Admissions information for international students

The Graduate School assumes that an applicant has read and has understood the application instructions when an application is submitted.

General Admissions Information
English Language Proficiency
Master's Programs
Doctoral and Specialist Programs 

 

General Information for International Applicants

Applicants with strong academic backgrounds who possess four-year bachelor's degrees from accredited U.S. institutions or equivalent from a recognized foreign institution may apply for admission. 

It is strongly recommended that the application be completed three months prior to the term in which the applicant wishes to matriculate.

In general, the following guidelines indicate the level of preparation expected of all applicants for admission to UND:

• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal: 1st Class Bachelor's degree in engineering or medicine with a minimum of four years of study; master's degree in all other fields

• Other Asian countries: Bachelor's degree requiring a minimum of four years of study

• British or British-patterned education: Bachelor's degree with honours with a minimum of four years of study

• French or French-patterned education: Diplome with a minimum of four years of post-baccalaureate study

• Other European, Latin American, Middle Eastern countries or Canada: University degree requiring a minimum of four years of study

Three-year Bologna degrees from countries within the European Union will be considered on an individual basis. Three-year degrees from other countries may also be considered. Applicants may be requested to provide a World Education Services transcript evaluation in addition to official transcripts from their university.



International students are required to submit a certificate of finances to the Office of International Programs after an offer of admission has been made (Canadian applicants should use this form). Approximately $32, 800 annually is required for educational and living expenses. 

Applicants admitted to a graduate program will be issued an I-20 Form after all required documentation has been submitted.

You may be accepted into a doctoral program at the University of North Dakota only if you have received your master's degree from an accredited U.S. college or university (or equivalent in Canada). Exceptions to this rule apply to departmental programs which offer direct admission into a Doctoral program, such as Anatomy, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Counseling Psychology, PPT, and Physics.

English Language Proficiency

We require that all applicants prove English-language proficiency, regardless of citizenship or residency. This requirement is concerned with academic-level English proficiency.

To demonstrate that you possess this advanced proficiency in English, you must have any one of the following:

• a Bachelor's degree or higher from a recognized institution in the United States, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Jamaica, Australia, New Zealand or English-speaking Canada,
• an overall band score of 6.5 on the Academic Module IELTS ,
• a satisfactory score on the TOEFL , which depends upon the type of TOEFL taken:
  • for the paper-based TOEFL, you must score at least 550,
  • for the internet-based TOEFL, you must score at least 76, with at least the following scores on each of these subsections:

• Speaking 21/30*
• Listening 19/30
• Reading 19/30
• Writing 17/30

• or successfully complete the English Language Service (ELS) Language Center's Intensive Level 112.

Because we want all our students to excel from the very first day of their studies, all applicants (degree-seeking, certificate-seeking and non-degree seeking) must meet these requirements. We will not waive this requirement for any reason.

(*note: to be considered for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, a Speaking subtest score of 26/30 is required on the TOEFL)

Master's Programs

1. A four-year bachelor's degree (equivalent of 125 semester credits) from a recognized college or university. For U.S. degrees, the institution must be accredited by one of the following six regional accrediting associations: MSA; NASC; NCA; NEASC-CIHE; SACS-CC; or WASC-Sr. Applicants with a three-year bachelor's degree must complete the equivalent of one year of post-baccalaureate work. 


2. A minimum of 20 semester credits of appropriate undergraduate work in the chosen field.


3. A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least *2.75 for all undergraduate work or 3.00 for the junior and senior years of undergraduate work (based on A=4.00). For applicants having the equivalent of one or more years of baccalaureate work reported on a non-graded system, submission of (a) an evaluation of the work and (b) Graduate Record Examination scores on the General Test and the Subject Test, if offered in the discipline.


4. Satisfy The Graduate School's English Language Proficiency requirements as stated in the academic catalog.

5. Completion of all departmental admission requirements (please check with the department for specifics).


* Exception -- Master of Engineering Program requires an overall GPA of 2.50

 

Doctoral or Specialist Programs

1. All general admission requirements listed above. 


2. A master's degree from an accredited institution normally in the field of proposed specialist or doctoral study. The Graduate School does not recognize master's degrees from institutions outside of the United States or Canada.

NOTE: With the approval of the University Graduate Committee, some departments permit admission to the doctoral program with a bachelor's degree. Please check with the department for specific requirements which may be in addition to the minimum general requirements listed above. 


3. A grade point average of 3.00 or above in all graduate level work.


4. Completion of all departmental requirements.

 

Students who do not meet all of the above requirements for admission may be considered for Provisional or Qualified Admission.