How to Apply to the Gies College of Business at Illinois: Direct Admission Through “Business Undeclared” With 3.5 Years of Math, and Requirements and Timeline for Chinese, Canadian High School and Transfer Students

At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), undergraduate business is taught at the Gies College of Business, which awards the Bachelor of Science (BS). Here is what you need to know for fall 2027 entry, based on Illinois’s official information, for students at high schools in China, students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver students), and transfer students.

1. How to apply to Gies

• First choice: Business Undeclared: first-year applicants apply through the university admissions office. Anyone who wants any Gies major lists “Business Undeclared” first, whether interested in general business or a specific field.
• Direct admission: first-year students are admitted directly to Gies through Business Undeclared, explore the areas of study and declare a major by the end of sophomore year. Gies says interest in a particular major is not a factor in admission.
• Second choice: if you are open to starting in another area at Illinois when Gies direct admission is not available, list a second choice. Students admitted to a second choice outside Gies may apply to transfer in at the end of their first year.
• Review: holistic, with no minimum GPA or test score. Gies looks at curriculum, rigor and grades, involvement, and explanations of lower grades or personal circumstances. High school business electives do not factor into admission; Gies prefers academic core courses such as AP over electives like business law.
• Honors and scholarships: the application also serves for merit scholarships and the initial honors review, with no extra materials; decisions come by April.
• Majors: Gies has about 3,100 undergraduates and 11 majors, including Accountancy, Finance, Marketing, Management, Information Systems, Operations Management, Strategy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Supply Chain Management, plus Accountancy + Data Science, Business + Data Science and Finance + Data Science. Double majors within Gies are common.

2. Students at high schools in China

• Application: apply on the Common App and complete the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) with grades 9–12 and each course’s maximum mark; official transcripts are not needed at application. Illinois does not say how Gaokao results are used.
• Math: all Gies majors require at least 3.5 years of math, including trigonometry or higher (most majors need 3). Applied business math and computer courses do not count.
• Other coursework: 4 years of English; 2 years each of social science, lab science and one language other than English.
• SAT/ACT optional: if you submit, report your highest ACT composite or SAT total.
• English: if you did not complete grades 10–12 in an approved English-speaking country, you must submit TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or SAT/ACT; this cannot be waived, and no first-year minimum is published.
• No agents: Illinois does not partner with agents; work directly with the admissions office.

3. Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver)

• English: approved countries include Canada (excluding Quebec), so students who completed grades 10–12 there need no English test.
• Reporting courses: choose “Other” as the grading scale in the SRAR with your ranges, and mark grade 12 courses in progress as IP.
• Math: the 3.5 years of math through trigonometry or higher also applies.

4. Timeline for fall 2027

• Applications open 1 September;
• Early Action deadline 1 November (non-binding), with materials by 7 November; Gies highly recommends applying Early Action;
• Regular deadline 5 January, with materials by 11 January;
• Early Action decisions on 29 January and regular decisions on 26 February; commit by 1 May.

5. Costs and aid

• 2026-27 international estimates (full-time, before aid): tuition and fees US$42,248 to 53,078 depending on major, food and housing US$15,858, books US$1,200 and other expenses US$2,840, for a total of US$62,146 to 72,976.
• Business tuition: Gies says each program has its own tuition structure; the exact Gies undergraduate figure is not listed on a static page, so use the Illinois Cost Calculator and select the major.
• Tuition guarantee: Illinois keeps undergraduate tuition the same for four years of continuous enrollment.
• Aid for international students: Illinois states that need-based aid is not available to international undergraduates, who must have funds for the whole period of study; ISSS offers limited scholarships and loans.

6. Transfer students

• Fall only: Gies accepts transfer applications for fall enrollment only. You choose one Gies major on the application and cannot list a Gies major as a second choice.
• GPA: Illinois lists 3.5 as the competitive minimum for all Gies majors; for Finance, admitted transfers in fall 2026 averaged 3.84.
• Prerequisites (Finance as an example; B or higher in each, with at least two completed before applying): microeconomics, macroeconomics, a calculus or pre-calculus course, statistics, composition, and an introductory computing course. Applicants with 50 or more transferable hours also need financial and managerial accounting.
• Language: complete the language requirement (third level in high school or third semester in college) before or during the application term.
• Credit and term limits: applicants with over 70 graded hours or more than four full-time semesters face special review; Gies students have at most nine full-time terms, including terms elsewhere.
• No “enroll elsewhere first”: the handbook says transfer applicants cannot enroll in another Illinois program and transfer into Gies later; second bachelor’s applications are not accepted.
• Timeline: for fall, the priority deadline is 1 February and the regular deadline 1 April.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• List “Business Undeclared” first on the Common App; Early Action by 1 November is recommended
• At least 3.5 years of math through trigonometry or higher
• Complete the SRAR accurately; TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo required, SAT/ACT optional
• Plan to cover the full cost yourself

Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver):

• No English test if you completed grades 10–12 outside Quebec
• 3.5 years of math required; list Business Undeclared first

Transfer students:

• Fall only; a GPA of 3.5 or higher is competitive
• Complete economics, calculus, statistics, composition and intro computing prerequisites with B or higher

Sources: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Gies undergraduate admissions; Gies majors and minors; Off-campus transfer to Gies; Intercollegiate transfer to Gies; First-year dates; First-year requirements; International requirements; China application help; Canada application help; Tuition and costs; Financial aid; Transfer requirements; Transfer dates; Gies transfer handbook; Finance transfer requirements. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 figures). Check Illinois for the latest details.