Student Admissions
Undergraduate students are all admitted by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions of the University. The students may enroll directly into the Civil Engineering Program once admitted to JSU. The students must have a high school diploma and obtained the high school course units on the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC). The courses of the CPC include 4 units of English, 4 units of Mathematics, 3 units of Science, 3 units of Social Studies, 1 unit of Arts, 2 units of Advanced Electives, and 1 unit of Technology or Computer Science. Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses can be substituted for each requirement in the CPC. Regular admission will be granted to high school graduates who belong to one of the following groups:
- All students completing the CPC with a minimum of a 3.20 high school grade point average (GPA) on the CPC,
- All students completing the CPC with (a) a minimum of a 2.50 high school GPA on the CPC or a class rank in the top 50%, and (b) a score of 16 or higher on the ACT (Composite).
- All students completing the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) with (a) a minimum of a 2.00 high school GPA on the CPC and (b) a score of 18 or higher on the ACT (or SAT equivalent).
- All students satisfying the NCAA Division I standards for student-athletes who are “full-qualifiers or “academic redshirts”
In lieu of ACT scores, students may submit equivalent SAT scores. Students scoring below 16 on the ACT (Composite) or the equivalent SAT are encouraged to participate in the Year-Long Academic Support Program during their freshman year.
The admissions requirements can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog and the website http://scil.joe-yan.net/admissions.
Transfer Students and Transfer Courses
The initial evaluation of courses completed by transfer students from other colleges and universities is performed by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The policies for the initial evaluation of transfer credits are as follows:
- A maximum of 62 semester hours of credit for courses completed at the freshman and sophomore levels will be allowed from a community/junior college toward degree requirements.
- Only college courses in which the grade is “C” or higher will be accepted.
- JSU does not award credits for courses that are classified as remedial or developmental.
- Students ordinarily receive no transfer credit for courses designed specifically for technical and vocational career programs. The Dean of the college or school concerned should be consulted on questions pertaining to the transfer of credits.
- After earning 62 semester hours from any accredited institution, a student may not take additional courses at a community/junior college and have them applied toward a degree from JSU.
- Any course taken for credit at another institution while a student is enrolled at JSU must have prior written permission of the student’s department Chair and Dean in order for that credit to be accepted toward the fulfillment of degree requirements at JSU.
- Grades earned in transfer courses will not be shown on the permanent record at JSU and will not be used in calculating Jackson State University GPA.
- Normally, Jackson State University allows full credit for a course taken at another accredited institution if a comparable course is offered at Jackson State University. The final evaluation of transcripts is done by the department responsible for the program of study.
- All students are required to have the last session of residence or its equivalent at Jackson State University and to complete satisfactorily a minimum of 30 semester hours of courses before graduation.
- A maximum of 93 semester hours is transferable from an accredited four-year institution.
Once a transfer student has been admitted to the Civil Engineering Program, the faculty advisor responsible for the student will examine the student’s transcripts and course descriptions to determine the equivalencies to the courses on Civil Engineering Curriculum. A Transfer Credit Evaluation Form (Appendix E) must be completed by the advisor and signed by both the faculty advisor and the Departmental Chair to make the transfer of credit hours official. Below are the general guidelines of the Department for the evaluation and acceptance of transfer credits.
- With the exception of surveying and general engineering courses and other specific courses from international universities, all civil engineering courses accepted for transfer credit must have been taken at ABET-accredited civil engineering or equivalent programs.
- In cases where civil engineering courses have been taken at foreign universities, catalog course descriptions, detailed course syllabi and, if possible, students’ notebooks and examinations are required. The students’ credentials are also evaluated by an independent evaluation service.
- The JSU instructors who teach the courses in which the equivalency of the transfer courses is uncertain are consulted to help with the transfer credit evaluation.
- The evaluations of courses other than civil engineering courses are sometimes performed by the Departments offering those courses, if necessary.
- Existing JSU students who plan to take courses at other colleges and universities, must obtain approval from the Department prior to their enrollment to ensure that those courses are transferable. Those students must complete a Transient Request Form and get approvals from the faculty advisor and the Department Chair.