Transfer Admission Criteria

Transfer applicants must submit the following:

Applicants who have attempted up to and including 12 semester hours of credit will be evaluated as freshmen for admission purposes and must meet the current freshman admission requirements. The grade point average earned for the attempted 12 hours or less will not affect the admission decision. (This policy has been developed to encourage students to take advantage of local post-secondary educational opportunities, either during their senior year in high school or during the summer before NIU enrollment, without jeopardizing their admission to Northern.)

Applicants who have attempted more than 12 semester hours but who have earned fewer than 24 semester hours of transferable college-level credit at the time of application must:

  1. Meet current freshman admission criteria.
  2. Be in good standing at the last college attended.
  3. Have a GPA of at least a C (2.00 on a 4.00 scale) from all colleges attended (as computed by NIU standards).


Applicants who have earned between 24 and 59 semester hours of transferable college-level credit at the time of application must:

  1. Have at least a C grade point average (2.00 on a 4.00 scale) from all colleges attended (as computed by NIU standards).
  2. Be in good standing at the last college attended.
  3. Satisfy Northern's competitive transfer grade point average.
    Enrollment into courses offered at NIU which fulfill NIU's core competency requirement in mathematics requires an entry-skill level, determined through placement testing and/or explicit prerequisite, at least equal to that expected from the successful completion of an intermediate algebra course. Because intermediate algebra is not offered at NIU, you will be expected to have attained this skill level prior to enrollment into NIU core competency mathematics courses.


Applicants who have earned 60 or more semester hours of transferable college-level credit at the time of application must:

  1. Have at least a C grade point average (2.00 on a 4.00 scale) from all colleges attended (as computed by NIU standards).
  2. Be in good standing at the last college attended.
    Enrollment into courses offered at NIU which fulfill NIU's core competency requirement in mathematics requires an entry-skill level, determined through placement testing and/or explicit prerequisite, at least equal to that expected from the successful completion of an intermediate algebra course. Because intermediate algebra is not offered at NIU, you will be expected to have attained this skill level prior to enrollment into NIU core competency mathematics courses.