Application Checklist for International Applicants

Submit the online portion of your application

Begin Your Application

Your online application will include your:

• Current Resume — You will submit a resume detailing your employment and/or educational experience.
• Personal Statement, Statement of Purpose and/or essays — Personal statement(s) vary depending on the program you are applying to. Please check the prompt in your application.
• Letters of Recommendation — Your letters should be from professors familiar with your scholarly work, or from professional supervisors who have had experience in a graduate program and who can provide information about your potential for success as a graduate student. The number of letters required varies depending on the program you are applying to. Please refer to your program’s website for specific information on letters of recommendation.
• Application Fee — There is an application fee required for all programs. The application fee must be paid in order to submit your online application.

Official scores from standardized exams, such as the GRE or GMAT, may be required by some programs, while other programs may have no requirement. Please refer to your program's website for information regarding which, if any, standardized tests your program of interest may require or recommend applicants to take.

• The university's school code for the GRE is 4849.
• The university's school code for the GMAT is 29B-Q2-68.

If you earned a degree from an institution outside the United States, you are required to submit an official international transcript evaluation (also called a foreign credential evaluation) as part of your application. Please note that the evaluation must be a course-by-course evaluation. You must order your official course-by-course evaluation from one of the following evaluation services:

World Education Services, Inc. (WES)
Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE)
The Evaluation Company TEC (formerly SpanTran)*
International Education Research Foundation, Inc. (IERF)
Foreign Academic Credential Service (FACS)

Master's applicants are only required to submit an official course-by-course evaluation from the university where you earned your undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree. If you are a doctoral applicant, you are required to submit an official course-by-course evaluation showing both your bachelor's and master's degrees (assuming both were completed at institutions outside the United States).

Some programs require additional transcripts in order to prove completion of prerequisite courses. If the program you are applying to requires proof of prerequisite coursework, and you have completed that coursework at a foreign institution (and it is not included in your bachelor's coursework), you will also be required to submit an official course-by-course evaluation for that prerequisite coursework.

*The ECE and TEC links lead to a custom application with discounted rate for USD applicants.

International graduate applicants must demonstrate their ability to comprehend academic English, including written academic text; rapid, idiomatic English used in lectures and group discussions; and the ability to express themselves clearly in spoken English.

Acceptable English Proficiency Exams

To meet the university's English proficiency requirement, applicants must submit one of the following:

An official score report from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) iBT exam:

• the traditional computer-based test at a test center
• the TOEFL iBT Home Edition
• the TOEFL iBT Paper Edition (available in select countries only)

OR

An official score report from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic exam:

• the traditional computer-based or paper test at a test center
• the IELTS Online

OR

An official score report from the Duolingo English Test:

• the traditional online test

Note: The University of San Diego does not accept scores from the TOEFL Essentials or the IELTS Indicator exams for graduate admission.

Score Requirements

TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, and Duolingo test scores must be no more than two years old from the time the applicant submits their online application. Applicants should note the minimum required score as listed below:

• minimum total score of 4.5 on the TOEFL iBT, or
• minimum band score of 7.0 on the IELTS Academic
• minimum total score of 120 on Duolingo English Test

Note: For TOEFL exams taken before January 21, 2026 the minimum total score required is 83. The University of San Diego does not accept MyBest TOEFL scores for graduate admission. Applicants must demonstrate having met the minimum required score for their program of study on a single test date.

Waiving Out of the English Language Exam Requirement

The English Language Exam requirement may only be waived if you are currently enrolled in or have earned a 4-year bachelor's degree or 2-year master's degree, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, from an institution where English is the official language of instruction. Waiver requests based on living or working in an English-language context, or based on educational pursuits that resulted in less than the conferral of a 4-year bachelor's or 2-year master's degree, will not be accepted.

Waivers are not automatically applied; all waivers must be requested. Waivers are granted on a one-by-one basis for a specific program and term. Obtaining a waiver is not guaranteed under any circumstances.

To request a waiver of the English Language Exam requirement:

1. Submit the Online Application (see Step 1 above); your waiver request will not be considered until we receive your Online Application.
2. Submit your official transcript or official course-by-course international transcript evaluation showing proof of your bachelor's and/or master's degree having been earned at an institution where English is the language of instruction. Please be aware that if you attended a foreign institution, that institution must clearly state on their website that English is the language of instruction. If no such statement is posted, you will need to obtain an official verification letter from that institution confirming English as the language of instruction, and submit it as part of your application for admission.
3. Once you have submitted both your Online Application and your official transcript(s)/evidence of degree earned at an institution where English is the language of instruction, please email the program you are applying to in order to request the waiver. Your waiver request must be supported by the program you are applying to before it can be reviewed.