18 Admissions
2018-2019 USC Upstate Catalog
U.S. History 1 One unit of U.S. history
Social
Studies
2 Economics and Government are strongly recommended.
Fine Arts 1 One unit in appreciation of, history of, or performance
in one of the fine arts.
P.E. or ROTC 1 One unit of physical education or ROTC
Electives* 1 One unit must be taken as an elective. A college
preparatory course in Computer Science (i.e., one
involving significant programming content, not
simply keyboarding) is strongly recommended for
this elective. Other acceptable electives include college
preparatory courses in English; fine arts; foreign
languages; social science; humanities; laboratory
science (excluding earth science, general physical
science, general environmental science, or other
introductory science courses for which biology and/
or chemistry is not a prerequisite); or mathematics
above the level of Algebra II.
ASSESSMENT OF ACADEMIC RECORDS
Freshman applicants who satisfy the course requirements listed above
will be evaluated on the basis of high school curriculum, grades, and SAT
(verbal and math) or ACT (composite) scores. These factors will be used to
determine the applicant's probability of success during the freshman year.
Exception to admissions requirements will be considered for applicants who
can present extenuating circumstances. Where appropriate, the Admissions
Office will refer such cases to the Student Services Committee. All freshmen
admitted by the Student Services Committee will be required to enroll in the
University 101 course during their first semester of attendance. Students must
pass UNIV 101 in their freshmen year. Typically, any student admitted with
a high school course deficiency will be required to successfully complete an
equivalent course in their first 30 semester hours of coursework at USC Upstate.
B. Transfer Admission
A transfer applicant is a student who has attended another post-secondary
institution after graduation from high school regardless of the amount of
credit earned at that institution. Applicants must submit transcripts of all
previous college courses whether or not credit was earned and regardless
of whether the applicant wishes to transfer any credit. Failure to report all
colleges attended may constitute immediate cancellation of admission and/
or registration. Transfer requirements are listed below.
a. A minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA in all previous college-level
course work.*
b. Evidence that the applicant is academically and otherwise eligible
to return to the last institution attended.
c. If fewer than 30 semester hours of college-level work have been
completed, the applicant must meet both freshman and transfer
requirements.
*Specific degree programs may have additional GPA or other requirements
for admission to the major.
USC SYSTEM CHANGE OF CAMPUS:
All applicants for change of campus to USC Upstate from other USC system
campuses will be required to meet transfer student requirements:
a. A minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA in all previous college-level
course work.*
b. Evidence that the applicant is academically and otherwise eligible
to return to the last institution attended.
c. If fewer than 30 semester hours of college-level work have been
completed, the applicant must meet both freshman and transfer
requirements.
*Specific degree programs may have additional GPA or other requirements
for admission to the major.
Transfer applicants who have not attended school for two years or longer and
are at least 22 years of age, may be eligible for probationary admission even if
they do not meet GPA requirements. Students who are on academic probation
must obtain at least a 2.0 average on the first 12 or more credit hours attempted
under this status. These hours may be taken over more than one semester.
Students failing to meet this requirement are suspended. Students who leave
the University without completing a term of probation, and are absent for
three or more years, will begin a new term of probation upon readmission.
Transfer students are informed by the dean or division chair of their major of
the amount of credit which will transfer, usually prior to enrollment, but at
least prior to the end of the first academic term in which they are enrolled.
TRANSFER CREDIT
The transcript of a transfer student is evaluated by the dean, chair or designee
of the school or college in which he or she matriculates. If no major or an
undeclared major is indicated at the time of application, the transcript will
be evaluated in the Student Success Center.
USC Upstate does not limit the number of hours transferred for degree credit
from a senior college that is accredited by a regional association such as the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. A maximum of 76 semester
hours may be transferred for degree credit from a junior college or two-year
institution that is accredited by a regional accrediting association. USC
Upstate requires that every student meet the academic residency requirements
before a degree is awarded.
A student transferring from a four-year institution not accredited by the
appropriate regional accrediting association may validate hours earned
at the nonaccredited institution by successful completion of 15 hours at
USC Upstate with a minimum 2.0 GPA. Credits earned at two-year nonaccredited
institutions may be validated by examination. Exemption credit
or acceptance of transfer credit by another college has no bearing on the
evaluation of transfer credit at USC Upstate.
As a general rule, some courses are not acceptable in transfer to USC Upstate
or to the other campuses of the University of South Carolina. Included are
occupational or technical courses, remedial courses, courses from a two-year
college that are considered upper-level at the University, or courses from a
two-year college that are not part of that institution’s college transfer program.
Exceptions to this rule may be made only by the dean of the student’s
school or college or by the vice chancellor for academic affairs. Exceptions
are made only in specific cases where the courses being considered for
transfer are judged to be uniquely relevant to the student’s degree program.
A course completed at another college or university in which a student
earns a grade below C cannot be transferred. USC Upstate uses all grades
(with the exception of grades for remedial courses and courses taken on a
pass-fail basis) listed on transcripts of other institutions in the calculation
of the transfer GPA. Therefore, the GPA as calculated by USC Upstate may
be different than the one appearing on the transcript of another institution.
A GPA calculated by USC Upstate will be used in determining admission to
USC Upstate or to a particular program.