Apply to the
B.S. in Architecture
(External Transfers)

Contact

Application Deadline

February 1

Portfolio Deadline

February 1

Enrollment Deposit and Intent to Enroll Deadline

May 1

Summer Intensive Transfer Studio begins (Arch 302)

Late June

Taubman College welcomes students currently enrolled at another college or university who wish to pursue the B.S. in Architecture. We accept external transfer students every summer semester only (late June start).

Begin Your Application

All external transfer applicants submit their applications using the Transfer Common Application. All transfer applicants apply to Taubman College during the winter term of their sophomore year.

Note: External transfer applicants are required to select “Summer” as their Preferred Start Term on the Common Application in order to apply to Taubman College. All external transfer students admitted to Taubman College will begin architecture study in an intensive summer half-term (July-August) in order to facilitate a smooth transition to the Taubman College studio culture.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions processes all undergraduate applications and can answer all inquiries about application requirements and submission. You can use the “Ask Blue” Admissions Chatbot for questions you have.

Common Application

Admissions Knowledge Base

Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Application Deadline*: April 30

* Transfer students who seek financial aid (grants, loans, work-study) during the summer term are required to fill out the previous year’s FAFSA since that term is the end of that aid year. Then, for their first fall/winter semesters, the current FAFSA is required so transfer students need to complete two FAFSAs.

Prerequisites and Transfer Guides

Students applying to transfer from an accredited community college, college, or university other than U-M are required to complete a minimum of 49 transferable credit hours, up to a maximum of 70 transferable credit hours of prerequisite courses at their college/university, including the required prerequisites outlined below. Courses must transfer as the correct University of Michigan course or distribution requirement. Continue reading for our transfer equivalency guides.

Transferring to another U-M school/college before applying to Taubman College is not encouraged because it will require at least 7 additional courses (about 15 additional credits) over 2-3 semesters in addition to the prerequisites listed below. Please email taubmancollegeadmissions@umich.edu before making this decision.

Required Prerequisite Courses	Credits
1 First Year Writing Requirement equivalent	3-4
1 Calculus course	4
2 Physics courses with labs	8
2 introductory studio drawing/art courses	6-8
2 Humanities Courses	6
1 Natural Science Course	3
2 Social Science Courses	6
Transferable Electives	9-24
Total Transferable Credits	49-70

Technical Credits: A maximum of seven technical credits are transferable (e.g., digital media, drafting, CAD, construction, HVAC, architecture technology, welding, technical writing, architectonics, building technology, codes, cost estimation, automotive repair, etc.).

Transfer General Credit: Transfer General Credit, posted as TRGENCR 101X on a transcript, does not fulfill any Taubman College degree requirements, but will apply to the overall number of credits required for a degree. TRGENCR 101X credits will fall into general electives on your Taubman College Transfer Worksheet or Online Advising File.

Prerequisite Course Transferability: Courses must be transferable and satisfy the correct U-M equivalent in order to fulfill the prerequisite admissions requirement. We highly encourage you to contact a Taubman College Admissions Officer to check the transferability of your courses.

Degree credit requirement: Students must earn a minimum of 121 credits hours and satisfactorily complete all of the required courses before a degree is granted. Students starting at Taubman College with fewer than 60 completed credits may need more than 5 semesters to complete their degree. Junior and Senior Year Sample Schedule.

Transfer Guides

The above prerequisite courses are required for transfer admission into the Bachelor of Science program and should be completed before external transfer students begin at Taubman junior year. Please use the college transfer guides below and/or the U-M Transfer Equivalency Search to determine whether the course(s) you are taking are transferrable. Use this worksheet to keep track of prerequisite courses.

If you are considering a transfer to Taubman College, we highly encourage you to contact a Taubman College Admissions Officer to check the transferability of your courses and to have an estimate of transfer credit completed.

Please see the transfer guides below.

Required Application Materials

Application

All external transfer applicants submit their applications using the Transfer Common Application.

College Transcripts
Transcripts from all universities/colleges are required.

High School Transcript
A high school transcript is also required: Proof of high school completion–final official high school/secondary school record (including 9th-12th grades and graduation date) or GED exam results.

Transcripts can also be submitted electronically by a school official to transcripts@umich.edu or via parchment to the following address:

University of Michigan
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
515 East Jefferson Street
1220 Student Activities Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1316

English Proficiency

MELAB, TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo test scores are required if English is not your first language. Please see the exams and visas page for required score ranges.

Recommendation from an Instructor

One recommendation from a college instructor (professor, lecturer, or a graduate student instructor) is required. Preference is from an art or design instructor.

Use the Transfer Common Application “Recommendations” section (select “ Add Academic Recommendations”) to enter your instructor’s information, and then they will complete the recommendation section within the Transfer Common App.

Your recommender will have the option to upload a separate letter, which is optional.

Submit Your Portfolio

The portfolio is required and is submitted through Slideroom. Use this one-page checklist to stay on track with your portfolio submission.

There is a $6 fee to submit your portfolio. Students who receive an application fee waiver will also receive a SlideRoom fee waiver. Please email taubmancollegeadmissions@umich.edu to notify us of your application fee waiver.

Portfolio

Suitable Work for Portfolio Inclusion

Portfolio content may include, but is not limited to:

Architectural design or building
Ceramics
Costume design
Digital media
Fashion design
Freehand Drawing
Graphic design
Industrial design
Interior design
Mechanical Drawing
Other crafts
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture
Sewing
Stage design
Two- and three-dimensional pieces
Woodworking

Generative AI

Generative AI is an emerging design tool used in architecture and other disciplines. Students may include work that was produced or aided by generative AI software (such as Dall-E, Firefly, Midjourney or others) but this work must be clearly labeled and identified.

If the review committee comes across images or drawings that appear to be AI-generated and are not clearly identified, they will exclude this work from their assessment of the portfolio.

Formatting

Required Cover Page

Must include:

Your last name, first name
Street address, city, state, postal code, country
Email address
Telephone number

Document and File Information

One Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file
20 MB maximum
Not to exceed 8 ½”x 11” (portrait or landscape)
8-10 pages, in addition to one cover page

Each project or piece of work should be labeled neatly with the following information:

Title of the work
Media
The year it was produced
Whether the work was undertaken independently or as part of a group effort (for group projects, the label should indicate the type and extent of the applicant’s personal involvement)
The context in which it was produced (a class, in an office, independent work, etc.)

Submit

The portfolio is required and is submitted through Slideroom. Use this one-page checklist to stay on track with your portfolio submission.

There is a $6 fee to submit your portfolio. Students who receive an application fee waiver will also receive a SlideRoom fee waiver.

Please email taubmancollegeadmissions@umich.edu to notify us of your application fee waiver.

Application Status and Evaluation

Enrollment Connect is a U-M website for all application needs: track your checklist and application status, receive important messages from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, view application decision, and more. To log in, use the login credentials from the email sent from Michigan.Admissions@umich.edu verifying your application submission has been successful. If you have not received your login credentials, please visit Verification Email Not Received.

Checking Application Status

Decision Notification

Requirements & Deadlines

Selection Process and Decision FAQs

Eligible transfer applicants are considered for admission on the basis of the following criteria:

Quality and content of all previous academic education
Other data, which indicates professional growth and motivation toward architecture-written statement of career goals, employment, academic record, letters of recommendation, and portfolio, etc.

Students who have completed first-year/sophomore studies at other universities or community colleges are evaluated on the same basis as those who have completed years 1 and 2 at the University of Michigan.

Selection Process

Paying the Enrollment Deposit (EDR)

Checking Financial Aid and Residency Appeals

Updating Application

Read about Delta College architecture transfer student Aaron Comstock’s recent experience at the FIREHOUSE Station Design Conference as a graduate student heading into his M.Arch degree at Taubman College.

Undergraduate Admissions Application Information

Aerial view of University of Michigan campus with fall colors.

Making decisions about the next step in your educational journey is a time full of opportunity and potential; however, it may also be accompanied by concerns regarding paying for your degree. There are numerous financial resources to help you manage tuition and living expenses.

Apply to the B.S. in Architecture (External Transfers)