Transferring from a North American university
Applicants who live in North America and who would be liable to pay tution fees at the higher Overseas rate may apply directly to the University for transfer from universities or colleges in the USA or Canada.
If you are an EU national living and/or studying in North America you should clarify your fee status before applying for transfer. Students who are eligibile to pay tuition fees at the Home (ie, UK/EU funded) rate will need to apply for transfer through UCAS.
An application form for direct transfer is available online or may be obtained by email from the International Office.
Need for supplementary documentation
The following supplementary documents must be sent directly to the International Office to arrive with, or as soon as possible after, your application form. Please mark all documentation clearly with your name.
- A second academic reference or Referee's Report.
- A detailed academic transcript from your home institution showing the academic subjects you have taken and marks/grades obtained. This should include an explanation of any non-standard grading systems.
- A copy of your syllabus(es) so that we are able to judge how much work you have covered that is common to our degree programme. Whenever possible we will transfer credits towards the total needed for a University degree award.
Entry to Year Two
You will need to give us an indication of a second academic subject that you have already been studying at your home institution and which you wish to study if you are offered a place in Year Two. The structure of degree courses at St Andrews requires that you must take two subjects at second year level, and consequently your application must be acceptable to two academic Schools or Departments. It is best to request this second subject in your covering letter when submitting your application form.
Our decision process
Consideration of your application will involve several stages, including scrutiny at Faculty and Departmental levels. Permission to enter into other than the first year at University, and the amount of transfer credit that may be assigned, rests solely with the Faculties.
Once we have made a decision on your application we will inform you by email and letter. Our offer will specify the point of entry (ie, 1st, 2nd or 3rd year) and the amount of transfer credit that has been approved.
Deadline
Applications for direct transfer must be submitted with all supplementary documentation by 1 March of the year of entry.
Notes:
- One application per year. Applicants who apply directly to St Andrews may not apply to other UK universities in the same academic cycle.
- UCAS applications. Under no circumstances can a transfer application made directly to the University be considered alongside a UCAS application.
- Faculty of Medicine. It is not possible to transfer into the Faculty of Medicine.
- Transfer into Year Four. It is not normally possible to transfer into the final year of a four-year MA or BSc degree programme at the University.