Welcome to the APUS Help Center

Does the University Have Open or Competitive Admission?


Generally, the university has open enrollment. While you won't need to submit SAT scores or be judged by your prior GPA, you will be required to meet all admission requirements as determined by your degree level (undergraduate or graduate) and program of study.

  • You must have a high school diploma or equivalent (i.e. GED) to apply to the university and may be asked to submit a copy for verification. 
  • You must be at least 14 years of age to attend APUS.
  • You will be asked to submit a legible color copy of your valid government-issued photo ID before registering for courses. Military undergraduate students will submit a government issued JST or CCAF transcript
  • If you have previous college experience, you will be asked to submit your transcripts from schools where you earned academic credit.
  • If you are still in high school and hold junior or senior standing with a GPA of 3.0 or better, you may be admitted as an undergraduate non-degree seeking student and register in 100 & 200 level courses.
  • All students under the age of 17 are required to submit an Enrollment Waiver Form signed by a parent or legal guardian.
  • Students with non-standard high school diplomas such as an IEP, technical or vocational high school diploma are not eligible to be degree-seeking unless they have completed 12 semester hours at APU or at another recognized accredited institution.
  • Per federal guidelines, students with an IEP, technical or vocational high school diploma are not eligible to use federal student aid, despite being admitted to a degree or certificate program, unless they were already approved for and have used federal student aid prior to 2012.
  • All graduate programs require you to have earned a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an institution whose accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
  • You will be asked to submit a legible color copy of your valid government-issued photo ID before registering for courses.
  • If you have previous graduate level college experience, you will be asked to submit your transcripts from schools where you earned academic credit.

The majority of students enrolling at our university are accepted into their academic program of choice at the time of application. However, some programs have additional admission requirements. Please review the detailed program descriptions on our website or the undergraduate or graduate catalogs for the program you have chosen to be sure you are qualified to apply for those programs.  Contact us if you have questions about your eligibility if you have any questions.

If you have a non-U.S. transcript and/or are not a U.S. citizen, we recommend you read our articles on English proficiency and international student transcripts requirements.

We offer student support 7 days a week. Read Contacting Student Support and University Staff for phone numbers and hours of operation.

Please visit our admissions information section on the university's website for more details on all admission requirements and to apply.