Transfer students

• Application process

  If you wish to apply to transfer to the University, this timeline will help you through the application process.

  • Take a look at the University of St Andrews. 
    
    
  • Check the entry requirements and any subject-specific prerequisites for your programme.
    • These are laid out on our with Standard, Minimum and Gateway levels of requirements. Applicants from the UK should use the qualification indicator to see which are relevant to them. Applicants from other countries should use the Standard entry requirements. 
    • We always list the requirements for SQA Highers, GCE A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate, but accept a broad range of qualifications from around the world, find out what we accept from your country on our entry requirements page.
      
      
  • You should also check the General entry requirements for the course you are interested in (listed on the course page).
    
    
  • If there is a choice of course between the Faculties of Arts (MA) and Science (BSc), you must decide which Faculty is for you. If you are applying for a course in one Faculty which is also offered in another Faculty, great care should be taken to cite the UCAS code numbers correctly; for example, the course code for the Psychology (MA) degree differs from the Psychology (BSc) degree.
    
    
  • You must now decide if you should apply through UCAS or the St Andrews direct application. If you are classed as 'Overseas' for fee paying purposes, and St Andrews is the only university in the UK that you are applying to, then you can use our direct application. If you are applying to more than one university in the UK or are classed as ‘Home’ for fee paying purposes, then you must apply through UCAS.
    
    
  • Once you have decided which courses are the most appropriate, note the course codes of your chosen courses. This is the four-digit code which can be found in the key information section on each course page.
    
    
  • Draft your personal statement carefully so that it indicates that you are applying for a transfer and addresses your reasons for wishing to move from your current institution. Your personal statement should also reflect your choice of courses. You can find more information about what we look for in an application on the how to apply page.
    
    
  • Submit your application using the correct course code by the appropriate deadline; for more information, you can see the UCAS page and the direct application page. The current UCAS and direct application deadlines can be found below. You must clearly state that you are applying for a transfer, and details of your current place of study should be listed in the ‘Your education so far’ section.
    
    
  • You must also submit the supplementary documentation listed below directly to the University.

• Supplementary documentation

  The following supplementary documents must be sent directly to myapplication@st-andrews.ac.uk to arrive as soon as possible after you submit your application. Please mark all documentation clearly with your name and UCAS number, if applicable.

  • A second academic reference or referee’s report.
  • A detailed academic transcript from your current university showing the academic subjects you have taken and the grades obtained. This should include an explanation of any non-standard grading systems.
  • If you are an international student, we also require an academic transcript from your high school containing your final-year grades.
  • A copy of your syllabus so that we are able to establish which of your courses are common to our degree programme. Whenever possible, we will transfer credits to the total needed for a university degree award.

• Essential information

  As we receive many applications from well-qualified students, the number of places available to transfer students is limited and entry is competitive. Transfer students will usually need to have exceptional academic records and a valid reason for wishing to transfer their studies to the University of St Andrews.

  If you wish to transfer to the University, you must already hold the minimum grades and any subject-specific prerequisites for the courses that you are interested in transferring to. For UK qualifications, these can be found on all course pages and at the back of the Undergraduate Prospectus. All other students can find the international entry requirements on the entry requirements page.

  It is not possible to transfer into the Faculty of Medicine.

  It is not possible to transfer into the final year of a four-year MA or BSc degree programme at the University.

  After submitting your application, if you are contacted by us regarding SAT, ACT or AP test scores, unofficial score reports are accepted.

• Deadlines

  The final dates for the receipt of applications to St Andrews to qualify for full and equal consideration are: 

  • Medicine: 6pm (GMT - UK time) 16 October 2023 for all applicants applying to study Medicine. 
  • All other undergraduate courses: 6pm (GMT) 31 January 2024 for all other MA or BSc undergraduate applications. 

  Your application, including all supporting information, should be submitted by this date. It is rare that places are available on our programmes after the 31 January deadline. International applicants (Overseas Fee Status) should apply by the 31 January deadline.  

  We will only consider international applications submitted after the 31 January 2024 deadline if there are places still available and will be considered on a subject and course availability basis. 

  International applications received after 31 January 2024 may be placed on a waiting list. 

  BA International Honours 

  First year BA International Honours students who wish to transfer must submit a new application to St Andrews through the usual admissions routes. Applications will be considered in the context of the relevant applicant pool, and there is no guarantee that such an application will be successful. Find out more about BA International Honours transfers. 

  Your transfer application, including all supporting information, should be submitted by 31 January 2024. It is rare that places are available on our programmes after the 31 January deadline, even for BA International Honours students wishing to transfer from the programme into a full St Andrews degree programme. 

• How to submit your application

  If you are classed as an overseas student for fee paying purposes (see fee status), and St Andrews is the only university within the UK that you are applying to, then you can use our direct application.

  If you are applying to more than one university in the UK or are classed as a home student for fee paying purposes, then you must apply through UCAS. UCAS applications should be made online using the UCAS website, where full information on the application procedure will be found. An application fee is payable to UCAS when you submit your completed application. Once you have submitted your application through UCAS, you must also send the secondary documentation (detailed above) directly to myapplication@st-andrews.ac.uk.

  Direct applications and supporting information should be sent either by email to myapplication@st-andrews.ac.uk or mail to:

  Admissions
  University of St Andrews
  St Katharine's West
  The Scores
  St Andrews
  KY16 9AX

• After you apply

  For information on when you should expect a response to your application, as well as the different kinds of offers the University extends, take a look at our after you apply page.