Applying to Tufts as a Transfer Applicant

Tufts welcomes applications for transfer admission from students who will have completed some college by the time they plan to enroll at Tufts. Our only entry point for transfer students is in the fall. The number of transfer students who matriculate to Tufts in a given year varies.

Transfer Application Timeline

• March 15th: Transfer application due.
• April – May: Transfer applications reviewed and evaluated by the Transfer Admissions Committee.
• Mid-May: Transfer admissions decisions notification begins on a rolling basis on or about May 15th.

Transfer Eligibility

Tufts welcomes transfer applicants to the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts who are in good academic and disciplinary standing at accredited two- and four-year institutions. To be considered for transfer admission, a candidate needs to have completed at least one year of college study by the time he or she plans to enroll at Tufts. Applicants to the School of Engineering must meet a designated level of curriculum completion to be considered for admission.

In order to receive a Tufts degree, students must be fully enrolled members of the Tufts community for at least two years. Therefore, students who have already earned more than two years’ worth of full-time college credit are discouraged from applying to Tufts.

How to Apply

Transfer candidates apply online using the Common Application, which includes the Tufts Writing Supplement. 

Application Requirements

A complete transfer application must be submitted by March 15th and must include the following nine (9) items. We strongly recommend including your social security number only where requested; please do not include on essays, recommendations, etc. Feel free to print out this page and use it as a checklist:

1. The Common Application, which includes the Transfer Application, College Report, Academic Evaluation, and Tufts Writing Supplement. You can find these components on the Common Application website.
2. All secondary school transcripts.
3. SAT Reasoning Test or ACT scores (SAT Subject Test scores are not required, but should be sent if available).
4. Official college transcripts.
5. Brief descriptions of college courses. Copy course catalog descriptions from your institution’s course catalog and paste into a Word document. Be sure to label this document with your full name and birth date, and mail or fax it to the Tufts Admissions Office. (Fax: 617-627-4079)
6. A list of courses in progress (if not listed on the transcript) on Transfer College Report.
7. TOEFL or IELTS scores: Required only for students for whom English is not the first language, or who attend a school where English is not the language of instruction).
8. Transfer Mid-Term Report accessible via the Common Application - a spring mid-semester update from each of your current professors. We understand that this report may not be available by March 15th, so it should be submitted in early April.
9. Art Portfolio: Required only for BFA Applicants to the SMFA at Tufts and Combined Degree BFA + BA/BS applicants. Submit a 15-20-piece portfolio of recent work, which represents your strengths and interests, via SlideRoom. More information on the required portfolio for these programs and how to submit can be by clicking here.
10. $75 application fee

Please Note: With the exception of REAL candidates, Tufts does not offer midyear or January admission. Sophomore and junior transfer candidates are considered only for fall enrollment.

Please also note: Applying for financial aid is a separate process, with its own required documents.

This addition to the application is optional, meaning it is not required:

• Arts or maker portfolio: As the Application Checklist indicates above, the Art Portfolio is required for students applying to the BFA or Combined Degree BFA + BA/BS programs at the SMFA at Tufts. Students applying to the School of Arts and Sciences or the School of Engineering, however, may submit an optional arts or maker portfolio to highlight talent in studio art, drama, dance, music, or engineering via SlideRoom. Please note there is a $12 charge to submit your portfolio through SlideRoom. When applying through the Common Application, you will indicate your plans to submit a portfolio as part of the application and will see a link to submit your portfolio via SlideRoom at the end of the application.