International Applicants

International applicants must meet additional admissions requirements in the following areas:

• Degree Requirements
• English Proficiency
• Financial Guarantee and Visa Requirements
• Health Insurance

Degree Requirements

Please review our International Graduate Admissions Requirements summary to discover the minimum degree required of students from each country.

Credentials evaluation reports from World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) can be considered for admissions review purposes. They must contain all coursework, units, accreditation and degree equivalency, grades, and grade point average (GPA).

English Proficiency

Applicants Affected by Public Health Quarantines

For international graduate student applicants affected by testing closures due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), please consider the University of Arizona CEPT full academic exam, which can be administered from a distance.

General English Proficiency Information

Proof of English proficiency is required for international applicants who hold citizenship from a country where English is not the official language.

Please check our English Requirement list to verify your need to submit an English proficiency test.

Individual departments may require higher scores than the Graduate College and all tests must be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid. The University of Arizona's institution code for sending official electronic score reports from ETS is 4832.

Acceptable English Proficiency Credentials:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - minimum score of 79 iBT (or 60 on the revised PBT with no section score lower than 15). Individual MyBest scores must also be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid.
  • Note, for Master's programs, we also accept the TOEFL Essentials test with a minimum band score of 9.5. Individual programs may set higher English proficiency requirements, please contact your Graduate Program Coordinator if you have questions. The TOEFL Essentials Test is not an accepted test of English proficiency for doctoral programs.

  The Graduate College does not accept Duolingo scores for demonstration of English Proficiency.

  Conditional Admission

  Graduate departments may recommend a student for Conditional Admission if the prospective student meets all Graduate College requirements except the minimum English proficiency requirement. See International Conditional Admission for more information.

  Exemptions

  Those exempt from submitting English proficiency scores are:

  • Applicants who hold citizenship from countries where English is the official language.
  • Applicants who have completed a bachelors or graduate degree at a regionally accredited institution in the United States, or an approved institution in an official English speaking country. Students eligible for this exemption, who are awarded a graduate teaching assistantship from their department, must complete the mandatory English Speaking Proficiency Evaluation (ESPE.) Refer to the GA Manual for more information.
  • Applicants who have not yet completed a degree, but have two years of full-time academic study and have taken 48 upper division, graded undergraduate semester units or 30 graded, graduate semester units at a regionally accredited institution in the United States, or an approved institution in an official English speaking country. Units must not be older than two years from the term of enrollment. Students eligible for this exemption, who are awarded a graduate teaching assistantship from their department, must complete the mandatory English Speaking Proficiency Evaluation (ESPE.) Refer to the GA Manual for more information.

  Special Requirements for Graduate Teaching Assistants

  In order to be hired as a Graduate Teaching Assistant or Associate, an admitted student must meet a higher level of English proficiency than the minimum required for admission. International GTAs must meet at least the following requirements in order to serve in this capacity:

  • TOEFL IBT Speaking Section – score of 24
  • TOEFL PBT - those who took the revised test after 2017 will be asked to take a UA CESL test of speaking skills.
  • TOEFL Essentials Test Speaking Section - score of 11
  • IELTS -Speaking Section 7.5
  • CEPT - Speaking Section 44
  • Completion of ESPE (per the GA Manual)

  Financial Guarantee and Visa Requirements

  After admission, International Student Services will send you instructions for requesting an I-20 or DS-2019 that you can use to apply for a student visa and enter the United States. Immigration regulations require ISS to verify that you have enough funds to cover the cost of tuition and fees, living expenses, health insurance and (if applicable) dependent expenses before issuing an I-20 or DS-2019.

  Use the New to Main Campus Calculator at Financial Guarantee Requirement to find out how much funding you need to show and the types of funding accepted. You are allowed to count departmental funding toward the Financial Guarantee Requirement. Please contact your intended department directly about their timeline for funding decisions.

  For more information about immigration, travel and check-in, visit Graduate Students on the ISS website.

  Health Insurance

  The University of Arizona requires all international students on nonimmigrant visas to carry the Student Health Insurance Plan , unless you qualify for an exemption. If you receive a graduate teaching or research assistantship, your health insurance will be covered as part of your position benefits.