Admissions

Admission to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown is competitive. Pitt-Johnstown seeks applicants of good character who have demonstrated scholastic achievement and the capacity for further growth. The Pitt-Johnstown Admissions Committee carefully reviews each applicant’s secondary school record, performance on college entrance examinations (optional), personal qualifications, and other related factors.

In making admission decisions, the Admissions Committee recognizes that the college is best served by a diverse student body. The committee considers, in addition to statistical measures of academic accomplishment, evidence of leadership ability, motivation, extracurricular interests, and talents, as well as the overall potential for success at Pitt-Johnstown. Applications are reviewed on a personal basis in committee format, and all candidates for admission are notified as soon as action is taken on their applications.
 

Admission Procedures

First time students applying for admission to full-time or part-time study must submit:

• Application for admission
• Official high school transcript documenting a minimum of 15 academic units (completed or in-progress)
• ACT or SAT 1 exam scores (optional)
• Letters of recommendation (optional)
• Essay/Writing Sample (optional)
• Any additional credentials in support of application (optional)

The application and credentials submitted in its support become the property of the college and are not returned to the student. All correspondence concerning full-time or part-time admission, including the application and supporting credentials, should be addressed to:

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Admissions Welcome Center
157 Blackington Hall
450 Schoolhouse Road
Johnstown, PA 15904

Admitted students who wish to accept the offer of admission must submit a nonrefundable $100 tuition deposit. This will be applied to the first-term tuition.

Once admitted, students are eligible to continue as long as they maintain satisfactory academic standing or until a degree has been earned. Admitted students may request that their admission be deferred up to one year, provided they do not attend another educational institution in the interim. After that point, they must submit a new application.

Admission Requirements

All applicants for full-time study at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown must have completed, or be in the process of completing, at least 15 units of work in an accredited or approved secondary school. Specific requirements as to how the 15 units must be distributed have been established in the following sections for applicants seeking admission to programs in arts and sciences, upper-division programs, nursing, and engineering. Admission to one program of study at Pitt-Johnstown does not guarantee admission to other programs. To be reconsidered for admission to another program, a student must request a change of major through the Admissions Welcome Center.

Academic Unit Distribution

• Academic Programs in the Divisions of Arts & Sciences, Business & Enterprise, Education, Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences:

• Academic Programs in the Division of Engineering & Computer Science:*

• Academic Programs in the Division of Nursing:**

*Students electing to submit standardized exam scores in support of their application to Pitt-Johnstown Engineering program should meet the following minimum requirements 1100 SAT (550 Math) or ACT composite score of 22.

**Students electing to submit standardized exam scores in support of their application to Pitt-Johnstown Nursing program should meet the following minimum requirements 1130 SAT or ACT composite score of 23.

Exceptions to the requirements listed above may be determined on an individual basis by the Admissions Committee.

Admission to Upper-Division Programs

Students intending to pursue upper-division programs such as education, pharmacy, health and rehabilitation sciences, library and information science, and social work are admitted initially to arts and sciences and are expected to meet the same admission requirements as other arts and sciences students. The appropriate preparatory curricula will be selected with the assistance of academic advisors.

Admission of Transfer Students

Students who have earned credits at another institution before applying to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown must submit:

• Application for admission
• Official transcript(s) from all colleges attended
• Official high school transcripts

Transfer applicants must complete all other admission requirements as stated above. Students who previously attended Pitt-Johnstown and wish to re-enroll on a part-time or full-time basis should contact the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs for reinstatement.  Students who wish to relocate to Pitt-Johnstown from another campus of the University of Pittsburgh must request relocation from the academic dean of the Pitt campus they are currently attending (Please review Relocation section in Academic Procedures & Policies).

Advanced Placement

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown accepts for consideration, exemption, or advanced placement the results of Advanced Placement Tests administered by the College Entrance Examination Board.

BIOLOGY (BY)

CHEMISTRY (CH)

CLASSICS (see Foreign Language)

COMPUTER SCIENCE (CSA or CSAB)

ECONOMICS MICRO (EMI)

ECONOMICS MACRO (EMA)

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (ENVS)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION (ENGC)

ENGLISH LITERATURE & COMPOSITION (ELC)

ART (HISTORY) (ARH)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

GEOGRAPHY

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

HISTORY

MATHEMATICS (MAB)

MATHEMATICS (MBC)

MUSIC

PHYSICS (PY1 & PY2)

PHYSICS C - Mechanics (Part 1) (PHCM)

PHYSICS C - Mechanics & ELECTRICITY - magt parts 1 & 2) (PHCE/PHCM)

PSYCHOLOGY (PY)

STATISTICS (STAT)

NE= No Equivalent 

Campus Visit

Interviews are not required; however, applicants or prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the campus. The purpose of the campus visit is to permit candidates to gain firsthand knowledge of the college’s programs, facilities, and admission policies. A personal visit allows candidates, parents, and campus personnel the opportunity to exchange information in a more personal setting.  Campus visits can be made by calling 1-855-LIKE-UPJ or visiting our website at upj.pitt.edu/admissions.

Admissions Scholarship Programs

The Admissions Welcome Center offers several types of scholarships to outstanding incoming freshman.  Applications for admission are reviewed by the Scholarship Committee to identify possible scholarship candidates. Each scholarship recipient receives merit-based scholarship assistance for four years if a 3.0 grade point average is maintained.

Accelerated High School Students

The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown admits a limited number of outstanding high school students who have completed the junior year of the college preparatory curriculum of their high schools. This program permits talented students, with the agreement and support of secondary school officials, to accelerate their education by attending Pitt-Johnstown in lieu of their senior year or for a set number of classes. Individuals who wish to participate in either option of this program should contact the Admissions Welcome Center for further information.

The Early Admission Program is designed for students entering their senior year in high school who have fulfilled all of their high school requirements and wish to attend Pitt- Johnstown full time in lieu of their senior year. High school students interested in early admission must fill out an application and have an interview with the Admissions Welcome Center. The applicant’s high school must provide written documentation that supports the application and the student’s desire for early admission.

The Mountain Cat Dual Enrollment Experience is designed for students who are still attending high school, but wish to take courses at Pitt-Johnstown. The student must fill out a special application and obtain a letter of recommendation from secondary school officials.

Admission to LearningPLUS Program

For mature members of our community, we present the LearningPLUS Program. Participants are able to audit college classes at no charge (no grades are earned and no formal records are kept) .

Acceptance into the LearningPLUS Program is contingent upon course availability and instructor approval. In order to participate in the LearningPLUS Program, applicants must be at least 55 years of age or older (appropriate identification is required)

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

The basic purpose of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is to provide those individuals who have acquired college-level knowledge through life and work experiences with a way to assess their achievements and then use these test results in planning and seeking college credit or advanced placement.

There are general examinations in five areas: College Composition, College Mathematics, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. A maximum of 6 credits can be earned in each area, and a maximum of 30 credits may be awarded through CLEP.

Persons who have earned more than 15 college credits are ineligible for CLEP at Pitt-Johnstown. Those who have earned one to 15 credits are eligible (as are those who are just beginning to seek college credits), and they should consult the Registrar’s Office regarding the areas in which CLEP scores would apply to their program. Certain deductions may be necessary in order to ensure that there is no duplication of credit. Credit granted through this program might not transfer to all schools within the University, but it will apply to the degrees earned in Arts and Sciences.

Registration Status/Reinstatement

Students who have not registered for at least one credit in a 12-month period must request reinstatement with the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs in order to register for classes again.

Students who do not attend for two or more consecutive terms, or who resign during any term, must be reinstated before resuming a program provided they did not attend another educational institution in the interim. To be reinstated a student must contact the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Relocation (within the University)

Pitt-Johnstown students who wish to attend another Pitt campus must complete the relocation request forms and submit the forms to the Registrar’s Office.  Forms are available online at UPJ-Registrar or in the Registrar’s Office.  Students must meet the requirements set by the campus they wish to attend.

Students who wish to relocate to Pitt-Johnstown from another campus of the University of Pittsburgh must request relocation from the academic dean of the Pitt campus they are currently attending.

Any questions regarding relocating to another Pitt campus should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.

Readmission of student service members to the University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh will promptly readmit a service member with the same academic status they had when last attending or accepted for admission. This requirement applies to any student who cannot attend school due to military service. 

Definitions

Military service (or service in the uniformed services)-Voluntary or involuntary service in the armed forces, including service by a member of the National Guard or Reserve on active duty, active duty for training, or full-time National Guard duty under federal authority, for a period of more than 30 consecutive days under a call or order to active duty of more than 30 consecutive days. This does not include National Guard service under state authority.

Service member-someone who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform, service in the uniformed services.

Appropriate officer-A warrant, commissioned, or noncommissioned officer authorized to give such notice by the military service concerned.

Armed Forces-the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard.

Active duty-full-time duty in the active military service of the United States. Active duty includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, and attendance, while in the active military service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary of the military department concerned. Active duty does not include full-time National Guard duty.

Notice and Procedure

The student must notify the school of their military service and intention to return to school as follows:

• Notification of military service. The student (or an appropriate officer of the armed forces or official of the Department of Defense) must give oral or written notice of such service to the University of Pittsburgh Office of Veterans Services (“OVS”) as far in advance as is reasonable under the circumstances. This notice does not have to indicate whether the student intends to return to the school and may not be subject to any rule of timeliness. (Timeliness must be determined by the facts in each case.) Alternatively, at the time of readmission, the student may submit an attestation of military service that necessitated their absence from school. No notice is required if precluded by military necessity, such as service in operations that are classified or would be compromised by such notice.

• Notification of intent to return to school. The student must also give oral or written notice of their intent to return to their program of study to OVS within three years after the completion of the period of service. A student who is hospitalized or convalescing due to an illness or injury incurred or aggravated during the performance of service must notify OVS within two years after the end of the period needed for recovery from the illness or injury. A student who fails to apply for readmission within these periods does not automatically forfeit eligibility for readmission but is subject to the applicable University of Pittsburgh policies or practices generally governing student leaves of absence, readmission, and/or reinstatement.

OVS suggests that students providing Notification of military service or Notification of intent to return to school do so sending an email to the Director of OVS at the following address veterans@pitt.edu, or orally by calling 412-383-5580, in order to ensure accuracy and expeditious processing, but such notice is not required to follow any particular format. When a student is requesting readmission, they will be required to provide any supporting documentation requested by the University, in accordance with 34 C.F.R. § 668.18(g).

The University of Pittsburgh will promptly readmit the student into the next class or classes in the program beginning after they provide notice of intent to reenroll, unless they request a later date or unusual circumstances require the University of Pittsburgh to admit them at a later date.

The University of Pittsburgh will admit the student with the same academic status, which means:

• to the same program to which the student was last admitted or, if that exact program is no longer offered, the program that is most similar to that program, unless they choose a different program;
• at the same enrollment status, unless the student wants to enroll at a different enrollment status;
• with the same number of credit hours previously completed, unless the student is readmitted to a different program to which the completed credit hours are not transferable; and
• with the same academic standing (e.g., with the same satisfactory academic progress status) the student previously had.

If the student is readmitted to the same program, for the first academic year in which they return, the University of Pittsburgh will assess the tuition and fee charges that they were or would have been assessed for the academic year during which they left the school. However, if their veteran’s education benefits or other service member education benefits will pay the higher tuition and fee charges that other students in the program are paying for the year, the University of Pittsburgh may assess those charges to the student as well.

If the student is admitted to a different program, and for subsequent academic years for a student admitted to the same program, the University of Pittsburgh will assess no more than the tuition and fee charges that other students in the program are assessed for that academic year.

The cumulative length of the absence and of all previous absences from the University of Pittsburgh for military service may not exceed five years. Only the time the student spends actually performing service is counted.

Helping students to be readmitted and when it might not occur

If the University of Pittsburgh determines that the student is not prepared to resume the program with the same academic status at the point where they left off or will not be able to complete the program, the University of Pittsburgh will make reasonable efforts at no extra cost to the student to help them become prepared or to enable them to complete the program. This may include providing refresher courses and/or other remedial measures as the University deems appropriate under the circumstances.

The University of Pittsburgh is not required to readmit the student if it determines:

• that there are no reasonable efforts it can take to prepare the student to resume the program at the point where they left off or to enable them to complete the program; or
• that after it makes reasonable efforts (those that do not place an undue hardship on the institution), the student is not prepared to resume or complete the program.

“Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense considering the overall financial resources of the school and the impact of such action on its operation.

The University of Pittsburgh has the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the student is not prepared to resume the program with the same academic status at the point where they left off or that they will not be able to complete the program.