Admission Information

If you intend to enroll for credit at an accredited higher education institution in the U.S. on a temporary visa, and you are not an immigrant (permanent resident with an I-51 or Green Card), or an undocumented immigrant, or a refugee, then you are considered to be an international student.

If you have not graduated from secondary school or completed your secondary school examinations, the State of Florida considers you a freshman, regardless of the amount of college credit you may have earned through dual enrollment, AP or IB coursework, or external examinations while in secondary school.

Thus, even though you may have sophomore or junior standing once you enroll and your credits are transferred, USF will review your application for admission as a freshman and consider you for all freshman admission scholarships. You also are considered a freshman if you have completed your secondary school studies and have attempted fewer than 12 college credits.

If you have graduated from high school and attempted or earned 12 to 59 transferrable credits, USF considers you a lower-level transfer applicant. You are an upper-level transfer applicant if you have obtained 60+ transferrable credits. Before you apply, please determine whether you are a lower-level or upper-level transfer applicant and be sure to review the appropriate application requirements.

Applicants seeking a second bachelor's degree and former students returning to USF are not considered transfer applicants. If you fall into either of these categories, please review the specific requirements for each scenario.

Transient and non-degree seeking applicants are not considered transfers and are not required to submit an application through the Office of Admissions.

If you have earned a bachelor's degree (or U.S. Equivalency), or will have earned a bachelor's degree prior to enrollment at USF, and are seeking entrance to a master's, doctoral, education specialist, or graduate certificate program, you are considered a graduate applicant (in some countries this is called "postgraduate" status). Current graduate students who wish to enter a new graduate degree program upon completion of their current degree program (i.e. enter a Ph.D. program upon completing the master's degree) also are considered graduate applicants for the second program.

If you have earned a masters degree (or U.S. Equivalency), or will have earned a master's degree prior to enrollment at USF, and are seeking entrance to a doctoral program, you are considered a doctoral applicant. Current graduate students who wish to enter a new graduate degree program upon completion of their current degree program (i.e. enter a Ph.D. program upon completing the master's degree at USF) also are considered doctoral applicants for the second program.

If you are currently studying at a post-secondary institution and you wish to attend the University of South Florida temporarily for a period of up to one year in length before returning to complete your program at your home institution, then you would be considered to be an exchange student.

Applications for incoming exchange students can be made with USF World Education Abroad.

A second bachelor's degree applicant is any degree-seeking undergraduate applicant who has earned a bachelor's degree at USF or another institution and wishes to earn an additional bachelor's degree.

A former USF student who has not earned his/her degree, who has not been enrolled at USF in any of the last three consecutive terms, and who wishes to re-enroll in the University is considered a Returning Student.

Transient and non-degree seeking applicants are not considered second bachelor's degree applicants and are not required to submit an application through the Office of Admissions.

A Returning Student is any degree-seeking undergraduate student who has not earned his/her degree, who has not been enrolled at USF in any of the last three consecutive terms, and who wishes to re-enroll in the University. Otherwise, you are considered a continuing student and can still register.

A college graduate seeking to earn an additional bachelor's degree is considered a second bachelor's degree student.

Non-degree seeking students are not considered Returning Students and are not required to submit an application through the Office of Admissions.