Back to School: Start Planning Now

Many applications for undergrdauate and graduate admission can be completed online.

As classes resume at The University of Arizona, freshly minted high school grads aren't the only ones headed to campus lecture halls for the first time. Some of the students embarking on new college careers have been out of school for years and are juggling full-time jobs and families along with their homework. Many are UA employees.

Whether they've been out school for two years or 20, have never gone to college or want a second degree, it's never too late to return to the classroom, and eligible UA employees can do so with the added perks of reduced tuition. While this semester is already in full swing, those interested in going back to school in the spring should start thinking about their options now to meet the next round of admissions deadlines.

Undergraduate degree-seeking students

How to apply: Fill out an online application or download a printable application on the Office of Admissions Web site. Or call 621-3237 to have one mailed to you.

What you will need:

• Completed online or paper application.
• $25 processing fee for Arizona residents ($65 for non-residents).
• Official high school transcript (if you are under the age of 22).

Deadline to apply for spring 2010: Nov. 1

Transfer students

How to apply: Fill out an online application or download a printable application on the Office of Admissions Web site. Or call 621-3237 to have one mailed to you.

What you will need:

• Completed online or paper application.
• $25 processing fee for Arizona residents ($65 for non-residents).
• Official transcripts from all colleges or universities attended, submitted directly by those institutions.

Deadline to apply for spring 2010: Nov. 1

Note: To be admitted as a transfer student, an applicant must have a cumulative 2.0 GPA in a minimum of 24 transferrable credit hours, have successfully completed the Arizona General Education Curriculum, or AGEC, or have an associate or baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum 2.0 GPA.

Non-degree seeking students

How to apply: Submit an application, which can be printed from the Office of Admissions Web site. Or call 621-3237 to have one mailed to you.

What you will need:

• Completed paper application.
• $25 processing fee for Arizona residents ($65 for non-residents).

Deadline to apply for spring 2010: Dec. 1

Note: Students who left the UA on academic probation, with a GPA below 2.0, or who were disqualified must complete a degree-seeking application in order to return to the UA.

Re-admission applicants

How to apply: Students who have taken UA classes in the past as a degree-seeking student but have missed at least one semester without taking a formal leave of absence must fill out an application, accessible on the Office of Admissions Web site, to be considered for readmission.

What you will need:

• Completed paper application.
• $25 processing fee for Arizona residents ($65 for non-residents).
• Official transcripts, sent by each institution you have attended since leaving the UA. 

Deadline to apply for spring 2010: Nov. 1

Graduate students

How to apply: Prospective graduate students can fill out a UA Graduate College online application or print a hard copy of the application, available on the Graduate College Web site. Students also must apply to the department that hosts their program of interest. Descriptions and requirements for each program offered at the UA, with links to associated Web sites, are available in the Graduate College's program description guide. 

What you need:

• Completed Graduate College application.
• $65 application fee for degree seeking graduate students ($35 for non-degree seeking students).
• Official transcripts, sent by all colleges or universities attended previously.
• Applicants must have a bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, from a college or university, and that degree must be recognized by the UA. 
• Applicants are expected to have a 3.0 GPA for previously completed university work.
• While the UA Graduate College does not require the Graduate Record Exam, or GRE, for admission, many graduate departments do require standardized tests like the GRE, the Graduate Management Admissions Test or Miller Analogies Test for admission. Check with individual programs for details on testing and other requirements.  

Deadline to apply for spring 2010: Individual graduate program deadlines vary and are posted online. The Graduate College itself does not have a deadline, but students are advised to submit their general Graduate College application at the same time they submit paperwork to their programs.

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Additional Resources

Qualified Tuition Reduction/Educational Assistance Program

The Qualified Tuition Reduction, or QTR, program, established by the Arizona Board of Regents to benefit each of the state's three universities, is what makes it possible for many campus employees to go back to school.

Employees who qualify for QTR pay just $25 in total tuition each semester for up to nine credit hours in the fall, up to nine in the spring and up to six during summer sessions.

The QTR does not apply to other campus fees. WIth fees included, a three-unit course at the UA that would normally cost an undergraduate Arizona resident $1,190.06 is only $144.06 for an employee using QTR.

Cori Cashen, a program coordinator in the Office of the Registrar, who is pursuing a degree in creative writing, said she couldn't have gone back to school without the tuition break.

"I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world to be able to do this," she said. "I couldn't have done this without being at a university with the QTR."

All administrators, faculty, appointed personnel and staff employed at 50 percent time or more, and whose employment is expected to continue six months or more, are eligible to participate in the program, as are their spouses and dependent children.

A dependent child, acoording to the UA's HR Web site, is defined as "one who is less than age 30 as of the first day of the semester for which application is made for reduced registration fees and who is eligible to be claimed as a dependent for federal tax purposes." 

Information on QTR eligibility is available through the Human Resources Web site.

Details on QTR rates per semester are available on the Bursar's Office Web site. 

The QTR application is available for download on the Human Resources Web site. A new application must be submitted each semester, and all forms must be processed and fees paid by the Bursar's Office's published tuition payment deadline. 

UA Evening & Weekend 
Departments that collaborate with the UA Evening & Weekend program reserve a certain number of seats for nontraditional students, who are invited to register through Evening & Weekend adviser Diana Rix. The program helps give students with full schedules during the day the first shot at a spot in night classes before they fill up. Rix can be contacted at drix@email.arizona.edu or 626-8201.

Arizona Universities Network
AZUN connects students with online courses at all three of Arizona's public universities to help them get the courses they need. Students participating in AZUN programs pay home campus tuition rates for classes they take, whether they're offered through the UA, Northern Arizona University or Arizona State University.

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