Effective Fall 2025, DGS will become the Division of Exploratory Studies. Same mission; new name.

Important Admissions Criteria

First-Year Students

  • ACT or SAT I scores (we do not use SAT II) if provided

  • High school percentile ranking (if your school doesn’t rank, we’ll calculate an estimated rank)

  • Challenging high school curriculum (AP, honors, accelerated, etc.)

  • Grade patterns and trends across 4 years of high school

  • Co-curricular, work, and volunteer involvements

Off-Campus Transfer Students

  • No more than 3 completed full-time semesters (not including summer semesters) prior to enrolling
  • No more than 50 transferable hours prior to enrolling (does not include test-based credit hours such as AP or International Baccalaureate exams). Preference is given to students with 30 hours or less.
  • Completion of the transfer course equivalency of the University's Composition I requirement (usually a 2-course English composition sequence at other institutions)

Application Essays

Application essays help us understand how you would benefit from our explorative mission and they may include:

  • Subjects or fields that interest you

  • Academic programs you are considering

  • Career or pre-professional goals

  • Relevant experiences that have influenced your academic and career interests

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Frequently Asked Questions
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Are you a current Illinois student?

Please visit our Intercollegiate Transfer (ICT) process page for more information about ICT requirements, deadlines, and other important information needed to move forward.

ICT to DGS

QUESTIONS?

Please email us at dgsadmissions@illinois.edu.