International Frequently Asked Questions

Application fee waivers are reserved for U.S. Military Veterans and McNair Scholars. A review process may be available for domestic applicants with financial burdens. Please email gradstudies@sfsu.edu to request an application fee waiver. International/F-1 applicants are not eligible for an application fee waiver.

Fall Application filing period begins: October 1^st

Spring Application filing period begins: August 1^st

The first step in preparing a successful application to graduate school is to research your intended graduate program.

Graduate Studies strongly recommends you research admission criteria, the academic department or graduate program mission, faculty profiles including research interests, area of specialization and scholarship, and degree requirements prior to beginning your application. Conducting this research and understanding program deadlines right below, before you prepare application materials, will ensure that you are able to present yourself as an exceptional candidate for the program and faculty.

Once you are ready to apply, visit this page for tips to submit your application.

All international applicants, resident aliens and U.S. citizens whose secondary education and undergraduate degrees were taught in any language other than English must submit an accepted English test score that meets the Division of Graduate Studies minimum requirements.

You do not have to submit an English test score if you earned a Bachelor's or Master’s degree from any of the following countries: Antigua. Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Canada, Commonwealth Caribbean, Gambia, Ghana, Grand Cayman Islands, Grenada, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, New Zealand, Northern Marianas, Pacific Trust Territories, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, United Kingdom, USA, Virgin Islands, Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe

TOEFL score requirement:

• Internet based test: 80
• Paper based test: 550

IELTS score requirement:

• Overall band of 6.5

PTE Academic Score Requirement:

• Overall score of 59

DUOLINGO Score Requirement:

• Overall score of 120

*Please note that some departments may require higher TOEFL scores and some departments do not accept the IELTS exam*

To register and locate a testing center for the TOEFL, IELTS or PTE exam, you need to go refer to the following websites:

TOEFL: www.toefl.org
IELTS: www.ielts.org
PTE Academic: http://www.pearsonpte.com
DUOLINGO: https://englishtest.duolingo.com/home

The English test requirement can be waived if you earned a Bachelor's or Master’s degree from any of the following countries: Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Canada, Gambia, Ghana, Grand Cayman Islands, Grenada, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, New Zealand, Northern Marianas, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Virgin Islands, Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

To be considered, a petition must have support from your prospective department/major and must demonstrate English language proficiency. Supporting documentation of your English language ability must be submitted with the petition. Not all petitions are approved.

No. The Division of Graduate Studies does not offer conditional admission for students who do not meet the minimum English language proficiency requirement. If you do not meet the English language proficiency requirement, we encourage you to enroll in English language courses at the SF State American Language Institute prior to submission of a graduate admission application.

We do not consider "original" copies to be official copies. Please send photocopies of your original academic documents to your former university and ask that they stamp the documents with a university seal attesting to its authenticity. Ask that they seal the document in a university envelope and stamp the envelope. These attested documents must arrive in our office in a sealed (unopened) envelope.

After students have received confirmation that their graduate degree has been awarded, students may request a final transcript showing the degree conferred from the Registrar's Office (415) 338-2079 or online with the Official Transcript Request form.

You can also request an enrollment verification here.

The Division of Graduate Studies can evaluate your graduate admission application using photocopies (unofficial) of your original transcripts, mark sheets and degree certificate, but you will be required to submit official transcripts by the fourth week of your first semester or you will not be allowed to register for future terms. To be considered official, your academic documents must be university issued or universities attested and arrive in our office in a signed and sealed envelope.

Refer to the University admission Criteria by Country page.

SF State will not return any documents submitted by a student. For this reason, do not submit your only copy of original academic documents. If you have only one copy of your academic documents please follow the steps listed in question eight.

You must submit official transcripts, degree certificates, TOEFL, IELTS, DUOLINGO or PTE Academic score report by the fourth week of your first semester or you will not be allowed to register for future terms.

For information on tuition and fee payment schedules please visit the Fiscal Affairs website.

No. Only students who intend to study at SF State with an F1 visa need to submit evidence of financial resources and our SEVIS information form found in the Financial Affidavit.

Show your current F-1 student adviser a copy of your formal SF State admission letter and ask them to transfer your SEVIS record to SF State. Once your SEVIS record has been transferred to SF State, advisers in the Office of International Programs will prepare a transfer I-20 for you.

San Francisco State University SEVIS School Code is SFR214F00630000

Address: 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132

Phone: (415) 338-2234

Admission deferment may be possible. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator for your program to see if they will consider a request to defer your offer of admission.

Some departments may offer scholarships/fellowships. Please check with your prospective department to find out about these opportunities. Visit our funding your education page and the OIP resources to identify possible scholarship opportunities.

Yes. You can make a virtual appointment at:

https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/DivisionofGraduateStudies@mailsfsu.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/