All students seeking advanced standing must submit official transcripts of all college credit earned. A student will be considered a transfer student if any college work has been taken at another institution.
All transfer applicants must:
(1) Submit two official transcripts from each college/university attended.
(2) Submit an official COMPASS report, if applicable.
(3) Submit official ACT or SAT scores.
(4) Have a GPA (based on all courses attempted at Tennessee Board of Regents colleges/universities) equal to TSU’s retention standards.
(5) Have a minimum 2.00 GPA, for out-of-state college/university.
(6) Take the COMPASS subtest in Mathematics and/or English if the ACT (Enhanced) subscore(s) in the subject(s) is not acceptable or if college credit has not been earned in English and/or Mathematics. Transfer students with 60 or more hours of transfer credit are exempt from University Orientation if they have not attempted Math and/or English.
(7) Students who have taken remedial and/or developmental courses at a non-TBR institution must undergo COMPASS assessment. However, if they transfer remedial and/or developmental course work which is equivalent to that offered at the University, the course(s) for which the transfer course is equivalent will be waived. Remedial and developmental courses transferred from other TBR institutions is automatically accepted.
To qualify for admission by transfer from a Tennessee Board of Regents college or university in the State of Tennessee, a student must meet the following grade-point average requirements:
| HOURS ATTEMPTED | REQUIRED GPA |
| 0 to 14 | Noq minimum GPA |
| (Will be admitted as special students until GPA is at least 1.4) |
|
| 15 to 29 | Not less than a 1.4 cumulative average |
| 30 to 50 | Not less than a 1.7 cumulative average |
| 51 to 67 | Not less than a 1.9 cumulative average |
| Above 67 hours | Not less than a 2.0 cumulative average |
To qualify for admission by transfer from an out-of-state college or university, a student must have, as a minimum, an overall 2.00 grade-point average. Credits earned by students who are Tennessee residents attending public colleges and universities in Tennessee will be accepted toward degree programs on the same basis as work taken on the campus of Tennessee State University.
All other students seeking advanced standing will be admitted to Tennessee State University provided they meet the minimum requirement of a 2.00 grade-point average. All transfer grades will be used in computing the average required for admission. Students transferring from a junior or community college must complete a minimum of 60 hours credit for the bachelor’s degree at TSU. Furthermore, any student dismissed from a college or university for academic reasons must be eligible to re-enter that institution prior to acceptance at TSU.
Credit earned at other colleges and universities (accredited/non-accredited) will be assigned by the Office of Admissions once the student is admitted. The University does not grant upper division credit (300-400 level courses) for lower division work transferred from community or junior colleges. In addition, no upper division credit will be granted for any lower division credit transferred from any other university or college; any exceptions to this particular provision must be approved by the Office of Admissions and Records and the appropriate department head.
The Office of Admissions and Records will provide all transfer students an equivalency evaluation of all transfer credit during the first semester of enrollment at the University. All transfer credits from institutions not on the semester system will be converted to semester credits. Cumulative averages are computed on the basis of A equals 4 quality points for each credit hour.
Specific questions regarding transfer credit should be addressed to the Office of Admissions and Records and the appropriate department head.