Admission of Graduate International Students

Transcripts

International applicants should provide the diploma/degree certificate, which contains the original seal or signature of the school’s registrar/officer. To ensure timely processing, these items should be submitted at the time of application. All international applicants must possess the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s Degree.

Transcript Evaluation

The University requires a GPA evaluation of all foreign transcripts. The Registrar’s office will provide a GPA evaluation of foreign credentials for students who have applied to the University of St. Thomas. These evaluations will be an internal document, permanently retained in the student’s record, for the sole purpose of admissions at UST. The results of the evaluation will be available to review upon request.  If there is a disagreement about the conclusion of the evaluation, the student will be asked to have an outside evaluation performed at their own cost, by a NACES-approved evaluation company.  Alternatively, the student may choose to decline UST’s internal foreign credential evaluation and provide an academic credentials evaluation conducted by a NACES-approved evaluation company at his or her own expense.

If a program requires or a student wishes to transfer specific course credit(s), a course-by-course evaluation would need to be performed by a NACES-approved evaluation company.

Should an applicant choose an external evaluation company, the university prefers one of the following:

  • World Education Services/212-966-6311/www.wes.org
  • Global Credential Evaluator’s/979-690-8912/www.gcevaluators.com
  • Span Tran Educational Services, Inc/713-789-6022/www.spantran-edu.com
  • SDR Education Consultants/713-460-3525/www.usteducation.sdr.credentialconnection.com
  • Any other National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) evaluation service, http://www.naces.org

English Proficiency

International applicants, except those who are from countries where English is the only official language, those that have earned a degree from a regionally accredited US institution, or those that earned a degree in a country where English is the official language of instruction, are required to submit proof of English proficiency. *The University of St. Thomas prefers the following options to verify English proficiency:

  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) www.ets.org/toefl UST institution code: 6880
  • The TOEFL is required for MED applicants seeking Texas teacher certification
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS): www.ielts.org
  • Level 112 issued by the English Language Center (ELS) in Houston, TX: www.els.edu/houston
  • Pearson PTE Academic http://pearsonpte.com/PTEAcademic/Pages/home.aspx

Please note that exceptions to the requirements above may arise if the university has an existing MOU agreement with a partnering international institution.