Transferring to UW-Madison: requirements, credits and deadlines
Transfer acceptance rate: 56.7%
Transfer acceptance rate
Source: Official school data report, section D, 2025-2026
For fall 2025, UW-Madison admitted 2,652 of 4,677 transfer applicants (56.7%).
Checked November 9, 2026. Takes a lot of transfers
- Fall 2027 deadline
- Mar 1, 2027Source, 2026-2027
- Credits to apply
- At least 24 semester hoursSource, 2026-2027
- Recommendation letters
- RequiredSource, 2026-2027
Transfer requirements
UW-Madison requires an essay, recommendation letters and a minimum number of college credits.
Minimum credits before you applyRequired
Applicants need at least 24 transferable semester hours of college-level work after high school.
Source, 2026-2027
The fee is $80, with waivers for hardship. It is not required if your last school was a Universities of Wisconsin institution and you are within a year of enrolling as a degree-seeking student there.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
The high school record must show one year of algebra, one year of plane geometry, one year of college-preparatory math or one college course at the Algebra 2 level or higher, and two years of the same world language or two college semesters. If you do not meet the language requirement you finish it at UW-Madison.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Send official transcripts from every college, including college classes taken in high school, and your official high school transcript. Dance and Music direct entry also need an additional application and an audition.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Business and Engineering are considered only if listed as your first-choice major, and admission to the university does not promise direct admission.
Source: UW-Madison, can I get in, undated page
What GPA do you need?
UW-Madison says it pays particular attention to your college coursework, and that the more college credit you have, the less your high school record counts. It reviews cumulative GPA with all grades, including repeated courses, plus rigor, breadth and grade trends.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026; UW-Madison, can I get in, undated page
The page gives no minimum GPA. It says admission expectations for business, engineering, dance and music can differ because of competitiveness.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
A GPA that matches past admits is not a cutoff, and it does not mean you are in.
Will your credits transfer?
UW-Madison cannot pre-evaluate courses for prospective students. If admitted, you get a detailed evaluation showing how each credit transfers. Transferology is available for estimates.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Courses must be similar in nature, level and content to a course in the undergraduate curriculum. Credit Evaluation Services may review syllabi. Continuing education, graduate-level and certain remedial, technical, vocational or doctrinal courses do not transfer.
Source: UW-Madison Registrar, transfer your credit, undated page
Our read: The registrar page we opened gives no credit cap, grade minimum or residency rule. Get those from the Universities of Wisconsin transfer policy before you plan around a number.
Transfer deadlines for fall 2027
For fall 2027 entry, the application deadline is March 1, 2027.
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison transfer information, 2026-2027
- You send or do something
- The school answers
- December
- March
There are three rounds: fall priority (application February 1, materials February 16, decisions by March 31), fall regular (March 1, materials March 15, decisions by April 30), and spring (October 1, materials October 15, decisions by December 31). The page prints no year. Everything is due at 11:59 pm Pacific.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Applications submitted within five days of the deadline do not get a missing materials reminder. The system can take up to 72 hours to show your application.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Our read: Use the priority round. The deadlines for the application and materials are two weeks apart, so request transcripts and your letter early.
Other terms and dates
- Spring application opens, year not printedAugust 1Source, 2026
What UW-Madison looks for
You name a first and second choice major. If your first choice is in the School of Business or College of Engineering, your second choice must be outside both schools.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Our read: If you aim at Business or Engineering, your backup major matters more than usual. Pick one you would actually take.
You need one letter of recommendation from a teacher, counselor or faculty member. Engineering applicants are encouraged to get one from a math or science teacher. A letter expires one year after it is written.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
The application needs 24 transferable semester hours completed or in progress. AP, A-Level, IB and CLEP credit does not count toward the 24. UW-Madison does not admit freshman-level transfers.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
UW-Madison transfer acceptance rate
UW-Madison's transfer acceptance rate for fall 2025 was 56.7%. 1,322 transfer students enrolled. The first-year rate the same year was 40.8%.
Source: Official school data report, section D, 2025-2026
The Common Data Set is the official data report colleges publish each year.
Transfer and first-year applicants are different groups. Use the first-year rate as context only.
A high rate does not open every major. Some programs set their own courses and grades.
UW-Madison says its Business school and College of Engineering are direct entry programs that admit at the time of application, and that admission to the university does not promise direct admission to either. The page does not say whether transfers can apply directly to them.
Source: UW-Madison, can I get in, undated page
Our read: Read the school-wide count as a count for the whole university. Business and Engineering may be a different contest, and the pages we opened do not give their transfer numbers.
Transfer essays and supplements
Life experiences essay, 650 words maximum, 300 to 500 recommended
Begins "Each student is unique." It asks about the life experiences, talents, commitments and interests you will bring to campus. Common App users answer one of its first-year prompts instead.
Source: UW-Madison admissions essays, undated page
Why UW-Madison, 650 words maximum, 300 to 500 recommended
Begins "Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison." It also asks why you want your selected major, or, if undecided, your possible areas of academic interest.
Source: UW-Madison admissions essays, undated page
The essays page lists the 650 word cap for all applicants and does not give a transfer-specific limit or a cycle.
Source: UW-Madison admissions essays, undated page
Our read: Essay 2 does most of the work. Tie your major to specific UW-Madison courses, and say what you did in college that led you there. Do not make it a list of what your current school lacks.
Transfers from another Universities of Wisconsin institution submit only the second essay.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Some transfer agreements ask you to note the contract in your essay.
Source: UW-Madison transfer agreements, undated page
Most of your odds here are grades and courses. If you are writing an essay anyway, get a free review first.
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Questions students ask
How many credits do I need to apply?
At least 24 transferable semester hours, completed or in progress, not counting AP, A-Level, IB or CLEP.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Is there a minimum GPA?
The page gives none. It says admission expectations for business, engineering, dance and music can differ because of competitiveness, and agreements often need a 3.0.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026; UW-Madison transfer agreements, undated page
Do I have to write both essays?
Yes, unless you transfer from another Universities of Wisconsin institution. Then only Essay 2 is needed.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
Can I get a transfer credit evaluation before I apply?
No. UW-Madison cannot pre-evaluate courses for prospective students. It provides a full evaluation after admission.
Source: UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
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Sources
- Official school data report, 2025-2026
- UW-Madison, apply as a transfer, 2026
- UW-Madison admissions essays, undated page
- UW-Madison Registrar, transfer your credit, undated page
- UW-Madison transfer agreements, undated page
- UW-Madison, can I get in, undated page
Numbers come from official reports, read by our tools and checked. Notes were drafted with AI tools from the official pages linked beside them. A person has not reviewed this guide yet. Admission decisions belong to each college, and no one can promise one.