Honors Admissions

Transfer Student Admission

Students who are starting at аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÄÚÄ»ÐÅÏ¢directly from another college or university can apply to join the Judy Genshaft Honors College as a transfer applicant. Transfer students interested in joining the Honors College should complete their application for the same term that they plan on starting with USF. 

Admission into the Honors College as a Transfer Student can be competitive and varies depending on factors such as capacity, major, GPA, and a student’s home campus. Applicants should have a working knowledge of the Judy Genshaft Honors College curriculum (see details below) and how these experiences will contribute to their personal and professional development.

RESTRICTIONS

Students will not be admitted into the Honors College if the additional academic courses will cause students to accrue any excess credit hours or graduate in a manner inconsistent with (beyond four years from the start of a student's bachelor’s degree, or two years after completion of an associate degree).

For this reason, transfer students will only be admitted to the Honors College at the time of transfer and must have at least two academic years (four Fall/Spring semesters) remaining before graduation to be eligible for admission into the Honors College.

JUDY GENSHAFT HONORS COLLEGE CURRICULUM

In order to graduate with Judy Genshaft Honors College distinction, transfer students admitted to the Honors College must complete the following requirements by their graduation. For more detailed information about these requirements, please contact our admissions coordinator.

  • Honors Academic Curriculum (Thesis or Capstone Track)
    • Thesis: 2 Honors Seminar Courses + 2 Semester Honors Thesis
    • Capstone: 3 Honors Seminar Courses + 1 Semester Honors Capstone Course
  • Two Experiential Learning Activities
  • Minimum 3.5 Overall GPA

APPLICATION POOLS AND TIMELINES

In order to be eligible to apply for the Judy Genshaft Honors College, prospective transfer students must have previously completed their general аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÄÚÄ»ÐÅÏ¢Admissions application by the deadlines outlined by the Office of Admissions online here

Transfer students who are entering аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÄÚÄ»ÐÅÏ¢should apply to enter the Judy Genshaft Honors College at the same time as their intended entry term to USF.  Honors transfer applications are broken up into specific applicant pools based on that entry term. Please refer to the chart below for the appropriate application deadlines and decision dates for you. 

 
аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÄÚÄ»ÐÅÏ¢Entry Term Application Launch Date Application Deadline Decision Date
Spring 2025 Sept. 16, 2024 Oct. 18, 2024 Nov. 4, 2024
Summer 2025 Jan. 17, 2025 Mar. 17, 2025 Apr. 7, 2025
Fall 2025 Apr. 18, 2025 Jun. 16, 2025 Jul. 7, 2025

Students can for further information about our application process and to be notified once their available application launches.  


APPLICATION

Interested students can access the transfer student application here:

The Honors transfer application is comprised of the following:

  • General student information questions. 
    • Name, major, completed credits, intended home campus, etc.
  • Two short, 500 – 750 word essay submissions to the following prompts.
    • First, asking students to elaborate on why they are interested in joining the Judy Genshaft Honors College, and how they may benefit from an Honors curriculum.
    • Second, asking students to provide some ideas regarding how they might intend to complete the Experiential Learning requirements.
    • For students that are transferring from an Honors curriculum at their previous institution, there will also be the option to include a recommendation letter from a previous Honors advisor, faculty member, or administrator.
  • A previous academic writing sample.
    • There is no preferred format, course, or subject matter. Applicants may submit anything that they believe demonstrates their academic writing capabilities.