No matter where you began your educational journey, finishing your degree at SLU-Madrid will cultivate cultural understanding and a deeper, more global approach to your career path.
If you have attempted at least one academic year at the college level, you should apply as a transfer student.
Transfer students typically declare a major in an undergraduate degree program that can be completed at SLU-Madrid.
SLU-Madrid makes every effort to apply all eligible credits from students' previous institutions to their SLU degrees. Only courses in which you received a letter grade of "C" or higher will be considered for transfer credit. If transcripts show a pass as a grade of "C" or higher, SLU will approve transfer credit for these courses; this includes courses taken as pass/fail, as long as the pass is at a "C" or higher.
SLU-Madrid accepts transfer credit for courses for which we have no equivalent. These courses will transfer as elective credit and add to the student's total earned hours, but they will not count toward degree credit. For example, if a student has completed 30 hours at another institution, SLU will transfer 30 hours. You should be aware, however, that this credit may not transfer directly into degree requirements.
Most transfer students are enrolled for at least four semesters to earn their SLU degree; 50% of courses that fulfill major requirements and 75% of courses that apply to minor requirements must be taken at SLU.
Learn More About SLU's Transfer Credit Policy
Resources to Explore Credit Transfer
Option 1: Consult CollegeSource to see what courses have previously been approved. Those that don't appear will be reviewed separately.
Option 2: See what AP, IB and CLEP scores will receive under "Credit by Exam" on SLU's Credit for Prior Learning page.
Option 3: Use Transferology to see which AP, IB, CLEP and university-level courses have already been transferred
to SLU. Sign-up is free. Students outside the United States may not have access to
this page due to Transferology's security restrictions.
Use the resources above first to explore what courses have been previously examined and articulated by SLU. This evaluation is a good faith estimate of how credits earned at other institutions apply toward SLU's degree requirements. An academic advisor, in consultation with faculty, will complete the official transfer credit evaluation once you've paid the confirmation fee.
Students who choose not to enroll at SLU due to a discrepancy between the initial evaluation and the final are eligible for a full refund of the confirmation fee.
2024 Admissions
Create an account in the SLU-Madrid application portal or use the Common Application.
Common App SLU-Madrid Application Portal
You can log back into your admissions portal to upload documents and check your status anytime.
The deadlines below are for submitting our online application only; you may upload your academic credentials after application submission via Common App or your application portal.
Deadlines for U.S.-based applicants who require a Spanish student visa:
- Fall: April 1
- Spring: Aug. 1
Deadlines for applicants outside the U.S. who require a Spanish student visa:
- Fall: May 1
- Spring: Sept. 1
Deadlines for applicants who don't require a Spanish student visa:
- Fall: Aug. 1
- Spring: Dec. 1
We encourage you to apply sooner to leave ample time to secure a student visa, if needed, and to avoid delays in credit transfer articulation and course registration.
For deadline extension requests, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions-madrid@slu.edu.
Submit the following supporting documents. Official transcripts and other academic credentials can be uploaded directly to your application via Common App or your SLU application portal. Documents may also be sent through secure services such as Parchment to admdocs-madrid@slu.edu.
- Personal Essay: As part of the online application, you will be asked to write a 500-word essay on a topic indicated on the application.
- Official Academic Transcripts: You must submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
- Proof of High School Graduation: You must send a copy of your final high school transcript, diploma or secondary school leaving certificate.
- English Language Requirements: Non-native English speakers who have not studied all four years in a U.S. high school must provide SLU-Madrid evidence of proficiency in academic English. Please consult our English language requirements page for more information.
- Additional Items for Consideration: While not required for admission, you may submit the following items for consideration
if you feel they strengthen your application:
- Letters of recommendation
- CV/Résumé
- Admission interview
Your application will be considered complete when the online application and all other required or optional documents have been submitted. The Office of Admissions will review your completed application and notify you about your admission decision by email on a rolling basis.
Once you pay the confirmation fee, your advisor will start the formal process of ensuring your coursework appears on your SLU transcript.
Submit all transfer credit documents as soon as possible to admdocs-madrid@slu.edu, so that our advising team can work with faculty to process your transfer credits.
It's important that you get the credit for your hard work. It's also important for us to ensure that your previous academic work has prepared you for academic success at SLU-Madrid.
Academic Advising will require you to submit the following documents:
- Official final transcripts, with grades for all semesters completed.
- Course syllabi of all courses completed in which you received a grade of "C" or higher for courses not previously articulated by SLU. You can scan these if you've retained them yourself. If not, contact the institution(s) where you have studied. Please note that courses graded at Pass/No Pass are not eligible for transfer credit.
- Writing samples: To earn credit for a college writing course, please submit a copy of a final paper, five pages minimum, that you've written for one of your courses (with or without your professor's grade and comments).
- Additional information: Faculty and Academic Advising may request additional evidence to identify a course's equivalency, including course assignments, exams, etc.
Your academic advisor will share with you your official transfer evaluation. If courses are pending due to a delay in receiving your final transcript or faculty review, we'll do our best to estimate.
You are eligible for a full refund of your admission confirmation fee if you choose not to attend SLU due to previous credits not transferring. Your academic advisor will help you develop your academic plan and identify the classes you need to take your first semester.