Soaring Scholar Program

Meet with your Academic Advisor and appropriate Director of Graduate Studies to verify eligibility.

• Students must have at least 60 credits to apply.
  • The minimum number of program credits and prerequisite courses may vary by program.
• Minimum overall GPA of 3.0 GPA. Some programs may have a higher overall GPA requirement or program-specific GPA requirements. Be sure to confirm with the department.

Undergraduate students who transferred to the University of Louisville, should have completed a majority of their upper-division classes at our institution to be eligible for application to a Soaring Scholar program. 

Application Types

Students applying to accelerated programs within the Speed School of Engineering or the School of Public Health and Information Sciences do not need to complete a Soaring Scholar Application. Please confirm your application process with the department.

Application Requirements

When completing your Soaring Scholar Application, please be sure to include the following application requirements: 

• One Letter of Recommendation 
  • Please confirm with your program how your letters of recommendation are to be sent in with your application. 
  • If your department does not wish for you to handle your letters of recommendation directly, your recommenders can send their recommendation letters directly to our email address soaring@louisville.edu so that they can be added to your application. 
• Unofficial transcripts
• Personal Statement
• Suggested Flight Plan from your Academic Advisor (as required by program)
• Supplemental Material, i.e. research experience (as required by program)
• There is no application fee for the completion of a Soaring Scholars application. 

Minimum academic criteria are established by each participating program, so be sure to contact the Director of Graduate Studies in your department.

Deadlines for Application

Students typically apply for the Soaring Scholar program in the second semester of their junior year. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. 

• Fall: March 15th
• Spring: November 15th

Students applying for an accelerated program within the School of Public Health and Information Sciences have an application deadline of February 1st. 

Students applying for an accelerated program within the Speed School of Engineering are encouraged to apply by the end of their fifth academic term, as they follow a year-round academic schedule

Please contact your prospective program to confirm your application deadline. 

Once admitted to the Soaring Scholar program, students will be sent an official admission letter—providing clarity on policies and the overall program. They will then work with their department, academic advisor, and the Graduate School for course registration in each of their remaining undergraduate semesters. 

In order to register in Graduate-level courses as an Undergraduate student, students must complete the Permission for Enrollment to 500/600-Level Courses Form. 

Students will begin taking courses toward their master’s degree during the final 30 credits of their bachelor's degree. Students must adhere to Graduate Academic policies outlined in the Graduate Catalog for any graduate courses taken.

Soaring Scholars should apply to the Master’s program in the last semester of their senior year. 

While this is a separate application from the Soaring Scholar Application, any documents that were previously received as part of your Soaring Scholar Application will be transitioned to your Graduate Application once it has been submitted. Please confirm all required application materials with your Director of Graduate Studies. 

If you have any questions about your Graduate Application, please reach out to soaring@louisville.edu. 

Acceptance into the Soaring Scholars program does not guarantee admission into the Master’s program. You must meet all the requirements for admission at the time of application to be admitted. Learn more about the graduate admissions process.

Complete a Degree Application with the Registrar's Office once you have completed all degree requirements for your Bachelor's program. 

Upon starting in your first semester of your Graduate-level program, you will work with your department to complete the Request Transfer Credit form in order to add your accelerated coursework to your graduate record.