UMass Campus - Fall
Undergraduate Admissions

Veterans and Military Applicants

First-year admission is more selective than transfer admission. However, in all cases, the discipline and commitment involved in military service is regarded as a significant factor in making the decision about general admissibility to UMass Amherst. In some cases where a specific type of academic preparation is required for the applicant’s chosen major (example: engineering), an applicant may also be referred to a community college for preparatory coursework, because the university does not offer coursework at a developmental level. In these cases, the university will provide advising to assist veterans to prepare for their chosen major while at the community college.

UMass Amherst adheres to the VALOR Act Academic Credit Evaluation Policy. We use the American Council on Education (ACE), CLEP, and DSST guidelines and apply the same standards to credits for military education as those applied to coursework from accredited colleges and universities. In other words, if ACE indicates that military credits are vocational in nature and are applicable to associate degree programs only (ex: mechanical repair credits), then those credits will not transfer to UMass Amherst. However, if ACE indicates that military credits are applicable to baccalaureate programs (ex: primary leadership credits), then transfer credit is possible.

Fall first-year admission decisions are posted online in January (Early Action) or March (Regular Decision). Fall transfer decisions are posted in mid-March through May. All spring decisions are posted online in mid-October through early December.

  • Arrange for official college transcripts to be sent from all colleges you have previously attended, regardless of whether or not credit was earned. Student-printed transcripts are not considered official.
  • If you have not already earned 27 or more semester college credits, please also arrange for an official high school transcript to be sent directly from your high school to the Undergraduate Admissions Office at UMass Amherst. 
  • If you earned the GED, please send both GED results and an official high school transcript.
  • A military transcript is not required for the application process.

  • Arrange for an official high school transcript to be sent directly from your high school to the Undergraduate Admissions Office at UMass Amherst. The transcript  must come from your high school—we prefer it be sent through the Common Application. It can also be submitted via email to mail@admissions.umass.edu. If it needs to be mailed the address is:
    UMass Amherst Undergraduate Admissions Office
    Mather Building
    37 Mather Drive
    Amherst, MA 01003
  • If you earned the GED, please send both GED results and an official high school transcript.
  • A military transcript is not required for the application process.

  • Students who have attempted 12 or more semester credits at a college or university after high school graduation, or GED, apply for transfer admission (even if they did not complete those credits). 
  • High school graduates or GED recipients who have attempted no college credits, or who have attempted fewer than 12 semester credits at a college or university after high school graduation, or GED, apply for first-year admission.
  • Military and test credits are not used to determine first-year/transfer application status.

A minimum of 120 semester credits is required for a bachelor’s degree. Of those, 45 must be UMass Amherst degree-seeking credits. The rest may be transfer credits, including test credits and military credits. However, earning 120 semester credits does not guarantee a bachelor’s degree, since those credits must also fulfill various requirements. If, for example, you start a major with many requirements after completing a considerable number of unrelated credits, then it may delay your graduation. UMass Amherst bachelor’s degrees have the following components: (1) General Education requirements (approximately 1/3 of the degree requirements); (2) college requirements (ex: language requirement for majors in some colleges, but not for all); (3) major requirements (may vary from 30+ to 70+ credits); and (4) electives. The greater the number of credits required for the major, the fewer elective credits a student may need to complete the degree. In general, military credits are used for electives toward a degree. However, with the approval of a faculty advisor, they may be used toward their major as well.

First-year applicants have military credits posted to their official UMass Amherst records after they commit to enrollment and before they register for classes. Transfer applicants will be notified about military credits at the time of admission, with credits posted to their official UMass Amherst records after they commit to enrollment and before they register for classes. However, veterans wanting earlier notification about military credits may also (1) arrange for the Undergraduate Admissions Office to receive an official military transcript and then (2) contact Janet Danyliekoin the Registrar’s office for military credit information at jdanylie@umass.edu or 413-545-0555.

UMass Amherst uses the Common Application for admission to undergraduate degree programs. Some parts of the Common Application may not be geared toward adult students. If you have questions, please email the Undergraduate Admissions Office at mail@admissions.umass.edu or request a phone call

IMPORTANT: If you are not applying for an on-campus degree program but plan to apply to an online degree program or University Without Walls, do not use the Common Application form. Instead, use the UWW application form.

Address: 

Undergraduate Admissions Office
181 Presidents Drive
243 Whitmore Admin Building
Amherst, MA 01003

Phone: 413-545-0222

Email Address: mail@admissions.umass.edu

First-Year Admissions Counselors

Transfer Admissions Counselors