Applying as an International Transfer Student

One of the following will satisfy this requirement:

• A final high school transcript from a U.S. high school or U.S.-accredited high school, including a date of graduation; signed, stamped, or sealed by a school official, and sent from your high school or recognized third-party vendor
  • Final signed high school transcript may also be emailed or faxed by a school official
• A Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED) or High School Equivalency Test (HiSET) results sent directly from the testing organization
• An official copy of IB Diploma score documentation sent directly from the IB Organization indicating that a diploma has been awarded
  • Diploma may also be emailed or mailed by school official
• National exam results showing completion of Secondary School: GCE/GCSE exams (O-Level and AS-level), India Secondary School Examinations, Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Exams, and CAPE I, etc.
• If your secondary school is not accredited by the U.S. and does not issue U.S. diplomas (and you do not have qualifying national exam results as specified above), you need to submit:
  • Your official final transcript, with graduation date, containing all academic coursework along with your graduation certificate, diploma or equivalent. All documents must be submitted by a school official, sent from your secondary school (fax, email, standard mail) or a recognized third-party vendor (Common App, Naviance).
    • If documents are not in English, please provide certified English translations and have the translation organization email or mail final certified documents.
  • The Office of Admission, in some instances, may require that you have your credentials evaluated by a professional evaluation organization, such as the Center for Educational Documentation and other organizations listed by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.
    • Students will receive email notification if evaluation is needed in August (for Fall entrance) or December (for Spring entrance).
• We cannot accept the following as proof of graduation:
  • IB exam scores without accompanying diploma
  • Photocopy or scan of high school diploma

An official transcript is required from each college or university attended. Successful candidates typically have maintained a 3.0 grade point average in previous college coursework; however, individual circumstances as described by the candidate will be considered. If you are submitting a transcript from a college or university that is outside the United States, please submit a course by course evaluation via a credentialing agency like World Education Services, Educational Credential Evaluators, Center for Educational Documentation, or one of the services associated with the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.

An evaluation or recommendation is required from someone who has taught you in a college subject.

Includes estimated grades from your current semester. If you are not currently attending college, we will waive the mid-term report requirement.

All international transfer applicants should submit standardized testing scores according to the following guidelines:

• Take an English Proficiency Examination if:
  • You have not completed at least three years of consecutive study (at the secondary or post-secondary level) at an institution that uses English as its primary language of instruction, you are required to take an English proficiency exam to be considered for admission.
• Complete the Waiver for English Proficiency, which is accessible after you have submitted your application, using your Application Portal information, if:
  • You are from a country where English is the national or primary language or you have completed at least three years of consecutive study (at the secondary or post-secondary level) at an institution that uses English as its primary language of instruction.
• The SAT or ACT is optional:
  • Submitting an SAT or ACT score is optional for transfer students, but students with fewer than 30 completed college credits are encouraged to send their scores if they feel as though it helps their application.

If you submit one of the English Proficiency Examinations, please note the minimum score requirements for admission to Emerson College:

• Cambridge English (Advance or Proficiency)
  • Minimum Score Required: 185
• Duolingo English
  • Minimum Score Required: 125
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
  • Minimum Score Requirement: 7.0
• PTE Academic (Pearson’s Test of English Academic)
  • Minimum Score Required: 65
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
  • Minimum Score Required: 95
    • minimum score of 20 in each section

We will accept scores from the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition. At this time, we are unable to accept the IELTS Indicator and TOEFL ITP Plus for China.

Additional exams may be added at a later date. Please refer to our English Language Proficiency policy before applying and/or taking any exams to ensure your testing will satisfy our application requirements.