your coursework from another institution translates into credit at IU Bloomington. You will receive an email with information on how to check your online transfer credit report via One.IU. It will take approximately four to six weeks to complete a transfer credit evaluation once a transcript arrives in our office.
Here are a few important notes about transfer credit:
Only coursework earned at a regionally accredited institution will transfer.
Only courses in which you received a C or higher will transfer.
Transfer credit may count toward your degree at IU, but it will not count toward your GPA at IU.
Individual schools and departments at IU determine how transferred credits will apply toward your degree requirements.
Courses for which IU does not have an equivalent offering can sometimes be transferred as undistributed credits. Your academic advisor will be able to assist you with how undistributed credits may count toward your degree.
There are a few ways you could start your academic journey at IU, including direct admission. Direct admission at IU refers to admission to specific academic programs and degree-granting schools. Some programs only allow standard admission for transfer applicants. Learn more about direct admission and other ways to start at IU.
No matter which path you take when you start at IU, you will have academic and career advising at every step of your journey to help you reach your goals.
IU awards AP and college credit that can help you get a head start on your degree program.
If you’re currently taking classes at one of our nine IU campuses, we invite you to apply to IU Bloomington! Every year, hundreds of students transfer their enrollment from another IU campus to IU Bloomington and we are excited to support you on continuing your IU journey.
If you are only looking to complete a summer class or semester of coursework in Bloomington and plan to retain your enrollment on your home campus, we have a process for you as well. Learn about enrolling as a visiting student.
Students who earn the ICC milestone at any Indiana state public institution prior to enrolling at IU Bloomington would not be required to complete this general coursework at IU.
Transfer Single Articulation Pathways (TSAP) provides an opportunity for students to complete a bachelor’s degree at IU Bloomington in 60 credit hours, following completion of the corresponding TSAP associate degree at either Ivy Tech Community College or Vincennes University.
Indiana University Bloomington and Ivy Tech Community College have also collaborated to establish Guaranteed Admission Agreements in each of the following areas: Biology, Criminal Justice, Elementary Education, Informatics, and Psychology.
The bachelor’s degrees earned by TSAP and Guaranteed Admission students at IU Bloomington are the same four-year degrees earned by students who matriculate as freshmen, and the degree requirements are also the same.
If you’re interested in the Jacobs School of Music, you may apply using the Apply IU Application. After your application, you must complete the Jacobs Schools of Music supplemental application and submit an additional fee.
Please Note: The deadline to submit the Jacobs School of Music supplemental application is December 1.
Get to know what it's like to transfer to Indiana University Bloomington—from applying to academics to building community—straight from transfer students.
When you apply
Find out what to do when you’re ready to send in your application.
Transfer applicants apply using the Apply IU Application.
A brief essay. As part of your application, regardless of which platform you choose, you will need to submit an essay. If you are applying through the Common Application, you will need to submit one of the essay prompts in the application. If you are applying through Apply IU, you will need to submit the IU-specific essay.
IU specific-essay: In 200–400 words, you’ll be asked to describe your academic and career plans and any special interest (for example, undergraduate research, academic interests, leadership opportunities, etc.) that you are eager to pursue as an undergraduate at Indiana University. If you encountered any unusual circumstances, challenges, or obstacles in pursuit of your education, you may share those experiences and how you overcame them. Find more information about completing your essay on our FAQ page.
The $65 application fee. The application fee is nonrefundable. If you experience any payment issues, please contact us at ADMSBUS@indiana.edu or 812-855-0661.
Your official college transcript(s), which your college(s) should send directly to the IU Office of Admissions.
If you have completed fewer than 26 semester hours (or 39 quarter hours) of transferable college coursework, you also need to submit the following materials to apply for admission:
Your official high school transcript, which your high school should send directly to the IU Office of Admissions.
SAT/ACT scores are not required for transfer students. However, you may submit test scores if you would like to have them considered as a part of your admission review.
Make sure you allow pop-ups and enable third-party cookies to ensure that your application and fee payment will be submitted correctly. If you experience any payment issues, please contact us at ADMSBUS@indiana.edu or 812-855-0661.
Make sure you read through the information on this page and our FAQ page before you get started.
College transcripts
We require an official transcript from each college or university you have attended. If your school sends transcripts electronically and the transcript vendor requires an email address for delivery, please use iublrecv@iu.edu. You can also have your official transcript mailed to the following address:
Office of Admissions Indiana University Bloomington 940 E. Seventh Street Bloomington, IN 47405
High school transcripts
If you have completed fewer than 26 transferable semester hours (or 39 quarter hours) of college coursework, we will review your high school transcript as part of the admissions process.
Ask your high school to send your transcript to the address noted on this page.
In general, if your high school record does not meet IU’s future freshman admission standards, you will not be considered for admission as a transfer student until you have completed at least 26 transferable semester hours (or 39 quarter hours) of transferable academic work at another institution.
After you apply
We’ll let you know if you’ve been accepted four to eight weeks after we receive all your application documents.
To check the status of your application, log in to your IU Portal. Once you have started your application, login information for your IU Portal will be sent by email within 2 to 3 business days.
In the IU Portal, you'll see a Checklist of any items our office still needs to receive. Please be aware that after your items are received, it may take up to four weeks for them to be updated in your Checklist. Please be patient and check back frequently.
To check the status of your application and your checklist
Go to your IU Portal.
Log in using the username and password you created.
If you have any outstanding items listed on your checklist, your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed. Please upload your items in the IU Portal or contact us if you have questions.
Your University ID will be listed in your IU Portal. (If your university ID number is not listed, contact the Office of Admissions.)
Use your university ID number to create your IU computing account, which will be used for important tasks during the admission process.
Please note: This computing account is different than your IU Portal account and the account you created to apply.
Create your IU computing account
If you have not set up your computing account, you can also use the steps below to take care of this task. If you already have a computing account, you can follow the prompts to create your IU email account.
Read and agree to the Guidelines for Appropriate Usage.
Enroll in the Passphrase Self-Service Reset System. If you forget your passphrase, this tool will let you reset it yourself without having to visit a UITS Support Center location in person.
Save or record your account information in a secure place. You will need this information each time you log in to your IU computing account.
Exit. It may take up to 24 hours before you can log in to some services.
What to do if you have forgotten your ID or other information
Please note that if you have previously been enrolled in or participated in a program at any IU campus and were given a 10-digit university ID number and username, you will use the same university ID number and username to access (or set up) your IU computing account.
To learn how to make changes to your application, log in to your IU Portal. Please note that if you change your intended major, your application for admission will be reviewed again, even if you already received a decision.
If you are admitted, you will be able to access your detailed Transfer Credit Report approximately two to three weeks after admission. This report will list all courses taken at other institutions, indicate whether each course will transfer, and note the equivalent course at IU Bloomington for which you'll receive credit.
Type "transfer credits" into the search box at the top and click on the "Transfer Credits" app box.
Log in using your IU username and passphrase to see how your course work from another college or university transferred to IU.
If you have general questions about transferring credits, please visit the Credit Transfer Service site or contact the Office of Admissions. If you have questions about a specific course equivalency or how your credits may count towards an IU degree, please contact the school or college in which you plan to enroll.
Admitted Students
If you’re admitted to IU Bloomington, you’ll need to reserve your space by indicating your intent to enroll.
Indiana University’s annual security reports, which contain policy statements as well as crime and fire statistics for Indiana University campuses, are available online. You may also request a physical copy by emailing IU Public Safety at iups@iu.edu.
