Undergraduate Admission Requirements

Freshman Admission

Eligibility for admission as a freshman is determined primarily on the basis of three predictors of academic success: high school preparation, rank in high school class, and SAT (ACT) score. Additional consideration for admission will be based on an evaluation of the additional criteria as described below.

Students enrolling with ACT/SAT scores and high school rankings below UT Tyler’s published admission criteria, and/or students enrolling as ‘liable’ or ‘not satisfied’ according to published state standards for TSI compliance, will be required to participate in the PASSages (Patriot Academic Success Services) Program during their first semester of enrollment.

High School Preparation

To be eligible for admission to the university as a freshman an applicant must be a high school graduate or equivalent. A high school record that demonstrates achievement in the most challenging academic course work available is the best single predictor of academic success. Beginning freshmen must submit an official high school transcript before classes begin in order to verify graduation and completion of required courses.

The minimum high school units required for admission include:

1. Language Arts
   Required: Four units of English
2. Science
   Required: Three units of science to include at least one unit of Chemistry or Physics
   Strongly recommended: Three units of laboratory science including Chemistry and Physics.
3. Foreign Language
   Required: Two units in a single language effective fall semester 2001.
4. Mathematics
   Required: Three units at the level of Algebra I or higher.
   Strongly recommended: Students planning to enter scientific, engineering and similar technical fields are advised to take at least four units of math in preparation for entering the first university calculus course in their first semester at the university.
5. Social Studies
   Required: Three units
6. Electives
   Required: Additional courses in the areas above and/or in fine arts and/or computer science to satisfy high school graduation requirements

High School Rank in Class and SAT (ACT) Score

1. An applicant who graduates from an accredited high school in one of the two years preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for admission and who has a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the applicant’s high school graduating class will be admitted automatically (subject to applicable enrollment limit). SAT (ACT) scores must be submitted.
2. An applicant who does not qualify for admission under item A but meets the following criteria also qualifies for regular admission:

Home schooled students:  Requirements for home schooled students entering as freshmen are as follows:

1. SAT or ACT test scores.
2. THEA, if applicable.
3. HS transcript or GED scores.

Additional Criteria

In addition to the current university requirements for admission, applicants must also have either: successfully completed the curriculum requirements for the recommended or advanced high school program or its equivalent; or satisfied ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT assessment application to the applicant, or earned on the SAT assessment a score of at least 1500 out of 2400 or the equivalent.

The above requirement may be satisfied if the applicants official high school transcript or diploma states that the applicant completed the portion of the recommended or advanced curriculum or its equivalent that was available to the applicant, but was unable to complete the remainder of the curriculum solely because courses necessary to complete the remainder were unavailable to the applicant at the appropriate times in the applicant's high school career as a result of course scheduling, lack of enrollment capacity, or another cause not within the applicant's control.

An applicant may be given additional consideration based upon an evaluation of the individuals' involvement and level of responsibility in extracurricular activities; involvement in responsible non-academic affairs while attending high school, including employment and family responsibilities; status as a first general college student; English not first language; and socioeconomic background.

Transfer Students

Transfer students having fewer than 30 semester credit hours must meet the freshmen admission requirements as specified above.

Transfer students having successfully completed 30 semester hours or more at a regionally accredited institution must have earned a minimum grade point average of 2.0 (on a 4.00 scale) on all college/university coursework attempted.

Students seeking special certification courses may be admitted to complete the required certification courses based on the program requirements.

UT Tyler strives to provide guidance for prospective transfer students by outreach through community college visits, individual counseling, transfer credit evaluations, on-campus recruitment events, and orientation. UT Tyler offers transfer students incentives such as scholarship opportunities to those who qualify. Transfer scholarship awards are renewable for two years and have the effect of waiving out-of-state tuition. Additional information regarding admission requirements, scholarship information, recommended degree plans, housing, student life, and athletics are all included on the UT Tyler web site: www.uttyler.edu.

Appealing an Admission Decision

Students who do not meet the minimal admission requirements, or who have special ability, experience, or other circumstances to demonstrate readiness for college level work may petition for admission by scheduling an appointment with an admissions counselor and submitting an application for appeal form and supporting documentation to the Enrollment Services Center, ADM 230. Consideration will be given to the individual’s involvement and level of responsibility in extracurricular activities and involvement in responsible, non-academic affairs including employment and family responsibilities; status as a first generation college student; English not first language; socioeconomic background, and other extenuating circumstances. Petitions for special admission to the university must receive approval from the Admissions Appeal Committee prior to registration.

Readmission

If a student has not attended UT Tyler during the past academic year, the student will need to submit a completed application, official transcripts from any institution attended since leaving UT Tyler, and a $40 application fee for domestic students, or a $75 application fee for international students. Readmitted students come under the catalog in effect at the time of readmission. Students who withdraw from the university to perform active military service (not including Texas National Guard training exercises) will not have to reapply for admission but will be readmitted upon a request made within one year of being released from active military services and may be eligible for the same financial assistance provided before the student's withdrawal. See Texas Education Code, Section 51.9242.

Transient Admission

Undergraduate students pursuing degrees at other colleges and universities who wish to take courses at the University may be admitted as transient students. The transient student application and approval form are available in the Enrollment Services Center, ADM 230, or the website at http://www.uttyler.edu/admissions.

A transient student who later wishes to be admitted to the University on a regular basis must apply for admission as a transfer student.

Students who attend the University as transient students and then are admitted on a regular basis are immediately subject to the University’s academic regulations. Specifically, students will be placed on academic probation upon enrollment if their grade point average for work undertaken at the University as a transient student is below a 2.00.

International Admissions

In addition to the undergraduate admission requirements stated previously, applicants that are F-1 nonimmigrant visa holders from countries other than the U.S. are subject to the following:

1. An official English evaluation of the transcripts, from an approved agency of the Undergraduate Admissions Office if the academic transcripts are from a foreign institution.
2. Evidence of English proficiency must be submitted before admission will be granted. Applicants whose primary language is not English must submit results of the Test of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Pearson Test of English (PTE), or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Minimum score requirements are as follows:
   1. TOEFL Internet Based Test (IBT): 79
   2. TOEFL Paper Based Test (PBT): 550
   3. Pearson Test of English (PTE): 53
   4. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall band score: 6.5 and 6 or greater in all sub-sections
   5. TOEFL, PTE, AND IELTS scores will be waived for individuals who complete Level 6 of the University of Texas at Tyler Intensive English Language Institute (IELI) with no grade lower than an A or those who complete Level 7 with no grade lower than a B.
3. All undergraduate international students must pay a nonrefundable application fee of $75.00.
4. Application deadlines are as follows:
   Fall Semester: June 1
   Spring Semester: November 1
   Summer Semester: March 1
   
   After an international student is admitted, the student will be required to submit the following documentation to the Office of International Programs (OIP) International Student, Scholar and Faculty Services (ISSFS) Center.
   1. An affidavit of support is required indicating the source of funds being made available to the student. The affidavit of support must indicate the amount of money being provided in U.S. Dollars and the length of time the funds will be made available.
   2. Holders of student (F-1) visas must be classified as full-time students. For international undergraduate students, full-time enrollment is 12 semester credit hours.
   3. Before registration the OIP ISSFS Center must have a copy of a current passport, visa, I-94, and current I-20s. In addition, accepted students who will be transferring in from another U.S. school will need to submit a SEVIS transfer form completed by the transferring institution.
   4. International students holding non-immigrant visas are required to maintain approved comprehensive medical insurance, repatriation insurance and medical evacuation insurance while enrolled at UT Tyler. An international student may purchase his or her own insurance. However, the policy must meet or exceed UT System Student Health Insurance Plan requirements and a health insurance waiver must be submitted by the deadline for the insurance charge on the student bill to be waived. If no waiver form is submitted, a health insurance fee will be assessed at the time of enrollment. The health insurance fee will be in the amount of the premium approved for the UT System Student Health Insurance Plan for the actual cost of the insurance.
   5. Submit the International Application Fee. A nonrefundable application fee of U.S. $75.00, payable by cashier's check or money order, is required of all international students applying for admission to The University of Texas at Tyler.

Transient Admission at other Institutions

After the student is admitted to UT Tyler, he or she should not register for any course(s) at any other institution until approval is granted. Approval by the student’s Advisor, Department Chair, Dean and the University Registrar is required to assure that the courses taken at another institution will count toward the student’s degree. A student should not register at another institution until an Undergraduate Transient Form has been completed and approved. Forms for this purpose are available at www.uttyler.edu/registrar/forms/index.php or at the Enrollment Services Center, and must be submitted by the relevant UT Tyler Census Date as noted on the Academic Calendar.

Academic Fresh Start

An applicant for admission who is a Texas resident may seek to enter this institution pursuant to the “academic fresh start” statute, Texas Education Code, §51.931 by requesting an Academic Fresh Start Program Acknowledgement form from the Director of Admissions, and submitting the form to the Enrollment Services Center, ADM 230. The University will not consider academic course credits or grades earned by the applicant 10 or more years prior to the starting date of the semester in which the applicant seeks to enroll. An applicant who makes the election to apply under this statute may not receive any course credit for courses taken 10 or more years prior to enrollment under academic fresh start. Once Academic Fresh Start has been enacted, appropriate notations will be placed on the student's official transcript.