Transfer Admissions

We welcome applications from students who wish to transfer from an accredited four-year or two-year college.

Complete the following two steps to apply as a transfer student:

  1. Submit the Common Application on or before December 1.
  2. Submit an Artistic Profile for the SMTD program to which you are applying on or before December 1.
    • Note: per U-M policy, external transfer applicants are not able to apply to multiple U-M schools or colleges for dual degree consideration or for more than one SMTD program.

Additional Requirements

Admission as a transfer student from another accredited college or university is based in general on the high school and university academic preparation plus the following:

  • Cumulative collegiate GPA of 3.0 or better
  • Submit your official college transcript to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions electronically at [email protected]. If you are a first-semester college student and do not have college course grades by the December 1 application deadline, provide an unofficial transcript showing your current college course enrollment in your Artistic Profile, send a final high school transcript to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, then as soon as your grades are finalized have your college send a transcript to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Be advised that we may not be able to send you an audition invitation until after the college transcript with grades has been processed.
    • The University strongly prefers all documents be submitted electronically to [email protected]. However if you need to submit physical copies please mail them to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at:
      U-M Office of Undergraduate Admissions
      515 East Jefferson Street
      1220 Student Activities Building
      Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1316
  • Evidence of ability and preparation to successfully pursue courses in academic fields that constitute a part of the desired curriculum
  • Good standing at the previous school(s)
  • A successful audition/ interview evaluation by the SMTD faculty
  • Transfer applicants to Musical Theatre are advised to fulfill additional prerequisites, which are listed in the Musical Theatre degree information page.
  • Transfer applicants to Theatre Performance are advised that they will not be able to graduate in less than four years from the time they start at SMTD

If you wish to apply, please review the undergraduate application procedure for your program of interest. Please note that per U-M policy, external transfer applicants are not able to apply to multiple U-M schools or colleges for dual degree consideration.

Test Scores

If you took the SAT or ACT as a high school student, you will need to have official test scores sent by the testing agency to the U-M Office of Undergraduate Admissions. International transfer students who are non-native English speakers must submit valid TOEFL, IELTS, or EPCE/MET test scores.

Transferring Credits

Students from four-year colleges can transfer a maximum of 75 credits; students from two-year colleges can transfer up to 62. All credit transfer requests are evaluated at Orientation with an SMTD academic advisor. Evaluations are made on a case-by-case basis, but no student transferring into SMTD can do so at higher than junior standing.

Courses in music, theatre, and dance that have been applied to a four-year degree completed elsewhere are not eligible to transfer toward a degree at SMTD.

College credits earned for courses taken elsewhere will generally be accepted for transfer credit if they correspond to a U-M course offering and they have been taken for credit with an earned grade of “C” or better. Transfer credit will be posted to your U-M record after we have received your final, official transcript from your previous college or university. Please visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website to read more about transferring credit to U-M.

U-M Cross-Campus Transfers

Cross-campus transfer applicants are students already enrolled in another school or college at U-M who want to add a second degree within the School of Music, Theatre & Dance or switch degree programs entirely. Cross-campus transfer applicants should submit the online cross-campus transfer application and an Artistic Profile by December 1.

Questions?