The A. James Clark School of Engineering is home to eight academic departments and offers twelve undergraduate majors. To learn more about our academic programs, please visit our Majors & Minors web page: https://eng.umd.edu/majors-minors.
The Clark School of Engineering is a Limited Enrollment Program; therefore, students must meet our gateway requirements in order to be directly admitted into our program.
A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all courses taken at the University of Maryland and all other institutions is required for internal and external transfer students.
- Completion of Calculus II (MATH 141) with minimum grade of B- or better;
- Completion of Calculus-Based Physics I (PHYS 161) with a minimum grade of B- or better;
- Completion of either Chemistry for Engineers (CHEM 135) or General Chemistry II (CHEM 271) with a minimum grade of C- or better;
- Students may also complete CHEM 134 with a minimum grade of C- or better. (Students who take CHEM 134 must also complete CHEM 131 with a C-).
Please note that the course numbers included above are specific to the University of Maryland. To identify these exact courses at your institution, you can use the Transfer Credit Database available online: https://app.transfercredit.umd.edu/.
Limited Enrollment Programs guidelines:
- 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).
- Currently UMD students may apply only once to an LEP. (Note: The external transfer student application will not count as an attempt.)
- 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.
Effective Fall 2027, admission to certain high-demand majors within the Clark School of Engineering will transition to a competitive selection process for students completing the gateway requirements.
- Admission Timeline for MD Community College and USM Transfer Students
- External transfer students who first matriculate to a MD community college or USM institution in Spring 2027 or earlier will follow the old LEP requirements.
- External transfer students who first matriculate to a MD community college or USM institution in Fall 2027 or later will follow the new LEP requirements.
- Engineering will honor students' original matriculation date for MD community college and USM transfer students through Spring 2030. Beginning with Fall 2030, all students will be subject to the new LEP policy, regardless of their original matriculation date.
- Admission Timeline for Non-USM Transfer Students
- External transfer students transferring from a non-USM school or an out-of-state community college will follow the new LEP requirements beginning in Fall 2027 regardless of when they initially matriculated to college.
Please refer to Step #3: Understand the admission review process, for more details.
College Park Admission Review Process
Effective Fall 2027, admission to certain high-demand majors within the Clark School of Engineering will transition to a competitive selection process for students completing the gateway requirements. These majors include:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Meeting the gateway course grade and GPA requirements does not guarantee admission to these high-demand majors. Academic record, co-curricular involvement, STEM-related research experience or personal projects, and honors and awards are also considered in the admission decision.
The following majors at College Park are not as limited in space and are able to admit students on a non-competative basis as long as the minimum gateway admission requirements are met:
- Bioengineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Fire Protection Engineering
- Materials Science & Engineering
- Pre-Biocomputational Engineering
- Pre-Mechatronics Engineering
- Pre-Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering
Students who meet the gateway admission requirements for the college but who are not offered admission into a high-demand major will be invited to General Engineering and may then declare one of our non-competitive majors.
Engineering Programs at Frostburg State University (Collaborative Engineering), The Universities at Shady Grove, and the University System of Maryland in Southern Maryland (USMSM)
The admission review process for majors at our partnering campus locations is not competitive. Students applying to the following majors must complete the minimum gateway admission requirements in order to be eligible for admission to Engineering but are not subject to enrollment caps:
- Collaborative Engineering at FSU
- Electrical Engineering at USMSM
- Mechanical Engineering at USMSM
- Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering at Shady Grove
Note: Biocomputational Engineering and Mechatronics Engineering are not Limited Enrollment Programs.
The transfer process can be confusing, so having a plan is key! The Clark School offers pre-transfer advising to all prospective students.
Additional advising resources have been linked below to help you begin the academic planning process.
Maryland Engineering Academic Plans:
The Clark School has created academic plans for each of our degree programs. You can access these plans directly via the following website: https://eng.umd.edu/advising/four-year-plans.
MD Community College Plans:
Several of the community colleges in the state of MD have specific plans outlined for their associate's degree pathways. To learn more, please click on the name of your school below:
Don't see your school?
Students transfer to the Clark School from all over the globe! To learn more about how your credits will transfer to UMD, please contact transfer_engr@umd.edu. Our advising team would be happy to help you develop a transfer plan.
To apply to the Clark School, students should submit the external transfer application through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. More information about the transfer application process can be found on the Admissions website: https://admissions.umd.edu/.
If you are an international student, please visit the following website for more information about international student requirements: https://admissions.umd.edu/apply/checklist/international-checklist.
The University of Maryland has both an Early Action application deadline and a Regular application deadline. For best consideration, all students are strongly encouraged to meet the Early Action deadline listed below:
| |
Fall Admission |
Spring Admission |
| Early Action |
March 1st |
August 1st |
| Regular |
June 1st |
November 15th |
Timeline for Admission
Fall Applicants: Students who meet the March 1st Early Action deadline can expect to receive an admission decision in mid to late April.
Spring Applicants: Students who meet the August 1st Early Action deadline can expect to receive an admission decision in mid to late October.
Timeline for gateway course completion
Students applying for a non-competitive major may submit an application with a gateway course in progress. The Clark School will continue to evaluate applications for admission on a rolling basis up through mid-August for fall and mid-January for spring.
Students applying to one of our high-demand majors (Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering) under the new LEP policy should complete all gateway course requirements by the Early Action application deadline for best consideration.
Students transferring to UMD and the A. James Clark School of Engineering have a number of scholarship opportunities available to them. Be sure to visit the Clark School Scholarship page to learn more about how to fund your education. We've also highlighted a few important deadlines and opportunities for you here!
Scholarship Application Timeline & Important Links
| March 1st |
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| May 17th |
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| May 31st |
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The Office of Undergraduate Admissions will notify students directly of their admission. In your letter, your major will be listed. If you see "Engineering" as your declared major, then you have been directly admitted to the A. James Clark School of Engineering. Congratulations!
What is Letters & Sciences?
When you receive your admission decision, your letter may indicate that you have been admitted to Letters & Sciences (LTSC). Letters & Sciences is the division on our campus for students who are undecided or undeclared in their major. Prospective engineering students are placed in LTSC if they do not meet our gateway admission requirements.
If you submitted an application with a gateway course in progress, you can still be considered for direct admission to the Clark School for one of our non-competitive majors by completing the following steps:
- Complete your pending gateway course;
- Submit an updated transcript to UMD;
- Request that your application be reevaluated by Admissions by completing the following form: https://ter.ps/r1y.
What is General Engineering?
Students under the new LEP policy who meet the gateway admission requirements for the college but who are not offered admission into a high-demand major will be invited to General Engineering. The General Engineering major is not a degree granting major; however, it is part of the A. James Clark School of Engineering. Students admitted to General Engineering are encouraged to contact an advisor in order to discuss other engineering majors that may be a good fit.
If you have questions about your admission status, please email us directly at transfer_engr@umd.edu.
Appeal Process
Students not offered admission into their desired engineering major may submit an appeal to our Associate Dean. Appeals are considered on a case-by-case basis and admission via appeal is not guaranteed. To discuss the appeal process with an advisor, please email transfer_engr@umd.edu.
The Summer Pathways Scholarship is a summer scholarship available to all Maryland community college students transferring into the A. James Clark School of Engineering. Several engineering majors require courses at the 100 and 200-level that are not available at various community colleges. The purpose of this scholarship is to support students who need to take summer courses in order to graduate in a timely manner.
To learn more about Summer Pathways, please visit https://eng.umd.edu/transfer/external/summer-pathways.
Welcome to the Maryland Engineering family! At New Student Orientation, you will meet with an academic advisor, connect with other new Terps, and register for classes. New Student Orientation is a mandatory one-day on-campus program for all newly admitted transfer students. You must attend an orientation program in order to register for classes.
As soon as you have confirmed your enrollment, consider reviewing orientation dates and registering for the earliest program convenient for your schedule. Orientation programs are held throughout summer and winter terms. Review a sample schedule for a Transfer Orientation Program to see what topics will be discussed!
Now that you are a Maryland Engineer it's time to start preparing for your first semester at UMD! Learn more about our resources for current engineering students on the following website: https://eng.umd.edu/transfer/current.
