Admission
Undergraduate Admission Process
Applications for admission are accepted on a rolling basis, offering the opportunity to begin studies at Granite State College at any term during the year. There are four start dates (Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer) throughout the academic year. Please see the Academic Calendar section for the Academic Calendar or view online at https://www.granite.edu/become-a-student/calendars/academic-calendar/.
Non-Degree Students
Granite State College supports adult, non-traditional students with the opportunity to enroll for an individual course that will meet their personalized need. Those students who do not want to pursue a degree or certificate program but would like to round out their experience simply need to complete a registration form, which can be found at https://www.granite.edu/become-a-student/take-a-course/. Non-degree students are subject to meet the required prerequisites for courses and will need to provide unofficial transcripts to show that a prerequisite has been completed prior to course registration. Non-degree students are not eligible for Title IV financial aid.
Students who are under the age of 18 at time of their first class and have earned a high school diploma or equivalent are required to provide proof of high school completion in the form of either an official high school transcript, HiSet, GED, TASC or completion of home schooling. Parent(s) or Guardian(s) must complete the “Enrollment of a Minor Form” at time of registration.
General Admission Policy
Admission is granted to students who earned a high school diploma, completed a high school education in a homeschool setting under state law, or demonstrate high school equivalency. Successful completion of one of the following exams will be required for demonstrating high school equivalency: the GED, HiSET, or TASC. Any student who meets these requirements and will be under the age of 18 at time of their first class, must provide to the Office of Admissions official documentation of a high school diploma or equivalent for admittance. This documentation must come directly from the issuing school or agency. In addition, the student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) must complete the “Enrollment of a Minor Form” at time of registration. The College requires that every degree applicant meet basic academic criteria and retains the right to deny applications when:
- The student resides in a state where the College does not offer the degree program desired.
- Inconsistencies with demographic information, documentation or transcripts supplied to the College.
- The student’s ability to actively participate in the academic community or complete an educational program is unlikely.
- The student reasonably appears to pose a threat to or appears likely to endanger the College community.
International Student Admission
International students studying from their home country are eligible for acceptance to fully online programs. Several countries will not recognize foreign online degrees, which may affect employment or further education. It is the student’s responsibility to understand whether the chosen online degree will be recognized in their home country or the country in which they intend to work, whether their country of residence will levy taxes in addition to the price of tuition, and how individual student data may be used in that country. Granite State College does not sponsor visas.
English Proficiency
Applicants for whom English is not the primary language must demonstrate proficiency in English. Adequate proficiency is demonstrated by a minimum Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score:
- Internet-based test (IBT) minimum score: 80
- Paper-based test (PBT) minimum score: 550
- Computer-based test (CBT) minimum score: 213
The College also accepts the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Students must achieve an overall band score of 6.5, or present a foreign high school or college-level transcript from a school where courses were conducted entirely in English. Any student not demonstrating adequate proficiency will be referred to an institution that offers courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages. Scores must be sent directly from the testing agency to the Admissions Office. Use code 0458.
How to Apply
Undergraduate degree applications may be submitted at any time during the academic year. Terms begin in Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. Apply online at https://www.granite.edu/become-a-student/apply-now/.
Degree Programs with Additional Requirements
Granite State College offers several majors with additional admissions criteria, which are outlined below. For additional details, students should set up an advising session with their Academic Advisor.
BS in Nursing
Note: Granite State College’s RN-to-BSN program is available only in states where it is authorized or exempt from regulation. For full acceptance applicants must provide the following:
- An active RN license issued from the state where the student is currently practicing; and
- An Associate Degree in nursing from a regionally-accredited college or university OR a nursing diploma earned from a school of nursing or teaching hospital.
Conditionally admitted students who have submitted proof of conferred A.S. Nursing degree and not yet passed the NCLEX-RN® may only take non-NUR courses and NUR 600 Enhancing Your Nursing Career (2 s.h.) and may not proceed with other NUR courses until they have an active RN license.
Statistics is a prerequisite for NUR 602 Evidence-Based Nursing (4 s.h.), as well as proof of conferred A.S. Nursing degree or nursing diploma. Academic Advisor approval is required for registration to be processed.
An applicant with a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in another discipline will be required to take only the 30 credits of nursing courses. MATH 504 Statistics (4 s.h.) will be required if not satisfied in transfer.
Bachelor's Completion Programs
To be eligible for admission to a Bachelor's Completion program, a student must possess foundational knowledge in an applied discipline that aligns with the program option. This may be done via:
- A related earned Associate Degree from a regionally accredited college;
- A related earned Associate Degree from Granite State College or a recognized nationally accredited college;
- Completed military training in a related discipline with a ranking of E5 or higher.
For the programs listed below, eligibility for full admission requires an earned Associate Degree from a regionally or nationally accredited college in an applied discipline that aligns with the program option. Professional licensure, certifications or training may serve as a foundation for these degrees, upon approval by Academic Affairs. In addition to an earned regionally or nationally accredited Associate Degree, admission to the BS Fire Service Administration program requires applicants have certification as an NFPA 1001 Firefighter II issued by a Pro Board- or IFSAC-accredited agency.
- BS Applied Studies: Management
- BS Applied Studies: Education and Training
- BS in Allied Health Leadership
- BS in Fire Service Administration
Transfer Credits
Degree candidates wanting transfer credit evaluated must request all official previous college transcripts be sent directly to the Admissions Office. To be considered official, they must be received electronically via a secure third-party portal such as SCOIR, National Student Clearinghouse, or Parchment, or mailed in an envelope sealed by the issuing institution to:
Admissions Office
Granite State College
25 Hall Street
Concord, NH 03301
All application materials, including transcripts, become the property of Granite State College and will not be returned, duplicated, or forwarded. Prior successfully completed courses can be evaluated for applicable transfer credit to a Granite State College degree program.
Transfer credits from regionally-accredited institutions of higher education are accepted based on equivalency of course content and outcomes. Transfer courses must be completed with a C or better. The Registrar's Office, in consultation with Academic Affairs, is responsible for determining the acceptance of transfer credit. When necessary, students may be requested to provide course descriptions, course outcomes, and syllabi to assist in the evaluation of credit. Graduate level course work may not be applied in transfer toward undergraduate credit. Transcripts from nationally accredited colleges must be evaluated through the Prior Learning Assessment process.
The College also recognizes competency demonstrated through CLEP, DSST, Excelsior College Examinations, and certain other postsecondary exams approved by the American Council on Education. Students seeking credit for examinations must request that official transcripts be sent directly to the Admissions Office for evaluation as transfer credit. Learning acquired through workplace training and/or other life experiences is acknowledged and may satisfy degree requirements as approved through the PLA process detailed in the “Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)” section.
The number of transfer credits accepted will depend upon the specific requirements in the degree program selected; the maximum at the Associate Degree level is 44 credits and at the Bachelor’s Degree level 90 credits.
In order to ensure that students take substantial upper-level major credit courses at GSC, the following guidelines apply for transfer credit for Bachelor Programs:
- Sixteen (16) credit hours of upper-level major coursework must be taken at GSC. The integrative capstone is included as a part of the 16 credits.
- In certain limited situations, students may request a course substitution from the Assistant Dean of Curriculum or Dean of the School of Education, (in consultation with content area faculty) to allow a course in a closely related discipline to apply toward this total.
- Integrative capstones must be taken at GSC.
Academic Residency Requirements
Academic residency begins on the date of application to a degree program. Prior Granite State College credits earned as a non-degree student will apply to the residency requirements if the credit is applicable to the student’s approved plan of study. For an Associate Degree, residency is 16 credits. For a Bachelor’s Degree, residency is 30 credits. A student who has completed a Granite State College Associate Degree must earn an additional 14 credits in residence in the Bachelor’s program.
Transfer Credit for Courses with Embedded Technology
To ensure student success in courses that require the use of software applications, web-based or database programming software, programming languages, or network/hardware, a five-year time limit for transfer credit applies, based upon application date to degree program.
Note: If the transferring student has current industry experience, the time limit recommendations for applicable courses may be waived. Students should work with their Academic Advisor to submit a petition to Academic Affairs for exception to academic policy and provide supporting documentation.
Transfer Credit for RN to BSN Program
To ensure student success in the RN to BSN program, the following time limits for transfer credit into major requirements apply:
- BSN NUR course requirements is five years.
Note: If the transferring student has current industry experience, the time limit recommendations for applicable courses may be waived. Students may submit a petition for exception to academic policy and provide supporting documentation.
Associate Degree/Diploma Nursing courses do not have a transfer credit time limit.
Military Training
All branches of the United States military offer training for enlisted personnel and commissioned officers. The American Council on Education (ACE) has evaluated hundreds of training programs and classifications and has published credit recommendations in the Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services. Visit the site at: http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Military-Guide-Online.aspx. Official transcripts are required for evaluation of transfer credit. Information about military transcripts and how to request them is below.
Army/Navy/US Coast Guard/Marine Corps
https://www.dantes.doded.mil/EducationPrograms/get-credit/creditmilitary.html
CCAF (Air University)
Transcripts From Other Countries
Applicants who attended a college or university in a foreign country must have their transcript translated and evaluated prior to full acceptance. The College will accept foreign transcript evaluation from members of NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services). For a complete list of members please visit http://naces.org. Each member of NACES has their own fee structure for the translation and evaluation and those charges must be paid for by the student. The College recommends that students obtain a course by course (sometimes called a comprehensive) evaluation.
The transcript must be sent directly from the evaluating agency to the Admissions Office to be considered official.
Community College System of New Hampshire
Transfer pathways between USNH and the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) have created a virtually seamless transfer process between degree programs. Many Bachelor’s Degree programs at Granite State College are designed to build on the educational foundation of the CCSNH Associate Degree and to maximize credit awarded in transfer. Visit www.nhtransfer.org or https://www.granite.edu/about/partners/ccsnh/ for more information.
NH Transfer
The NH Transfer Application is designed exclusively for New Hampshire's community college students, facilitating transfer to Granite State College, Keene State College, Plymouth State University, and University of New Hampshire. This free and easy application helps to provide advisor support and a seamless transfer process.
TES Transfer Equivalency Portal
Granite State College has partnered with CollegeSource® to offer students the Transfer Evaluation System (TES). TES is a robust, dynamic library of course equivalencies that helps students see how their previous college coursework might transfer to Granite State College. TES is an ever-expanding database and is updated daily. If a particular college or course is not listed, credit may still be eligible for transfer.
TES is intended as a planning tool for the next steps in the transfer process. It is not an official evaluation of transfer credit. An official course evaluation will be completed once the student applies to an undergraduate degree program and all admissions criteria are met.
Visit the Transfer Equivalency Portal to get started https://www.granite.edu/why-gsc/transfer-credits/equivalencies/.
Degree Candidates
Students who apply to and are accepted into a degree program at the College are degree candidates. All others attending the College shall be considered non-degree status students.
Conditional Acceptance Status
An applicant will remain conditionally accepted into their degree program until all official previous college transcripts, college-level test scores, and institutional admissions requirements documented on the application have been met.
The applicant will be informed of their conditional acceptance status by email.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to monitor their outstanding requirements by contacting their Academic Advisor or the Admissions Office.
Full Acceptance Status
Full acceptance status is attained when an application is complete, and all official previous college transcripts have been received and evaluated by the Registrar’s Office. The student will receive a full acceptance email and be able to view their official degree evaluation through the WebROCK secure student portal.
Recent High School Graduates
Applicants who are high school seniors will be conditionally accepted into a degree program for any term following their high school graduation. A final, official high school transcript with the student’s graduation date is required for full acceptance and must be sent from the issuing school directly to:
Admissions Office
Granite State College
25 Hall Street
Concord, NH 03301
Veterans or Active Duty Military Applicants
Granite State College does not engage in high-pressure recruitment tactics to secure servicemember enrollments.
All contact with potential students who are servicemembers is initiated by student inquiries who voluntarily provide contact information. The College does not initiate or make any unsolicited contacts with servicemembers, nor does it use third-party contact lists or host events with incentives to recruit servicemembers.
The College does not provide commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on securing servicemember enrollments or federal financial aid to any person or entities engaged in any student recruiting, admission activities, or making decisions regarding the award of student financial assistance.
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Degree Status at More Than One Institution
A student who is pursuing an Associate Degree at another college or university may be conditionally accepted to a Granite State College Bachelor’s Degree program.
Upon conferral of the Associate Degree and receipt of the final official transcript documenting the earned Associate Degree, the student will be fully accepted to Granite State College.
Degree Status in More Than One Program at Granite State College
A student may only be fully accepted to one degree program at a time. However, students nearing completion of an Associate Degree at Granite State College and have applied to graduate, may also apply for admission to one of the College’s Bachelor’s Degree programs.
In addition, students nearing completion of their Bachelor's degree may apply for admission to a Graduate level or Post Baccalaureate program at Granite State College.
Course Overlap Policy
Students enrolled in Bachelor’s Degree programs are allowed a maximum of two course overlaps between major, minor and general education requirements, with only one of these overlaps consisting of an overlap between major and minor. Students enrolled in Associate Degree programs are allowed only one course overlap between major and general education. For students with Dual Majors or Dual Minors, see the Dual Major and Dual Minor policies.
Minors
Minors are designed to provide students the option of an additional area of specialization that complements but does not overlap their current Bachelor’s Degree. Minors are optional and are open to all Bachelor’s Degree candidates. Students may use only one course from the major to fulfill minor requirements. All minors consist of five courses, at least two of which must be upper level. Required courses may have prerequisites. Courses must be completed with a C or better to be included in a minor. Not all major and minor combinations are appropriate. Students should consult with their academic advisor for approved appropriate major and minor combinations.
Dual Major
Students concurrently pursuing two majors must complete all requirements for both chosen programs with the following exceptions:
Associate
- Students may overlap one course from General Education with either major or one course across majors, for a total of two overlapping courses.
Bachelor’s
- Students may overlap up to two courses from General Education with either major and up to two courses across majors, for a total of four overlapping courses.
- In consultation with their Academic Advisor, the student will choose one appropriate Integrative Capstone course.
For more information regarding appropriate dual major program combinations, students should consult with their Academic Advisor, who will consult with Academic Affairs to help determine an appropriate capstone topic.
Returning for a Second Major
A graduate with an earned degree from Granite State College may complete a request for a subsequent major for the purpose of adding a second major to that degree. This applies to:
- Graduates with a Bachelor of Arts returning for a Bachelor of Arts major;
- Graduates with a Bachelor of Science returning for a Bachelor of Science major;
- Graduates with an Associate of Arts returning for an Associate of Arts major;
- Graduates with an Associate of Science returning for an Associate of Science major;
Students will follow the major requirements and will complete all other major requirements, including new residency credits of course work (16 credits for Associate Degrees; 30 credits for Bachelor’s Degrees). Once completed, the second major will only be noted on the student’s transcript, and a second diploma will not be issued. Financial Aid recipients should refer to the Maximum Timeframe section of the “Satisfactory Academic Progress to Receive Financial Aid” section for policies on continued eligibility.
Returning for a Second Degree
Granite State College graduates who wish to pursue a second degree must reapply for admission to the new degree and subsequently complete a minimum number of new residency credits of course work toward the second degree (16 credits for Associate Degrees; 30 credits for Bachelor’s Degrees). This applies to:
- Graduates with a Bachelor of Arts applying for a Bachelor of Science degree;
- Graduates with a Bachelor of Science applying for a Bachelor of Arts degree;
- Graduates with an Associate of Arts applying for an Associate of Science degree;
- Graduates with an Associate of Science applying for an Associate of Arts degree;
All current major and general education requirements of the second degree must be met before the conferral of the second degree.
Students will receive a second diploma recognizing the new degree. Financial aid recipients should refer to the Maximum Timeframe section of the “Satisfactory Academic Progress to Receive Financial Aid” section for policies on continued eligibility.
Dual Minor
Two minors are allowed with no courses overlapping across minor requirements in either direction. Students may use only one course from the major to fulfill minor requirements. Students should consult with their academic advisor regarding appropriate major and minor combinations.
Change of Program
A student thinking about making a change to their degree program (e.g. choosing a different major, adding or dropping a minor, etc.) must meet with their Academic Advisor. Prior to that meeting the student should go into WebROCK and run a “what if” analysis for their degree using the degree audit system to see immediately the potential changes to requirements. The Academic Advisor will discuss ramifications, such as a potential loss of transfer credit or incurring additional degree requirements. Students seeking a change of program must meet the program eligibility requirements. If the student wants to proceed with the Change of Program the Academic Advisor will complete and submit the request on the student’s behalf.
Individualized Studies - Customized
The Individualized Studies degree program provides an option for students to pursue interdisciplinary or specialized study in the following focus areas: Behavioral and Social Sciences; Business and Finance; Health and Human Services; Management; Humanities; Media and Communication; and Public Safety. Students interested in the Individualized Studies degree program are strongly encouraged to meet with an Academic Advisor to discuss whether a customized option or one of the College’s standard programs would better align with their goals. Students enrolling in this major will be required to enroll in CRIT 602 Advanced Critical Analysis and Strategic Thinking (4 s.h.) to research their chosen field and develop an Individualized Studies proposal for approval by Academic Affairs.