External Transfer FAQ

Undergraduate degrees are available in architecture and interior design. To be considered for admission, you must list architecture or interior design as your first-choice major. We do not review applications in which interior design or architecture is the second-choice major. The undergraduate programs offered by the School of Architecture include the following:

• Bachelor of Science in Interior Design
• Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies
• Bachelor of Architecture
• Bachelor of Architecture/Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering
• Bachelor of Architecture/Bachelor of Arts in Plan II

To be considered for fall-semester admission into the School of Architecture as an external transfer student, applicants must:

• Transfer credit from an Architecture or Interior Design program
• Have a minimum transfer GPA of at least 3.25 
• Submit a portfolio

The UT Austin Office of Admissions administers external transfer and international external transfer applications to the School of Architecture. Please note that external transfer admission to the School of Architecture is available only for the fall semester. 

You are not required to complete specific coursework in order to be eligible to apply for transfer. However, you may find it beneficial to complete coursework that is equivalent to the following UT Austin courses:

• M 408C (or M 408K and M 408L) -- Differential and Integral Calculus
• PHY 302K, 105M -- General Physics Technical Course: Mechanics, Heat, and Sound; and the corresponding lab
• PHY 302L, 105N -- General Physics Technical Course: Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Atomic and Nuclear Physics; and the corresponding lab
• E 316L, M, N, or P -- British, American, or World Literature
• RHE 306 -- Rhetoric and Writing
• HIS 315K and HIS 315L (or 2 other United States history courses that fulfill the Texas common core requirements)
• GOV 310L -- American Government and GOV 312L -- Issues and Policies in American Government or GOV 312P -- Constitutional Principles: Core Texts

Students admitted for transfer from a college or university that is located outside of the state of Texas will need to have the transfer work evaluated by the Office of Admissions.

You could potentially use the remainder of your transfer credit as electives in the degree program. Refer to the degree plan that you are interested in for the various elective requirements. The transferability of architecture or design courses will be determined after you are admitted to the program.

For Core Curriculum requirements and other non-architecture/non-interior design coursework, you may use the Automated Transfer Equivalency (ATE) system if your coursework is from Texas. Texas residents may also refer to the Transfer Guide for Texas Community College Students for a list of course equivalencies. Students admitted for transfer from a college or university that is located outside of Texas will need to have the transfer work evaluated by the Office of Admissions.

The transferability of architecture or interior design coursework taken at another college is determined after an applicant is admitted to the School of Architecture.

Admission is very competitive. We receive around 250 external transfer applications per year. Admissions decisions are dependent in part on whether there is space available to admit transfer students. When space is available, external transfer students' portfolios are evaluated for possible placement into primarily second-year or third-year design studios. We do not admit students into studios beyond the third year of our design sequence. Due to the variation in how design sequences and curriculum at other universities' architecture and interior design programs are structured, there is very often not a one-to-one match in what architecture and interior design courses applicants have taken elsewhere to what is required for degrees offered by the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin. 

If not admitted directly into the School of Architecture, but admitted to UT Austin, students may be eligible to later apply as an internal transfer into the architecture or interior design majors.

It depends on when you were admitted to the School of Architecture, the chosen degree plan, and the number of architecture/architectural interior design courses that transfer into the program. Often transfer students offered admission are admitted as first, second, or third-year design students.

There are three categories when it comes to pursuing registration as an architect:  Education, Experience, and Examination. These requirements are often referred to as the “Three E's." Texas requires the following:

• Education [professional degree; The Bachelor of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin is a NAAB-accredited professional degree]
• Experience [Architectural Experience Program]
• Examination [Architect Registration Examination]

Please see the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards [NCARB] website for the most up-to-date information.  

Becoming an interior designer invovles enrollment in a college of university program followed by several years of professional experience, typically under the supervision of a qualified interior designer. They must also pass a qualifying exam. We refer to these requirements as the “Three E’s”:

• Education [professional degree; CIDA-accredited Bachelor of Science in Interior Design or NAAB-accredited Bachelor of Architecture]
• Experience [2 years of experience under a registered interior designer or architect]
• Examination [NCIDQ Examination]

Please see the National Council for Interior Design Qualification [NCIDQ] website for the most up-to-date information.  

Most of the courses required for the undergraduate architecture and interior design degrees are offered fall and spring semesters only. Most are offered during the day on weekdays.

Applicants are required to upload a .pdf portfolio documenting their design work and containing no more than 40 images, up to 25 MB. Evidence showing an applicant’s original design work, spatial ability, and experience with hand drawing and model-making is required. Please note that portfolios will not be printed, and will be viewed only on the computer.

The portfolio helps the reviewers determine your potential to perform successfully in a studio-based design curriculum. In order to fairly and accurately review each application, the admissions committee requires evidence in one or more categories:

• The level of creative skill you possess in any medium.
• The extent of your interest in the architecture or interior design degrees, made evident through your abilities in composition, physical form-making, or perception of the environment.
• Your ability to translate ideas into physical form, even if in simple terms such as drawing.

FORMAT
Portfolios should be designed and formatted for on-screen viewing (avoid a double spread layout). Maximum file size is 25 MB.

ATTRIBUTION
For each project, list the applicant’s name, the project’s date, and an indication as to whether the project was academic, office-related, or personal. In the case of collaborative or professional work, the contribution by the applicant must be precisely described.

ORGANIZATION
The organization of the portfolio is a design exercise. It should be clear, succinct, and thoughtfully composed to best reflect your interests and skills. The quality of the work is of greater importance than quantity.

The portfolio and recommendation letters must be uploaded by March 1.

The portfolio may include design studio work that represents your best work, including drawings and photographs of models. Work may have been completed as part of formal coursework or independently. It is recommended that applicants identify the media and date of the work being shown. If the work was part of a course previously taken, please also indicate the instructor's name and affiliation.

To be considered for admission into the School of Architecture, applicants must submit transfer credit from an Architecture or Interior Design program. The UT Austin Office of Admissions administers the University of Texas at Austin transfer student application.

Since you already have college credit, you should apply as an external transfer student.

Prospective applicants who already have any undergraduate degree, or who will obtain an undergraduate degree before enrolling, may apply for the First-Professional Master of Architecture program. This is 3+ year degree is designed for those who have a degree in something other than architecture. 

Prospective applicants with any undergraduate degree may apply for the  First-Professional Master of Interior Design, which is designed for those with a degree in something other than interior design. 

Undergraduates admitted into another college at The University of Texas at Austin may apply to internally transfer to a major offered by the School of Architecture by submitting an internal transfer application. If you are able to maintain at least a 3.25 UT Austin GPA based on 24 or more coursework hours in-residence at UT Austin  (completed by the end of a spring semester), you would then be eligible to apply for internal transfer into the School of Architecture. A portfolio is not required or accepted for internal transfer admission.