Admission to the College of Arts and Sciences

Matriculation

Students are admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences on either a matriculated or non-matriculated basis. High school visitors, visiting students from other institutions, auditors, post-baccalaureate students, and students admitted as special students are considered non-matriculated. All other students are considered matriculated. Students planning to earn degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences must be matriculated in order for the credits they have earned to apply toward their degrees.

Students admitted on a non-matriculated basis will be notified by the Office of Admissions of their status and of the conditions of their enrollment at the time they are accepted. Students admitted on a matriculated basis remain matriculated until they graduate, transfer to another college, or are dismissed.

Transfer students who left their last institution in good standing and who have a standing of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale may, upon presentation of transcripts and satisfactory test scores (if applicable), request matriculation at the time of applying for admission.

Entering Arts & Science Freshmen Students

Admission for a normal course load is granted to students meeting the following requirements:

• Graduation from an accredited high school with a grade point average of 2.5 or better, or successful completion of the General Education Development (GED) tests.
• Completion of the State of Kentucky's Pre-College Curriculum (detailed in the Admission section of this catalog).
• A composite ACT score at or above the national mean.

Persons with deficiencies in the above areas may be eligible for admission under certain conditions:

1. Exceptionally gifted students who have completed three years of high school may be admitted by action of the College’s Admissions and Appeals Committee, provided recommendations from high school counselors and teachers, previous academic records, test scores, and personal interviews indicate the ability to succeed in college-level work.
2. Students with pre-college curriculum deficiencies are, in general, not admissible if they lack two courses in one area or three courses overall. Exceptions are made if the student has a score of 22 (enhanced) or better on the appropriate ACT subtest. Other exceptions must be approved by the College’s Admissions and Appeals Committee. Students admitted by action of the Admissions and Appeals Committee will be required to enroll in courses to remove pre-college curriculum deficiencies. All deficiencies must be removed by the time the student completes twenty-four (24) semester hours of degree credit. Deficiencies may be removed by successfully completing courses outlined in the Pre-College Curriculum detailed in the Admission section of this catalog.
3. Students who have a high school grade point average between 2.25 and 2.49 may be admitted if the composite ACT score is 23 or above.
4. Students who have a composite ACT score of 18-19 may be admitted if the high school grade point average is 3.0-3.25 or above.
5. A student whose ACT College Reading score is lower than 20 or whose SAT I verbal score is lower than 470 must participate in the state-mandated Supplemented Study Program in College Reading. During the first semester of enrollment, such students must register for one section of a non-mathematics Cardinal Core course offered with a supplemented college reading course (GEN 105). Specific courses in the supplemented program vary each semester and will be listed in the Schedule of Courses.
6. Students who graduated from an unaccredited high school may be admitted upon satisfactory completion of such examinations as the College faculty may require. For further information, consult the Admissions Office.
7. The College of Arts and Sciences does admit students on a case-by-case basis who have not taken the ACT or SAT. These students MUST take the ACCUPLACER test to determine math and reading placement.

Conditional Admission

Students who do not qualify for automatic admission or who cannot remedy deficiencies as prescribed in 1-5 above may be admitted in conditional status if they meet the university’s minimum admission standards.

1. Students admitted in conditional status whose ACT College Reading Scores are 18 or below or whose SAT I Verbal Scores are 430 or below, must participate in the state-mandated Supplemented Study Program in College Reading. During their first semester of enrollment, they must register for one section of a non-mathematics Cardinal Core course offered with supplemented study hours each week. Specific courses in the supplemented program vary each semester and will be listed in the Schedule of Courses.
2. Students admitted in conditional status must register for required developmental courses immediately following matriculation and must continue to do so until all deficiencies have been removed.
3. Students admitted in conditional status must be advised prior to registration each semester until removed from conditional status.

Students will be removed from conditional status when the following requirements have been met:

1. Successful completion of GEN 100 Student Success Center First Year Experience or GEN 101 Arts & Sciences First Year Experience;
2. Successful completion of all required developmental courses;
3. A grade point average of 2.0 or better on all college level courses; or
4. Completion of 24 degree applicable hours with a GPA of 2.0 or above.

Students not meeting the requirements for admission may be admitted on a non-matriculated basis as special students by consent of the Dean or by action of the Admissions and Appeals Committee. Special students must pay the regular fees. Special students may not become candidates for degrees except by subsequently satisfying the requirements for admission on a matriculated basis.

High School Visitors

The College offers qualified high school students the opportunity to earn college credits by enrolling in selected freshman-level courses (i.e., courses at the 100- or 200-level). The program is open to high school seniors and, in exceptional cases, to juniors. In order to be admitted as a high school visitor, a student must submit an application, a high school transcript showing minimum grade point average of 3.0, test scores on the ACT or SAT in the top 70th percentile. and a recommendation letter from his or her high school counselor or principal. High school visitors may enroll in one or two courses each semester and may earn a maximum of 24 college credits. All grades earned by high school visitors will be recorded on an official university transcript. 

Transfer Students

Students who seek admission to the College with credit for work taken at another institution or in another college or school of the University of Louisville are transfer students. Such applicants may be admitted in good standing, admitted in special status, or denied admission.

Admission in good standing requires:

• A grade point average of 2.0 or better on a 4.0 point scale based on all work attempted, excluding developmental courses (see “Transfer Students” in the Admission section of this catalog);
• Good standing at the institution of last attendance, including eligibility to return to that institution;
• Full disclosure of previous attendance in another school or college of this University and/or any other post-secondary institution.

Transfer students with fewer than twenty-four (24) acceptable credits must submit high school transcripts and ACT scores and must meet the requirements for freshmen.

Admission in Special Status

Transfer students not meeting the above criteria may be admitted only in special status by action of the Admissions and Appeals Committee. Such students are subject to the following guidelines:

• Remain in special status with limited load as specified by the Admissions and Appeals Committee for a minimum of 24 semester hours.
• Maintain a minimum 2.0 semester grade point average for the first 24 semester hours attempted in courses applicable to an Arts and Sciences degree.

A student will be removed from special status after 24 semester hours if his/her cumulative grade point average is 2.0 or above.

A transfer student admitted in special status will be suspended if his/her semester grade point average is lower than 2.0 at the end of any semester.

Students ineligible for admission in the College because of disciplinary action in another institution or another school of this University may be ruled eligible for admission to the College by the dean; students who violate the full disclosure requirement will be referred to the Admissions and Appeals Committee for determination of a mandatory withdrawal from the College for a period stipulated by the committee.

Additional Transfer Requirements

To be eligible for a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences, students transferring from a four-year institution must complete at least 30 hours of work applicable to the degree as a student enrolled in the College, including 30 of the final 36 hours and a minimum of 12 credits in the declared major. Students transferring course work from a two-year college are cautioned that a maximum of 60 semester hours of credit from a two-year college may be applied toward the minimum hours required for a baccalaureate degree. The remaining semester hours of the minimum 121 hours required for the baccalaureate degree must be completed at a four-year institution. If a student has earned more than 60 semester hours at a two-year institution, the additional work may, if equivalent, be applied toward fulfillment of general education or other requirements, but will not be applied toward earned hours.

Students must complete at least 50 semester hours of course work numbered 300 or higher. Work from a two-year or community college usually will not apply to this requirement. For this reason, students planning to transfer to this College from a community college or a two-year college are advised to complete the lower-level portion of the College’s Cardinal Core requirements and the foreign language series prior to transferring. Courses offered at the 300 level or higher at another institution may not be equivalent to College courses numbered 300 or higher. If a course is accepted in transfer at the 300, 400, or 500 level, however, it will be counted towards the 50 semester hour requirement mentioned above. Students who have transferred to the College should meet with an academic counselor of the Arts and Sciences Advising Center for assistance in evaluating their records for transfer credit.

Transfer Credit Evaluation

The College recognizes appropriate course work done at other accredited universities and colleges and accepts that work according to the principles set forth in the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Transfer Credit Practices and state law. Transfer work that is college-level, academic in nature, and earned at appropriately accredited institutions will be accepted as credit toward degree, consistent with policies in effect for resident students. Transfer students must be aware that majors and/or programs may require a minimum grade of a C or better for major admission and certain degree requirements.

Work graded on a pass/fail basis as “Pass” will not count toward fulfillment of general education requirements, the language requirement, or requirements specified in the student’s major program.

Courses that meet general education requirements may be transferred under course equivalencies established in the Office of Transfer Services. In cases where no equivalency is established, the Office of Transfer Services will direct students to the university academic department, school or college where similar courses are offered for evaluation of transfer credits. Students may also work with advisors in A&S to assist in this process.

Transfer students who wish to major in creative art will be required to submit portfolios before they can take 300-level creative art classes (consult the Department of Fine Arts).

Foreign Students

Foreign students who have a secondary school record sufficient to predict college success and who demonstrate proficiency in the English language will be admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences. Refer to the Admission section of this catalog for more information about International student admission requirements.

Auditors

Persons not eligible for admission to the College, or not seeking admission for the purpose of taking courses for credit, may receive permission to take courses as auditors. All persons who audit classes must pay the regular fees. Persons whose enrollment in the College was limited to audited courses may not change to a credit basis for any course they are auditing unless they have reapplied for admission to the College and have been admitted prior to the deadline for change of status from audit to credit. Regularly-enrolled students may also enroll in classes as auditors. Permission of instructor is required to enroll as an auditor. Students may not enroll in audit status during the early registration period (See Auditing Courses).

Pre-Unit Students

Students seeking admission to another academic unit of the university who do not satisfy all of that unit’s entrance requirements may be admitted to the College of Arts and Sciences as a pre-unit student. Students admitted as pre-unit students are administratively housed in the College until they satisfy all of their intended academic unit’s intra-unit transfer requirements. Persons admitted as pre-unit students should consult their desired unit’s section of the catalog and/or website for more information about these transfer requirements. Pre-unit students are to be advised in A&S advising in accordance with College policy until they successfully transfer into another unit.