TAMS Admissions Overview
TAMS admissions, step by step.
Texas residency, grade level and math coursework decide who can apply, so start there. Then see how a file becomes complete.
Checked against TAMS's published admissions pages on November 5, 2026.
Who can apply
Who can apply.
Confirm every rule before planning anything else.
- Texas residency
- Applicants must have been Texas residents (based on a parent or court-appointed legal guardian) for 12 consecutive months at the time of application. UNT's Office of Undergraduate Admissions, not TAMS, decides residency.
- Grade level
- Applicants are enrolled in an accredited or state-approved high school program in grade 9, 10 or 11.
- Math coursework
- Applicants must have completed Algebra I and be enrolled in or have completed Geometry and Algebra II at the time of application.
- The two-year commitment
- Students admitted as 11th graders must complete two years in the TAMS program at UNT to receive verification of high school graduation, with no exceptions.
- 01
Ask your school counselor this fall whether your student will have finished Algebra I and be in Geometry and Algebra II by the time of application.
- 02
If residency is unclear, ask UNT's undergraduate admissions office, since TAMS says that office makes the call.
The application
What the application includes.
- How to apply
- Families create an ApplyTexas account and apply to UNT with TAMS as the first choice major or program. There is no fee to TAMS or UNT to submit the ApplyTexas application, and it may take more than two weeks for applications to reach TAMS.
- When a file is complete
- A file is complete when residency is approved, the ApplyTexas application is finished and every supporting document on the checklist is in. Only complete files are reviewed.
- What TAMS looks for
- TAMS expects high grades in all academic subjects, above average standardized test scores (especially in science and math), and extensive community service or STEM-related involvement outside school. It says most admitted students have grades averaging 95 and above, and that a few Bs can matter.
- How TAMS reviews
- TAMS reviews complete applications continuously until all spots are filled, which it says is generally in April.
- Seats
- TAMS says 400 to 500 students apply each year, it interviews about 300 to 350 of them, and it aims to admit 185 to 200 students.
- Decisions
- TAMS tells applicants their status about three weeks after the interview stage, either an offer of admission or a place on the waitlist. Waitlisted applicants remain viable candidates and TAMS keeps the waitlist through June. TAMS has not published decision dates.