Transfer from another university

• You must make transfer applications through UCAS. The normal deadlines still apply.
• Some degrees will not consider transfers except in particular circumstances.
• As we receive many applications from well-qualified applicants each year, the number of places available to transfer students is extremely limited.
• If you have studied for more than a year at your current institution before applying to transfer, you will not be given priority for a place over qualified applicants who have not yet studied at degree level.

Please contact us before submitting your UCAS application, so that we can discuss your options with you. 

False start

We understand that sometimes a student will find they have made a mistake in their choice of degree or university. If this applies to you, we may consider that you have had a false start.

You will be classed as a “false start” if:

• You apply to transfer during your first year at another university.
• If you leave your original university during (or at the end of) your first year and apply to us in a subsequent year.

You will be treated as a new applicant and will be considered alongside all other new applicants in the competitive admissions process.

Year 1 transfer

You may apply to restart Year 1 on a different degree or transfer to the same degree in Year 1 or Year 2. It is not normally possible to transfer beyond Year 2.

Year 2 transfer

If you want to transfer to Year 2 of the same degree, we will also require information regarding the courses you have studied at university in order to assess the curriculum match with the first year of Edinburgh’s degree. However, even if you apply for Year 2, you will be considered in the same way as a Year 1 applicant would be in terms of competition for places and will need to have met all of the published entry requirements for Year 1 of the degree including required subjects.

You should contact us to discuss your circumstances before submitting your application.

Understanding our entry requirements

Medicine and veterinary medicine

We don’t normally consider transfers into medicine and veterinary medicine degrees. However,  pre-clinical medical students from the following Universities may apply for medicine:

• Oxford
• Cambridge
• St Andrews

If you have left your previous institution during or at the end of your first year, you may be able to apply as a new applicant for Year 1 of our MBChB Medicine or BVM&S Veterinary Medicine degrees. You should contact the relevant admissions office to discuss your options.

Science and Engineering

If you'd like to be considered for a transfer from another institution to a degree in Science or Engineering you need to:

• have relevant degree level studies
• make an application to us through UCAS
• specify in your application your preferred 'point of entry' (which year of the degree you start at)

Entry to our undergraduate degrees is highly competitive. Going through the steps above will mean you're considered for entry but does not guarantee you an offer of a place:

• We may offer you a transfer into a point of entry that we feel best matches the subjects and performance you have achieved in your studies to date. This may not necessarily be the same point of entry as you applied for.
• We generally expect you to have achieved an average of 60-70% or higher in your studies, with 60-70% in relevant courses, in order to be considered for entry.
• If you apply to start in Year 1 we normally expect you to have met our standard Year 1 entry requirements.

Special circumstances

There are times where you may need to change universities for personal reasons that make it essential to continue your studies in Edinburgh. For example, you may have a health condition that requires you to be near specialist services in the city, or you may have taken on primary caring responsibility for someone living in Edinburgh.

We can consider your application in these circumstances, providing you have sufficient documentary evidence, but you should contact us to discuss your situation before submitting your application. We cannot take special circumstances into account after your application has been submitted.

In all cases we will require information regarding the courses you have studied at university in order to assess the curriculum match with the first year of Edinburgh’s degree.

Edinburgh students

If you are currently studying with us and would like to discuss transferring to a different degree, you should contact your student adviser in the first instance. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to consider UCAS applications from students currently at the University of Edinburgh.

Contact us

Please contact us with any enquiries and include the following information to help our admission team process your request:

• current university
• current degree programme
• school qualifications

Contact us

Related links

UCAS