International Graduate Admissions
Your path to an array of academic and professional opportunities.
Pursue Your Master's or Doctorate in Our Top-Ranked Programs
For a seamless application experience, we've laid out basic requirements for admission, clear steps to help you navigate the admissions process, and key dates and deadlines to ensure your application stays on course.
See Your Admissions Requirements
We will assume responsibility for an evaluation of required academic records for applications for completed coursework outside of the United States. The evaluation is not an English translation of the academic records, but a separate document determining if the degree received outside the U.S. is equivalent to a U.S. degree, and a GPA is calculated.
An official original set of transcripts, degree certificates and/or graduation certificates must be submitted to Seattle University upon admission. Documents are considered official only when they arrive in the original envelope from the issuing institution or sent electronically via a secured institution to institution system. If your official documents are received in English we would not ask for them in the original language as well.
Mailing Address for Transcripts & Materials
Seattle University
Office of Graduate Admission
901 12th Avenue
P.O. Box 222000
Seattle, WA 98122-1090
Applicants seeking an F-1 student visa must also submit the International Student Declaration of Finances form.
Applicants for whom English is a non-native language must demonstrate English proficiency regardless of English language studies, academic history, residence in the United States or an English-speaking country or immigration status. English proficiency may be met with the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the Pearson Test of English (PTE) or Duolingo Score.
Graduate and post-baccalaureate applicants who received a baccalaureate degree or higher from Seattle University or a recognized college or university in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Bahamas, Jamaica, Kenya, Singapore, Belize, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago will not be required to submit English proficiency test scores. Students earning a degree in a country other than those listed above may provide official documentation from the degree-granting institution verifying that all instruction was in English. A minimum of three years of enrollment at the university is required.
Seattle University maintains the right to require English proficiency testing when deemed necessary.
The chart below outlines the English proficiency requirements for general admission as well as admission to the English Culture and Language Bridge program. For more information on what the TOEFL consists of and a list of official testing centers visit the ETS website. Both score requirements are listed below.
Exam | Description | Graduate, General Admission | Graduate, ELCB Program |
---|---|---|---|
TOEFL (Internet) | SU Code: 4695 | 86 | 68-85 |
IELTS | 6.5 | 6 | |
Pearson Test of English | 58 | 48-57 | |
Duolingo | 120 | 105-115 |
Some graduate programs are not able to accommodate ELCB students in the curriculum as designed, so admitted students would need to complete ELCB prior to starting their graduate studies.
Alternative method to meeting the English proficiency requirement:
- Complete ELS Level 112 with a 3.0 GPA
English Language and Culture Bridge Program
The courses offered in the English Language and Culture Bridge are highly advanced, with a specific focus on university-level reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. In addition, the course work concentrates on the American academic culture and the specific preparation for requirements at Seattle University. For more information, call 1-206-296-6064 or consult the English Language Learning Center website.
Students with English proficiency scores in the ELCB range will take a placement essay test upon arrival at Seattle University. Some students may have their ELCB requirement waived based upon the results of the placement essay test.
Find Your Application Deadlines
In order to allow for application processing, overseas mailings and visa processing, international applicants living overseas should submit an application six months prior to the quarter they wish to enroll or the program deadline, whichever is earlier.
While you may submit applications after the deadlines, those who submit complete applications by the following dates will receive priority consideration.
If applications are submitted with insufficient time for processing and enrollment for the requested term, you may be asked to update your application to a later term.
- Fall Quarter (September): April 1
- Winter Quarter (January): September 1
- Spring Quarter (March): February 1
- Summer Quarter (June): February 15
Seattle University STEM-Approved Programs
Seattle University offers several programs approved by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that fall within the definition of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
If you are an F-1 nonimmigrant student who has completed 12 months of post-completion Optional Practical Training, receiving a degree in a DHS-approved STEM program means you are eligible for a 24-month OPT extension. To learn more, please speak to a Seattle University international admissions counselor.
Graduate STEM-Approved Programs:
OF SU GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE INTERNATIONAL
Join a community of graduate students who share the international student experience.
OF GRADUATE STUDENTS FIND OPT EMPLOYMENT
Meet the requirements for Optional Practical Training employment with ease.
Get in Touch
We’re here to help.
International Graduate Admissions
Phone: 1-206-220-8010
Toll-free: 1-800-426-7123
Email: grad-international@seattleu.edu