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See above for the list of required application materials.

There are a few additional requirements. See ¹û½´ÊÓƵ's information for applicants with special circumstances.

You can ask your professors to submit written evaluations of your work.

Yes. International students are welcome to apply to transfer to ¹û½´ÊÓƵ. If English is not your native language, it is recommended that you submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Test (IELTS) score.

See above for the full list of requirements to apply as a transfer. The following items must be newly submitted for reapplication as a transfer student: 

• Common Application for Transfers
• ¹û½´ÊÓƵ Common Application Writing Supplement: “Paideia Essay” (if you are a transfer applicant not currently enrolled in college, upon completion of the “Paideia Essay” supplement you will be prompted to also submit a brief statement about what you have been doing since last enrolled in formal schooling). Both essays can also be emailed to admission@reed.edu.
• Registrar’s Report from the most recent college attended (the form and instructions are available on the Common Application website)
• One new academic evaluation (this recommendation must come from a college instructor who did not submit a previous recommendation for you)

With an offer of admission to ¹û½´ÊÓƵ, you will receive a preliminary credit evaluation. Courses are evaluated in terms of their applicability toward a liberal
 arts degree. 


Please note that transfer credit will not be given for

• courses that cover work at a level below introductory courses at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ;
• courses that are vocational, technical, or experiential in nature;
• courses, or portions of courses, that teach general writing skills;
• courses for which you received a grade below C-.

Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) test credit is limited to a maximum of eight ¹û½´ÊÓƵ units and will be granted only upon receipt of an original AP score report. AP credits may not be used to fulfill college distribution requirements but will count toward the total number of units required for graduation.

We recommend that you keep your syllabi from previous courses. This will better prepare you to meet with the faculty in your chosen major to discuss which courses will count toward major requirements.

Students can petition to meet distribution requirements with fewer than the minimum units or to obtain departmental approval of credit. Although such petitions are not always granted, the potential benefits of filing a petition may make the process worth your time and effort. Once enrolled at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ, you can ask your adviser if petitioning may be an option for you.

Of the 30 ¹û½´ÊÓƵ units needed to graduate, at least 15 must be completed at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ. The average course load at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ is three to four units per semester. ¹û½´ÊÓƵ graduates must fulfill general college requirements as well as major, departmental, and divisional requirements. Every standard major falls into a "division," which is a grouping of related departments. 



If admitted, the evaluation of transfer credit that you will receive in your admission packet will indicate how your previous work may be applied toward the general college requirements. To determine how the credits might be applied toward departmental and divisional requirements, you may need to speak with your faculty adviser and with the chair of your department and division.

Humanities 110 is required of all first-year students and students who transfer with first-year standing but without transfer credit equivalent to Humanities 110. 



Students who transfer as sophomores or juniors without transfer credit equivalent to Humanities 110 may fulfill the humanities requirement by taking either Humanities 110, or, in lieu of Humanities 110, a combination of Humanities 210, 220, or 230, plus one additional unit from Group A or Group B.

Courses used to fulfill the humanities requirement may not be used to fulfill the Group A or B requirements. We do recommend taking Humanities 110, if at all possible; at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ, it truly is the course upon which everything else builds.

Three semesters (six quarters) of physical education are required before graduation. Only one quarter of PE may be earned at a time. PE courses will transfer from other institutions.

¹û½´ÊÓƵ students must pass the junior qualifying exam before beginning a thesis in the senior year. The exam (known as the junior qual) is administered by each department near the end of the junior year. The objectives of the qual are to gauge students' mastery of their disciplines, to identify weaknesses in students' preparation for advanced study or thesis work in those disciplines, and to assist students in unifying their knowledge of a major field of study.

The senior thesis and oral examination are distinctive features of ¹û½´ÊÓƵ education. The thesis is the sustained investigation of a carefully defined problem—experimental, critical, or creative—chosen from the major field. The thesis culminates with a final comprehensive two-hour oral review under the direction of the major department.

In general, class standing can be estimated as follows:

• 1–6 ¹û½´ÊÓƵ units: first-year student

• 7–12 ¹û½´ÊÓƵ units: second-year student

• 15+ ¹û½´ÊÓƵ units: junior standing (with departmental approval)

Remember: 1 ¹û½´ÊÓƵ unit equals 4 semester or 6 quarter credit hours.

If you plan to transfer to ¹û½´ÊÓƵ as a junior (with 15 or more ¹û½´ÊÓƵ units), it is important to understand the structure of the junior year. All juniors take a junior qualifying exam in the second semester of that year. It is very difficult to transfer in as a junior and sit for the exam after only one semester of ¹û½´ÊÓƵ work. Therefore, if applying as a junior, keep in mind that an additional semester or two might be needed to prepare fully for advanced work in your department. 



When a credit evaluation is completed for someone applying for junior standing, that evaluation is sent to the department chair in the intended major. The chair will then assess which courses will satisfy departmental and divisional requirements. (Remember, they are doing this by looking over course descriptions and without the benefit of talking with you about each course.) The chair will also estimate how many semesters it may take you to complete your major requirements at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ. When you arrive on campus for orientation, you will meet with your adviser, who will be better able to assess, in-depth, your preparation in your major.

You will be assigned an adviser with whom you will meet during orientation to go over your credit evaluation and plan your course of study at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ. Having course descriptions and syllabi from your previous institution(s) with you can prove very helpful to this meeting.

We strongly encourage you to engage with our virtual and on-campus visit options.

On-campus housing requests are due by June 15. Space on campus is limited, and housing requests will be considered in the order in which they are received. There are also many off-campus housing options within a two-mile radius of ¹û½´ÊÓƵ. The residence life office has information on houses, apartments, and studios available for rent.