International Student Admission Requirements

An education for a global society.

Our university welcomes international applicants from many countries around the world. You are not required to enter the U.S. to attend our online university, therefore we do not issue I-20 or DS-2019 forms for the F-1 or J-1 student visas*.

Please read all the information on this page and keep in mind that all documents submitted to the university, including transcripts, must be in English. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

Admission Requirements

Depending on your country of citizenship, you may be required to provide documentation of English proficiency. Learn more about our English proficiency requirements.
Because we are an online university, you will need to have regular access to a computer and a stable Internet connection in order to complete the online coursework.
For degree programs, if you have earned college credits at a CHEA accredited institution or from a member university of Universities Canada (formerly the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada), you will be required to submit our transfer credit evaluation (TCE) application when you apply.
If you have non-US transcripts, and you need to submit them for admission or for transfer credit, you will need to have them evaluated for U.S. equivalency by a university-approved agency. You can choose to submit a TCE to earn possible transfer credit if you have your transcripts evaluated. Learn more about equivalency evaluations.
If you have a non-US high school credential, you will be asked to submit an international evaluation of your credential showing it is equivalent of a U.S. high school diploma. Military and Veteran’s are exempt from this requirement.
If you have no previously earned college-level credits, you will not be required to submit a TCE application.
You must be a US citizen to enroll in the Bachelor's of Interdisciplinary Studies, the Associate of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Individual Courses.

*Doctoral programs require in-person attendance at 3-5 day residencies in the United States. Applicants accepted to these programs must be able to attend residencies in-person and gain lawful entry to the United States for the purpose of doing so.

Undergraduate Requirements

This category includes associate and bachelor’s degrees, undergraduate certificates, and undergraduate learning tracks.

During the admission’s process you will be asked to provide an official evaluation showing your high school diploma is the equivalent of a U.S. high school diploma.
If you have no previously earned college-level credits, you will not be required to submit a TCE application.
Some undergraduate level programs have additional academic admission requirements.

View our undergraduate admissions page for more details.

Graduate Requirements

This category includes master’s degrees, graduate certificates, and graduate learning tracks.

All graduate-level applicants must submit proof of completion of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
You have the option of seeking transfer credits for any graduate-level academic credits you earned at a previous institution. This is not required, but if you choose to seek transfer credits, you must submit our transfer credit evaluation (TCE) application.
Some graduate level programs, including doctoral, have additional academic admission requirements.

View our graduate admissions page for more details.

Undergraduate Admissions with No Previous College

You must have earned a standard high school diploma or its international equivalent in order to enroll in an undergraduate program at APUS. If you are enrolling in an undergraduate level program and have a high school credential from a non-U.S. high school, you will need to have these evaluated by an accepted educational agency to determine their U.S. equivalency. You must request the educational agency interpreting your high school credential send an official degree-only report directly to us. The report must verify that your high school credential is at least the equivalent of a U.S. high school.

Members of the United States Armed Forces and veterans are exempt from this policy.

Undergraduate Admissions with Previous College Credit

If you have previously completed college level courses, and are enrolling in an Associate or Bachelor degree, you are required to submit a Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE) Application as part of your admission process, unless the only previous college coursework you completed was at a non-U.S. university. If you have not earned the equivalent of a Bachelor degree yet, and you wish to have your previous college credit reviewed for potential transfer credit, you must request the educational agency interpreting your non-U.S. college-level transcript to send a course-by-course evaluation report directly to the university. If you do not wish to have your non-U.S. transcript evaluated for by an outside agency, you will only need to have an official transcript of your studies sent to us from your previous school for your student admission file.

Exception for Canadian Institutions

If you have applied for a transfer credit evaluation and are requesting transfer credit for coursework taken at a Canadian Institution, you are not required to get an International course-by-course evaluation of the Canadian transcript if it meets the following criteria, although you will still need to have an official transcript sent to us:

Transcript is in English.
Transcript is from a school that is a member of the Association of Canadian Colleges and Universities, OR if accreditation is shown on the transcript from the Ministry of Education of the province, OR if the school has been given degree-granting rights by an act of the Canadian legislature OR if listed as a school already recognized in CHEA database.

Graduate Admissions

If you are enrolling at APUS in a master’s or graduate certificate program and your bachelor’s or higher degree is from a non-U.S. institution, you must request the educational agency interpreting your non-U.S. college-level transcript to send an official degree-only verification report directly to us. The report must verify that you earned the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from an institutional accredited institution in the United States.

If you are enrolling at APUS in a doctoral program and your master’s or higher degree is from a non-U.S. institution, you must request the educational agency interpreting your non-U.S. college-level transcript to send an official degree-only verification report directly to us. The report must verify that you earned the equivalent of a master's degree from an institutional accredited institution in the United States. For your unofficial transcript of a bachelor’s degree, a degree verification is not required.

If you have also completed graduate-level course work at a non-U.S. institution and wish to have this credit reviewed for potential transfer credit, you will also need to submit a Transfer Credit Application at APUS and have the educational agency complete a course-by-course evaluation with the report sent directly to us. This is not required and is only if you want to try to transfer credit to APUS.

Exceptions

Canadian Institutions

You do not need to have your transcript evaluated by an educational agency for degree only verification for admission into one of our graduate programs if your degree was from a Canadian institution that meets one of these conditions:

If the school is a member of the Association of Canadian Colleges and Universities.
If accreditation is shown on the transcript from the Ministry of Education of the province.
If the school has been given degree-granting rights by an act of the Canadian legislature.

Swedish Defense College

Our university accepts official documentation for students completing programs from the Swedish Defense College as the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree without requiring an educational agency evaluation.

If you have more questions about international document requirements, please e-mail us at [email protected].

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