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Undergraduate Admissions

Special Requirements for Certain Majors (First-Year)

Highly Selective Majors

First-Year Applicants

  • Admission is selective to the majors of business, finance, marketing, and accounting.
  • First-year applicants must have a strong academic record in math through pre-calculus to be competitive for admission to any Isenberg major.
  • Starting in Fall 2022, Isenberg will not allow UMass Amherst students to internally transfer to any major in the school except Hospitality & Tourism Management and Sport Management.
  • Isenberg offers a Business minor and 4+1 degrees for non-Isenberg UMass Amherst students who want to complete a master’s degree in business analytics, accounting or finance in one year.

Admission is highly selective. First-year applicants with a strong academic record in math through pre-calculus are given priority.

Admission is selective. Majors to the College of Engineering also require a strong academic record in math and science coursework, including chemistry and physics.

First-Year Applicants

Admitted first-year students are granted general admission to the College of Engineering and at the end of their first year, they choose a specific engineering major.

Admission to the nursing major is highly selective and restricted to first-year students. If first-year applicants are not admitted to nursing, they will not be able to change their major to nursing after enrollment. Transfer students are not considered for the nursing major unless they are applying through Continuing & Professional Education to the RN to BSN program, or as a second bachelor’s degree student.

Admission to the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management is based on the strength of the applicant’s overall academic record, and sport management-related activities. Applicants must have a strong academic record in math through pre-calculus.

Majors With a Portfolio Requirement

Architecture applicants must submit an online application to Undergraduate Admissions and a portfolio directly to the Department of Architecture. For detailed information about portfolio submissions, visit the Department of Architecture website.

Art applicants must submit an online application to Undergraduate Admissions and a portfolio directly to the Department of Art. For detailed information about portfolio submissions, visit the Department of Art website.

Dance applicants must submit an online application to Undergraduate Admissions and arrange an audition directly with the Department of Music & Dance. Auditions must be scheduled three weeks before the audition date. For detailed information on dance auditions, visit the Department of Music & Dance website.

Music applicants must submit an online application to Undergraduate Admissions and arrange an audition directly with the Department of Music & Dance. Auditions must be scheduled three weeks before the audition date. For detailed information on music auditions, visit the Department of Music & Dance website.

Other Majors With Special Requirements

This upper-division, self-designed major is not available to entering students. Applicants are encouraged to declare a major related to their planned individualized concentration. For more information, see BDIC's website.

Requirements for Massachusetts teacher certification include an approved teacher education curriculum plus completion of an approved academic major (or interdisciplinary major) in the liberal arts. Admission to the Early Childhood and Elementary Education programs is selective. Secondary certification requires education coursework in addition to the academic major. Transfer applicants who intend to enter as juniors should contact the Teacher Certification Office to apply concurrently for the early childhood or elementary certification sequence, so as not to delay their graduation. Please visit the College of Education website for more information.

Pre-health, pre-law, and pre-veterinary advising programs provide academic counseling to students interested in applying to professional schools. Pre-vet students are initially assigned the animal science major. They must achieve and maintain a grade of B- or better in select animal science courses to be considered for the pre-vet program. Students may enter the pre-vet program at any time after these requirements are met by submitting a required GPA worksheet to the appropriate advisor.

UMass Amherst offers the Exploratory Track Program in seven of the ten schools and colleges for first-year students to explore their academic options and interests before selecting a major. Students in an Exploratory Track work closely with academic advisors and receive guidance along the way, eventually matching them to a major based on their interest, eligibility, and academic proficiency. Exploratory tracks are for first-year applicants only. Transfer students are required to choose a major.