International Applicants

International students have slightly different application procedures. Some elements change, and additional information is required from the applicant.

If you have questions about admission requirements or deadlines, please view their corresponding pages and watch for any notes that address international applicants.

English Proficiency Test

Generally, all applicants are required to demonstrate an acceptable level of English language proficiency to satisfy the university's requirements for graduate admission unless an applicable exemption or waiver applies.

Only applicants who are citizens of the following countries (or those applicants who have received their bachelor's degree or higher from said countries within the previous 24 months of the intended start date of their respective graduate program) are 'exempt' from this requirement.

Please refer to our English proficiency page to review approved English proficiency testing agencies and required minimum scores.

Evaluating International Work

For all post-secondary work and/or degrees awarded outside of the United States, you must initiate and request to have an official completed credential evaluation report through the International Evaluation Research Foundation (IERF) or TEC (formally SpanTran) sent directly to BYU Graduate Studies. The reports include a U.S. degree equivalency (if applicable), coursework evaluation, and official grade point average (GPA). The reports are reviewed before the applicant being officially admitted to the university.

BYU reserves the right to revoke any previous recommendation for admission to any applicant whose credential evaluation report is incomplete or unsatisfactory.

For more in-depth information about foreign credential evaluations, please refer to our Transcripts page.

International Transfer Students from a US Institution

International students transferring from another US institution must request that their SEVIS record be transferred from their current institution to BYU.

The designated school official (DSO) at their current school is required to verify that the applicant is eligible for transfer to BYU upon admission. Failure to initiate the transfer/release will prevent the applicant from being able to receive their new Form I-20 to begin their graduate program here at BYU.

Please contact ISSS for further instructions about transferring your SEVIS record to BYU at iss@byu.edu.