Admission Requirements and Procedures for International Undergraduate Applicants

Priority Admission Application Dates:

Fall Semester—January 31 · Spring Semester—October 1

Admission applications received after the priority dates will be considered on a space-available basis only. Applications will not be evaluated until all required materials have been received by the Office of Admissions.

Admission Requirements

Secondary School. You must complete at least 12 years of elementary through secondary school, culminating in an appropriate secondary certificate or external examination. Your grade point average must be at least 2.7 on a 4.0 scale. Your schooling should reflect adequate preparation in humanities, mathematics, basic sciences, and social sciences.

If you have attended or are attending a U.S. accredited high school for four full years (grades 9-12), you must submit official scores from the SAT I or ACT (must include writing component), and you must complete the high school core course requirements: four years of English, three years of math, three years of social sciences, two years of sciences (at least one of which is laboratory science), and one year of fine or performing arts or an academic elective.

College or University Transfer. You will be considered for transfer admission based on work completed at the time of your application. Washington State University will consider your application if you have completed at least one full-time year of study at an accredited postsecondary institution outside of the United States and if you have maintained a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Alternatively, the University will accept your application if you have at least 27 semester (or 40 quarter) hours of transferable work from a regionally accredited college or university of the United States with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5. Depending on the breadth and depth of the curriculum offered at the college or university you have attended, we may consider the first year or two of your postsecondary education to be secondary level.

Some academic departments have additional certification requirements over and above general University admission standards. See departmental Web sites for more information.

English Proficiency. To be admitted to the University, you must either prove your English language proficiency or qualify for a waiver of the language-proficiency requirement by any of the means listed below.

1. Examinations. Meet the minimum acceptable scores shown for any of the following examinations. Provide the University with your official test scores, which must be less than two years old.

TOEFL exam (international only):
520 (paper-based) or 190 (computer-based) or 68 (internet-based)
MELAB: 73
IELTS: 5.5
CPE: Pass (A, B, or C)
SAT I: Verbal 500
GCSE or GCE: O-level pass in English
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) Pass in English

2. Waivers. You may satisfy the English language proficiency requirement if any of the following are true:

  1. You have attended a U.S. accredited high school for at least three years and have successfully completed three years of English classes (SAT will be required).
  2. By the beginning of classes, you have earned at least 53 semester (80 quarter) hours of transferable U.S. college credit with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5\
  3. You were schooled in one of the following countries: Australia, Bahamas, Guyana, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Jamaica, Liberia, New Zealand, Trinidad, Tobago, or Zambia.
  4. You were schooled outside the United States in a country not included in the list above and the language of instruction was English. If so, you must provide an official letter from the school stating that English was the language of instruction while you attended there.

Finances. If you are an international student seeking an F-1 or J-1 visa, you must complete the Certificate of Financial Responsibility to demonstrate that you have adequate financial resources to meet your educational expenses. Faxes or copies of the certificate are not acceptable. Bank signatures and/or bank statements cannot be more than three months old. Please read the instructions that accompany the Certificate of Financial Responsibility form carefully.

If you do not require immigration (visa) assistance, completing the Certificate of Financial Responsibility is not required.



Contact us: oleary@@tricity.wsu.edu (509) 372-7250
Washington State University Tri-Cities, 2710 University Drive, Richland, WA 99354-1671 USA