Additional Requirements for International Students

 

In addition to the application materials described on the /academics/graduate-program/phd-in-cmse/phd-program-application-process/submitting-materials/">Submission Process page, international scholars are required to provide the following materials:

 

  1. Official English Proficiency Test Scores
  • All international applicants must be proficient in English as a condition for regular admission to Michigan State University. Exceptions:
    • A Bachelor's or Master’s degree from an institution on this list exempts you from this requirement.
    • If you are a citizen and live in one of the countries on this list you are exempt from this requirement.
  • One of the following accepted proficiency tests:
    • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Note that the MSU university code is #1465 and the Department Code is #69.  For the Internet-Based examination, the minimum acceptable score is 80.  Subscores below 19 are unacceptable for the reading, listening, and speaking sections, and a subscore below 22 is unacceptable for the writing section.
    • Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB)
    • MSU English Language Test (MSUELT)
    • International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
    • Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE A)
  • All test scores should be sent from the testing agency directly to:      

Office of Admissions

Michigan State University

Hannah Administration Building

426 Auditorium Road, Room 250

East Lansing, MI 48824-2604

 

  1. Affidavit of Support for Graduate International Students/Verification of Finance
  • An affidavit of support is a required by Michigan State University for all international applicants.
  • The form and instructions can be found HERE.
  • Please upload the Affidavit of Support and Verification of Finances in your Grad Portal.
  • A certificate of Eligibility (1-20 Form) will not be issued until sufficient financial support has been verified by MSU and the Affidavit of Support and Verification of Finances is complete.
  • Important Notes:
    • The completion of this form is required by the University for an International Application to be considered complete.
    • The content of this form will have no bearing on your admission into the Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering’s PhD program.
    • Acceptance into the CMSE PhD program is dependent on the amount of funding available within the department.

 

  1. Admitted Chinese Applicants
  • MSU requires all incoming ADMITTED students pursuing degrees or who have earned degrees from universities in China to submit a certification report (English version) through the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center (CDGDC) for their final bachelor degree transcripts and bachelor degree.
  • For those Master's degree granted students, we only need the undergraduate level certification report from CDGDC.
  • It is a good idea to begin the application process early as international documents can take especially long to process.
  • CDGDC verification is due no later than March 1st for Spring enrollees, July 1st for Summer enrollees, and October 15th for Fall enrollees. Students who fail to submit CDGDC verification by the deadline will have a hold placed on their account. 
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