International Applicants: For the purpose of admission, international applicants are all applicants who currently hold or are applying for an
F-1 or J-1 visa and currently reside either in the U.S. or abroad. International students must inform Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations of their current VISA status. This is the status at the time of the application.

Domestic Applicants: Please visit our Domestic Applicants page to get information on application procedures tailored specifically for our domestic applicants.

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Apply to SJSU

• Investigate: Investigate your intended graduate program to find out if they require a separate department application, letters of recommendation, graduate tests, or have specific department procedures. All supplemental department materials should be sent directly to your intended department.
• Deadlines: Look at our deadlines to know when you have to submit your online application or documents that our office requires. Due to the lengthy visa process that students have to go through our international deadlines are much shorter than our domestic deadlines. Please plan accordingly when applying to SJSU.
• Apply Online:Apply online to San Jose State University. This step must be done regardless of what extra steps you have to do with your specific graduate program. Our online application is done through CSU Mentor and you will need to create a username and password to fill out an application.
• Declaration of Finance: In addition to the online application all international applicants MUST submit a Declaration of Finance. Your application will be delayed if we do not receive this completed form. Below is a brief description of what is required on this form:

Federal immigration regulations require that all international students provide evidence of adequate funds to meet the financial obligations of enrollment at a U.S. university. The combined U.S. dollar amount from you or your sponsor(s) must equal or exceed the minimum listed for the applied term. Previous applicants must submit a new declaration of finance with a new bank statement attached if the previous application was older than one year. Here are the types of funds that are accepted and how they should be declared.

• Funds from government or private agencies - Student must attach verification letter on letterhead from government or agency stating amount that will be received.
• Funds from individual sponsor or self-sponsor - Sponsor must sign declaration of finance or provide signed letter declaring intent to sponsor. If student has own funds, the declaration of finance must be signed by the student. Bank verification (example: a copy of bank statement) of all funds must be provided and dated within the current year.
• Federal/State financial aid is not available to international students. Visit our Financial Information page to see other types of aid that are available.

A copy of your current passport will also be required. The name listed on your passport will be the same name that will be used on your I-20 if you are offered admission. There will be no exceptions to this rule.

• $55.00 Application Processing Fee: A credit card option is available when applying online, or you may send us a money order or cashier's check drawn on US dollars from a US bank. Cash is not accepted. The fee is non-refundable, even if you withdraw the application or if the application is denied. The fee can not be used for any semester other than the one indicated on the submitted application. Fee waivers are not available for international applicants.

Submit Documents or Test Scores to SJSU

• International School Work and Degrees:

  Use theDocument Submission Identification Formto submit your documents to our office. All transcripts must be sealed and unopened in order to be accepted as official documents. COPIES OF TRANSCRIPTS OR OPENED TRANSCRIPTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Documents submitted become the property of the University and cannot be released to the student. Individuals currently enrolled in courses at the time of their application for admission are required to submit the most current "Work In Progress" transcript from the institution. Students will still need to turn in final transcripts once they graduate from the previous institution. Visit our International Document Requirements page and find the country where the institution you attended is located. The list will detail the exact documents we require and how to submit them to our office by country. Students must follow instructions listed for the particular country, otherwise the documents will be considered unofficial. Please note: Documents submitted in support of the application become the property of the university and will not be returned to the applicant/student.

• An English-language proficiency exam is required for all students who graduated from a higher education institution in a country in which the primary language is not English. The exams accepted by this university include the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and the Pearson Test of English (PTE).  The university minimum entrance score for the TOEFL is 550 (paper based; note that this form is not accepted by some individual departments within the university), 213 (computer based), or 80 (internet based). The minimum score required on the IELTS is 7.0 and the PTE 68.  Note that some programs require higher test scores than the university, as indicated on departmental websites and on the Graduate Program Test Requirements page. All test scores must be less than two years old. Test scores must be sent directly from the testing office to San Jose State (SJSU institution code is 4687). Our International Document Requirements page for your country will also indicate if an exam is required, as indicated by the phrase, “English-Language Proficiency Exam Requirement: Yes.”

The English-language proficiency exam requirement is waived only if the student has

• Received a BS or MS degree from an accredited U.S. institution.
• Completed 3 years full-time school in a U.S. institution.
  
  Please note that as of the Fall semester of 2010, San Jose State no longer accepts English medium as a substitute for an English-language proficiency exam, such as the TOEFL, IELTS, or Pearson Test of English. Neither letters from applicants nor from institutions will be accepted. Unless one has attented an institution in a native-English speaking country for at least three years or from which a bachelor's or master's degree has been earned, no waivers of the English-proficiency exam are possible.
• U.S. Institution Transcripts: Submit one transcript from ALL U.S. higher education institutions attended (even if you did not get your degree) to the Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations Office by mail or in person. All transcripts must be sealed and unopened in order to be accepted as official documents. COPIES OF TRANSCRIPTS OR OPENED TRANSCRIPTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Documents submitted become the property of the University and will not be released to the applicant/student. Documents will be kept on file for one year and then destroyed if the student does not enroll at SJSU. Individuals currently enrolled in courses at the time of their application for admission are required to submit the most current "Work In Progress" transcript from the institution. Students will still need to turn in a final transcript once they graduate from the previous institution. Submission of San Jose State University transcripts is not required.
• California Residency: International applicants do not qualify for resident tuition and will be subject to non-resident tuition.

Tracking Your Application

• Application Status: Soon after submitting your application online, you will receive a UserID and password e-mail. When you receive this information, you will be able to check the status of your application online using the MySJSU website.
• Completing Your Application: Your application will not be considered complete or evaluated until we have ALL your official transcripts and documents. You will be able to see what specific documents we require (except for documents required by your department) after we have processed/verified your application on your To Do list on the MySJSU website. Please note: Records submitted in support of the application become the property of the university and will not be returned to the applicant/student.
• Evaluating Your Application: After we have completed your application, it will be evaluated to see if it meets our minimum university requirements for admission. The minimum GPA for admission to the university is a grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 in the last 60 semester or 90 quarter units (roughly two years). Professional development courses and courses taken in non-accredited institutions are not counted in this calculation. We will convert all international marks earned to the U.S. GPA standard. However, many of our graduate programs have higher GPA standards. Your intended department will be the one that makes the final admission decision once you have met our university minimum requirements. The entire application process takes 4-6 weeks after we have received all of your required documents.

Admission to SJSU

• I-20 Process: If you are offered admission to the University we will process your I-20 and mail it to you as soon as possible so that you may start your F-1 visa process. International students must inform Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations of their current VISA status. This is the status at the time of the application. For more information on what to expect as an international student at SJSU visit the International Programs and Services Office.
• Registration: If you are offered admission to the University you will receive an official letter of admission. You will be able to use the same MySJSU website to see when you receive your registration appointment date for course registration. Course registration and paying of student account bills are all done online. Contact your department to find out if they have any special orientation or to set up a meeting with your assigned program advisor at the start of the semester.

Good Luck!