Admissions Information

All prerequisite courses, transfer course credits, and degrees (where applicable) from US higher education institutions must be awarded from an institution accredited by one of the following accreditors:

• Higher Learning Commission
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education
• New England Commission of Higher Education
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
• Southern Association of Colleges and School, Commission on Colleges
• WASC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
• WASC Senior Colleges and University Commission

All prerequisite courses, transfer course credits, and degrees (where applicable) from international institutions must be evaluated by an approved equivalency agency.

To view the admissions requirements for the college or program of your choice, please visit the Degrees, Majors, and Concentrations Offered webpage, select the interested program, then click on the “Admission and Selection” link provided on the page.

All individuals who utilize the Self-Service Banner web application must complete the following on or before the published application deadline:

• At the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, there is a $75 [non-refundable] application fee that must be submitted with a completed online application. One exception to this policy exists for applicants applying to the College of Graduate Health Sciences [GHS]. Applicants applying to GHS are not required to pay the $75 [non-refundable] application fee. GHS applicants will select the GHS waiver on the online application.

Payment Methods

• Payment can be made by Discover, MasterCard, VISA, ACH or Debit card. Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement
• The applicant should check the requirements for the program to which he or she is applying.
• Online Application (including applicant Essay).
  • An applicant can have ONLY one active application in process per admission cycle. For example, an applicant cannot concurrently apply to both the College of Pharmacy and the College of Dentistry.
• Three (3) Recommendation Forms and/or Pre-professional Evaluations [Check your program requirements]
• Official Transcripts from all colleges attended.
  • International applicants must have transcripts evaluated by one of two professional transcript evaluation services Educational Credit Evaluators [ECE] or World Education Services [WES]. Only evaluations from these two organizations are considered valid. See International Applicants.
• Official Test Scores (e.g., GRE, TOEFL)
• UTHSC identification codes: (1) GRE, 1850; (2) TOEFL, 1850.
• Continuation Requirements: Some colleges and programs have additional requirements for continuing in a program.
• Current certification (e.g., BCLS, ACLS, PALS)
• Current licensure (e.g., nursing, dental hygiene, physical therapy)

GRE

• 1850

TOEFL

• 1850

The application must be submitted on or before the application deadline for the program of interest, either via one of the CAS systems or through the SSB web application. The paper-based component includes all supporting application materials collected on or before the application deadline for the particular degree program of the applicant's choice. Supporting documentation is program specific and includes the following:

• Non-refundable, $75 Application Fee is required for all SSB web applications and SSB web data form
• All official, post-secondary-school transcripts, including official transcript documentation of all prerequisite courses
• Three (3) Recommendation Forms
• Relevant, official test scores (e.g., GRE, TOEFL, DAT, MCAT, PCAT)
• All program-required certifications (e.g., RN License, DH license, etc.) 

Each college is responsible for developing program-specific, admission requirements, including prerequisite course and other requirements. It is the responsibility of the Office of Admissions to administer the admission requirements developed by individual UTHSC colleges and programs. General admission requirements for all UTHSC colleges include:

• Previously earned grades of "D" or below in prerequisite courses are not accepted as fulfilling admission standards.
• One or two-semester hour courses in physical education, seminar, music, military science, remedial and developmental, research, and non-theory courses are not counted toward total credit hours earned and are not used in computing the overall, UTHSC Common Grade Point Average (CGPA).
• All required prerequisite courses in science must include a lab concurrent with the science courses to fulfill the course requirement.
• Correspondence coursework must be approved by appropriate college administrators and the UTHSC Director of Admissions to before inclusion.
• Advanced Placement credit, CLEP, or other non-traditional credit in required science prerequisite courses awarded by the applicant's regionally-accredited college may be honored for fulfilling prerequisite course requirements provided that the applicant has successfully completed an equal number of semester hours in the same discipline in a traditional classroom setting.

Note: Some UTHSC colleges and programs do not accept CLEP credit in required science prerequisite coursework. Coursework credit awarded via General CLEP tests is not accepted by the UTHSC. One credit unit in high school or six semester hours of college-level credit in American history must be completed prior to the beginning of the second term of a student's baccalaureate program at UTHSC.

Grades earned in all relevant collegiate coursework, including grades earned in repeated coursework, are included in the overall Common Grade Point Average (CGPA) calculation.

View all programs offered at UTHSC

College of Dentistry

• Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene
• Doctor of Dental Surgery

College of Graduate Health Sciences

• Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering
• Master of Dental Science
• Master of Science in Epidemiology
• Master of Science in Health Outcomes and Policy Research
• Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Master of Science in Pharmacology
• Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering
• Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences
• Doctor of Philosophy in Health Outcomes and Policy Research
• Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science
• Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Doctor of Philosophy in Speech and Hearing Science
• Graduate Certificate

College of Health Professions

• Bachelor of Science in Audiology and Speech-Pathology
• Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science 
• Master of Cytopathology Practice
• Master of Health Informatics & Information Management
• Master of Occupational Therapy
• Master of Science in Audiology
• Master of Science in Clinical Lab Sciences
• Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology
• Doctor of Audiology
• Doctor of Physical Therapy
• Graduate Certificate

College of Medicine

• Master of Medical Science - Physician Assistant
• Doctor of Medicine
• Doctor of Medicine/Doctor of Philosophy

College of Nursing

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing
• Doctor of Nursing Practice
• Doctor of Nursing Practice/Doctor of Philosophy
• Graduate Certificate

College of Pharmacy

• Doctor of Pharmacy

Dual degree programs represent the only exception to the one-active-application policy. Four UTHSC colleges host dual-degree programs.

• Dentistry (DDS/PhD)
• Medicine (MD/PhD)
• Nursing (DNP/PhD)
• Pharmacy (PharmD/PhD)

To be considered for a dual degree, an applicant must first be accepted into a professional doctorate program, including DDS, MD, DNP, or PharmD. Once accepted, the applicant should contact the program director of the program to which he or she has been accepted. After discussing the possibilities with the college's program director, the applicant may complete a separate application for entry into the dual degree program.

Note: Applicants must meet the admission requirements for both colleges and be accepted by both colleges and begin studies as a dual degree student.

Students with advanced standing at another accredited program seeking admission to the UTHSC are expected to follow the same application and admission guidelines listed above. Additionally, such applicants must present a statement of good standing and recommendation from the Dean or other appropriate administrative officer from the institution previously attended. Students are encouraged to speak to an administrator in the Office of Student and Academic Affairs within the college he or she is considering applying to prior to submitting an application.

Some opportunities for qualified individuals to take courses as non-degree students are available through the College of Graduate Health Sciences and the College of Nursing. These opportunities are for individuals who are not currently seeking admission to a degree program. Please contact the colleges directly regarding the possibility of taking courses for credit as a non-degree student.

Graduate Health Sciences – Felicia Washington, 901.448.4577

Nursing – Susan Jacob, 901.448.1320

To complete a non-degree application, please visit the Registrar.

Note: The application must be completed and submitted six weeks prior to enrollment.

As a part of our mission, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center gives preference to applicants who reside in Tennessee. UTHSC academic programs reserve a small number of seats to highly competitive applicants who reside outside Tennessee. Applicants who wish to discuss their residency status may contact the UTHSC Office of Academic Records & Registrar. Policies regarding residency classification can be found online.

At the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, there is a $200 [non-refundable] enrollment deposit for some accepted students in the College of Health Professions, some accepted students in the College of Nursing, and for accepted students in the Dental Hygiene programs in the College of Dentistry. Exceptions exist for accepted Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Dentistry (DDS), Physician Assistant, Nurse Anesthesia, Graduate Health Sciences, and Medicine students. The Pharmacy and Physical Therapy students must pay an enrollment deposit of $500 [non-refundable]. The Dentistry (DDS) and Physician Assistant students must pay an enrollment deposit of $1,000 [non-refundable] and Nurse Anesthesia students must pay an enrollment deposit of $1,500 [non-refundable]. The Graduate Health Sciences and Medicine students do not have to pay an enrollment deposit.

The UTHSC receives many more applications from highly qualified applicants than we are able to admit each year. If you wish to apply to any UTHSC for the next academic year, you must submit a new application and new supporting documents.

If you are accepted for admission, you may be able to defer program enrollment for one (1) year, with a guaranteed position in the program for the next academic year, assuming that you are able to provide an acceptable reason to the College for the deferment. Potentially acceptable reasons for deferment might include inability to pay, medical, military, personal or family obligations. To be considered for a deferment, you must submit in writing a formal statement to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs on or before July 1 or before program orientation date, whichever is earlier.

An individual may have only one (1) active application in process per admission cycle. That is, applicants may apply to only one (1) UTHSC college or program until a final administrative decision (e.g., accept, deny, final alternate, or withdraw) has been made regarding that application.

In October 2010 the U.S. Department of Education adopted regulations indicating that states were responsible for all education offered to residents within their state boundaries, regardless of where this education originated. The 2010 federal regulations, referred to commonly as “State Regulatory Authorization,” applies to all types of postsecondary education for which students qualified for federal student assistance, regardless of the sector or level of higher education. Additionally, federal law now requires each institution offering education in other states to demonstrate that it has approval to serve students in these other states. These regulations encompass educational and clinical experiences for UTHSC students served in other states via distance education, practical experiences, or face-to-face instruction. Therefore, UTHSC is expected to obtain approval before enrolling students, advertising, marketing, or performing other regulated activities in other states.

Please see the UT System States with a Physical Presence Trigger that outlines our progress with state authorization.

State Regulatory Authorization 

In compliance with the "Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Jeanne Clery Act)," the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is required, by federal law, to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies. In an effort to ensure we meet and maintain the standards and requirements of the Jeanne Clery Act, UTHSC has incorporated, on our website, links and required information for both our campus community and prospective students and prospective employees. This information is published annually in the "Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report", and includes statistics for the previous three years concerning reported crimes that occurred on campus, in certain off-campus buildings owned or controlled by the University, and on public property within or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters.

If a paper copy is preferred of these reports, please contact Campus Police at 901.448.5679, email cleryact@uthsc.edu, or visit the Campus Police Department at 740 Court Avenue, Memphis, TN 38163.