Internal Transfer Students
While you may have started your college education at another University of Maryland program, we are thrilled you're considering the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Many answers to your questions about transferring to our program can be found below. For further questions, please get in touch with us by phone at 301-405-2286.
Want to receive more information about future prospective transfer events? Complete this form today!
Whether business has been a long-standing passion or your elective business courses sparked your interest in the field, consider applying as an internal transfer student to the Smith School! Internal transfer students are current UMD students who want to declare a business major as their primary major or plan to add a business major as a double major/degree.
Requirements and Policies
Admission to the Smith School is highly competitive and based on a holistic process. We are searching for a diverse, engaged, and academically talented pool of students. The admission decision will consider academic record, co-curricular involvement, leadership experience, and honors and awards.
We encourage you to meet with your current academic advisor to review your schedule and ensure you meet the academic qualifications for your Smith application.
Students seeking transfer admission should refer to the Limited Enrollment Program information for current UMD students for specific admissions requirements and prerequisites.
Gateway Requirements and Policies
- Completion of BMGT220 [Principles of Accounting I] with a minimum grade of C-
- Completion of BMGT230 or BMGT231 [Business Statistics] (or approved substitute course, see below for options) with a minimum grade of C-
- Completion of MATH120, 136 or 140 [Applied Calculus I or Calculus I] with a minimum grade of C- or above
- Applicant must have earned at least 45 cumulative credits by the end of the semester that an application has been submitted
- A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all college coursework is required for consideration for all internal and external transfer applicants
Students applying to Business, who have completed all of the LEP Gateway requirements, and have a 3.6 or higher cumulative grade point average across all attempted college coursework will be directly admitted into the Business major. Students applying to Business, who have completed all of the LEP Gateway requirements, and have a 3.0 - 3.599 cumulative grade point average across all attempted college coursework will undergo a competitive review for admission to the Business major.
The following courses are approved substitutes for BMGT230:
BIOM301, CCJS200, ECON230, ECON321, EDMS451, EPIB300, EPIB315, GEOG306, HLTH300, INST314, PSYC200, and SOCY201.
The following courses are approved substitutes for BMGT231:
BIOE372, ENCE302, ENEE324, ENME392, STAT400, or STAT420.
The following guidelines pertain to all Limited Enrollment Programs:
Only one gateway or performance review course may be repeated to earn the required grade and that course may only be repeated once. When more than one course can satisfy a gateway requirement, taking a second course from the list will count as a repeat. Please note that a grade of "W" is considered an attempt and must be repeated.
- Students may apply once to an LEP.
- Students who were directly admitted and failed to meet the performance review criteria will be dismissed from the major and may not reapply.
- Students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 after admission to an LEP. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the major.
- Any student denied admission or dismissed from the major may appeal in writing to the individual LEP.
- Students with a 3.600 cumulative GPA for all college coursework who meet all the eligibility requirements will automatically be admitted to the Smith School of Business.
Information Sessions
Smith School Prospective Internal Transfer Information Sessions
Learn more about the Robert H. Smith School of Business and the internal transfer process by attending an information session! All sessions are held on Zoom and require registration.
| September 5, 2024 | 10 to 11 a.m. | Register |
| October 4, 2024 | 2 to 3 p.m. | Register |
| December 12, 2024 | 10 to 11 a.m. | Register |
Pre-Transfer Advising
If you have specific questions after attending an information session, you may schedule an advising appointment with a Smith School academic advisor.
Some topics that can be discussed during an advising appointment include:
- Gateway courses and eligibility
- Supplemental material preparation
- Deadlines and notification timelines
- BMGT degree requirements
Apply
Please use the Limited Enrollment Program application specifically for current University of Maryland students seeking admission to the Smith School. The application for each semester will open after the schedule adjustment period. Access the application.
Get more information on suggested formatting for the internal transfer application.
Questions? Please email us at applysmith@umd.edu.
Deadlines
- Students seeking fall admission: March 15
- Students seeking spring admission: October 15
Students who have completed the eligibility requirements before applying will be notified of their admissions decision within a month of the deadline. Students who are in the process of completing all of the gateway requirements will be notified after the semester is finished.
How do I apply as an internal transfer applicant?
An internal transfer student is defined as a current University of Maryland, College Park student whose major is not currently one of the eight offered by the Smith School of Business. If you plan to declare a business major as a double major/degree, you are still considered an internal transfer student.
To apply for admission consideration, students will need to do the following:
- Visit the Limited Enrollment Fact Sheet for the Smith School of Business to understand the application requirements.
- Access the LEP Internal Business Application online.
- Submit an application after ensuring all gateway coursework has been completed or is in the process of being completed by the end of the semester that you apply.
- Complete all supplemental information for the application, if you do not have the 3.6 GPA for all college coursework and all eligibility requirements completed.
- Employment/Internship Experience
- Leadership/Community Involvement
- Respond to the essay/personal statement — Why do you wish to be a student at the Robert H. Smith School of Business?
- Submit up to three letters of recommendation from current/previous professors, employers, internship coordinators, etc.
- If you have above a 3.6 cumulative GPA for all college coursework and all of the eligibility requirements completed, you do not need to submit the supplemental information.
What do I need to know BEFORE applying?
All gateway requirements must be met before the application deadline or in progress at the time of application and will be completed by the end of the semester you apply. All previous transcripts and AP/IB scores must be sent to the University of Maryland, College Park and posted to your student account. You can see if transcripts are posted by checking your unofficial transcript.
How many chances do I have to apply?
Transfer students only have one opportunity to apply to the Smith School of Business using the Internal Limited Enrollment Program application.
Am I guaranteed admission if I meet the requirements?
Students with a 3.600 GPA for all college coursework who meet all the eligibility requirements will be guaranteed admission to the Smith School School of Business. However, you still need to submit the LEP application, but you do not need to submit the supplemental information for the application.
For students below a 3.600 GPA for all college coursework who meet the eligibility requirements are not guaranteed admission into the Smith School. Each semester the Smith School receives more qualified applicants than we have space to accommodate, therefore, unfortunately not every qualified applicant is admitted.
Admission to the Smith School is highly competitive and based on a holistic process. We are searching for a diverse, engaged, and academically talented pool of students. Academic records, co-curricular involvement, leadership experience, and honors and awards will be considered in the admission decision. Students are strongly encouraged to submit a resume and letter detailing their accomplishments and experience with their applications
Students seeking transfer admission should refer to the Limited Enrollment Program Fact Sheet for specific admissions requirements and prerequisites.
How many students apply?
The number of applicants varies from semester to semester and year to year. On average, each semester we receive approximately 250 transfer applications that qualify for review.
How many students are admitted?
The number of students admitted varies from semester to semester. Our admit rate is based on the number of students that the Smith School of Business can accommodate in the fall and spring semesters and the competitiveness of the applicant pool.
How do I know what my GPA is?
The cumulative GPA used in the LEP admissions process is calculated based on all undergraduate college coursework. This coursework includes all college courses completed at UMD as well as any college coursework completed at other institutions.
What is the average GPA of an admitted student?
The average GPA of an admitted student over the past few semesters has been a cumulative 3.6 GPA. As a reminder, we do follow a holistic admissions process, and academic performance is only one aspect of the review for students who fall below a 3.6 GPA.
What are the factors that are used to determine admissibility?
The business transfer admissions review committee reviews all of the applications that meet the minimum criteria for consideration (see https://lep.umd.edu/business.html#current for the criteria). The committee employs a holistic review for students below the 3.6 guaranteed admission GPA to determine the most competitive applicants for admission. The committee is searching for a diverse, engaged, and academically talented pool of students. Academic records, co-curricular involvement, leadership experience, and honors and awards are considered in the admission decision. Special attention is paid to a student’s academic performance in the Gateway courses and the student’s overall academic record.
Can I improve my chances for admission if I apply in a particular semester and/or do not have any gateway courses in progress at the time of my application?
The competitiveness of the admission process depends on the number of Smith School applicants, the quality of these applicants, and the number of transfer spots available in a given year. Because the quality and size of the applicant pool vary from semester to semester, there is no way to determine whether there is a better time to apply for admission to the Smith School.
Will indicating a specific major impact my admissibility to the Smith School of Business? Are different majors limited to a certain number of students?
Your application and subsequent application review are for the Smith School of Business, and not for specific majors. While you are asked for your intended major in the application process, it will not impact your admission decision. Once admitted, you can declare and/or switch majors following Smith's policies.
Will I be able to apply to business honors and/or Smith fellows programs for my first semester at Smith?
All Smith undergraduate fellows programs are restricted to business majors. As a prospective student, you may access the Smith website to submit your application online. Your acceptance would be provisional, based upon the final admission decision. For more information and to apply, please visit our fellows program website.
How will I be notified of my admission decision?
You will be notified via email from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions regarding the decision. The email will be sent from lep@umd.edu to your official UMD email address (terpmail), so please make sure to be on the lookout for this email.
When will I be notified of my admission decision?
There are two notification periods for the Smith School each semester:
- If you have completed all of the gateway requirements at the time the application was submitted, you will receive an admission decision two to three weeks after the application deadline.
- If you have at least one gateway requirement in progress at the time of the application deadline (this includes any gateway courses, earning 45 credits, or any other eligibility criteria), you will be notified two to three weeks after final grades are posted for the semester that you applied.
Spring Admission | Fall Admission |
|---|---|
Application Deadline: October 15 Decision: Late October or mid-January | Application Deadline: March 15 Decision: Mid-April or mid-June |
What are the possible admission decisions?
There are only two outcomes: admitted or denied.
Admitted Students – If you are admitted to the School of Business, the instructions for changing your major will be outlined in your admission email.
Denied Students – If you are not offered admission to the School of Business, you will have the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Associate Dean of Business. However, since you were expected to present everything of significance in your initial admission application and it was thoroughly reviewed by the admissions committee, you should only submit an appeal if there is new and compelling information that was not included with the original application. When you appeal, you are seeking an exception, and although exceptions are rare, your appeal will be given every consideration possible. The instructions for how to appeal will be outlined in your email. If you do not comply with the instructions, your appeal will not be taken into consideration.
How do I learn more about the Smith School of Business and the application process?
Prospective students interested in learning more about Smith opportunities and the application process are highly encouraged to register for and attend an Internal Transfer Information Session. For additional questions, please consider scheduling a pre-transfer advising appointment with a Smith School advisor.
What is the Smith School Program at Shady Grove?
The Smith School offers the upper-division portions of three majors — accounting, marketing, and management — through the Universities at Shady Grove, located in Montgomery County. All students who wish to apply for admission to the Shady Grove campus may contact Luke Glasgow, Director, at 301-738-6079 or lglasgow@umd.edu for additional information. You can also visit our Smith at Shady Grove page for more information.