Admission Requirements for Honors College

To be admitted to the University Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) as an incoming freshman, students must meet the following criteria:

• A high school GPA of 3.5 or higher
• An ACT composite score of 25 or greater or an SAT score of 1200 or higher

There is no separate application form or essay required for general admission to the Honors College except for those applying to the Buchanan Fellowship. Transfer students or current MTSU students with a minimum of 12 completed semester hours can also enroll in Honors courses if their cumulative GPA is 3.25 or higher. Eligible students are encouraged to take Honors courses, even if they do not plan to graduate from the Honors College.

Applying AP, IB, and Governor’s School Credits Toward Honors College Requirements

Students may apply a maximum of nine (9) hours of AP, IB, or Tennessee Governor’s School credits toward the 18-hour lower-division Honors course requirement. To do so, students must meet with an Honors College advisor to ensure the credits qualify.

Approved credits will appear as “Honors” courses on official transcripts, but these credits will not automatically count toward Honors graduation requirements unless properly applied.

Key Guidelines for Credit Application:

• AP Credit: Scores of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement (AP) exams may be applied toward Honors graduation requirements.
• IB Credit: Students receiving course credit at MTSU for Higher Level (HL) IB exams can use these credits toward Honors requirements. For Standard Level (SL) IB exams, students must exceed MTSU’s score requirement by one point to receive Honors credit.
• Tennessee Governor’s School: Students who attend a Tennessee Governor’s School and earn at least 3 college credit hours with a grade of “A” can apply those credits toward Honors requirements. Official transcripts from the sponsoring university must be sent to MTSU’s Admissions Office.

A maximum of nine (9) credit hours from any combination of these sources can be applied toward Honors College requirements.

For more information, or to review MTSU’s official policies on credit transfers, please consult the MTSU undergraduate catalog.