Admissions
Graduate Admission For International Students (Master's Degree Program)
To apply to Graduate Studies the following steps must be taken:
- Students who have never been admitted to Southern Oregon University must submit the Application for New Student Graduate Admission to the Admissions Office with a non-refundable application fee. Applications are not accepted without the fee.
- Students must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, as defined by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, or from a university or college officially recognized by the Ministry of Education of the country of location.
- Send official copies of transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate accredited institutions attended directly from the school of origin to the Admissions Office at Southern Oregon University.
- Students must have sufficient prerequisite coursework to pursue graduate work in the proposed academic area.
- All students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in the last 90 quarter credits (60 semester credits) of undergraduate coursework.
- Complete a preliminary entrance examination with a satisfactory score. Have the official score report sent to the Admissions Office (institutional code is R4702). The entrance examination for most master's programs is the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) - www.gre.org. Teaching programs use other entrance examinations.
- Graduate students whose native language is not English are required to demonstrate profiency in English. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is one of three such tests. A score of 540 (paper based), 76 (internet based) or 207 (computer based) is required of graduate applicants. You must provide official TOEFL scores earned within the past two years - scores more than two years old cannot be reported or verified. Information about the TOEFL can be found on the TOEFL web site at www.toefl.org. Due to limited availability of appointments at many international TOEFL testing sites you are strongly encouraged to register for the TOEFL as soon as possible. Our institution code for TOEFL results is 4702. Students may also demonstrate English language profiency by a score of 964 on the SAT II English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT) or a score of 7 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS at www.ielts.org). Students whose English does not meet these standards may enroll in the ELS Language Center on campus. For more information on ELS Language Centers visit www.els.com.
- Submit at least three letters of recommendation.
- Submit a goal statement or letter of intent describing your motivations for undertaking the proposed graduate program.
Several programs have additional or different requirements for admission. Please refer to the Graduate Studies site for further information or contact us at the address below.
Students whose English does not meet the TOEFL requirement (520/68/190 undergraduate; 540/76/207 graduate) may enroll in the ELS Language Center, the intensive English program on campus. Students who graduate from ELS Language Center by completing the highest level (Level 112) and who receive the recommendation of the ELS Center director may have the TOEFL requirement waived for undergraduate (2nd bachelor’s degree) admission consideration. Students applying for graduate programs must achieve the minimum TOEFL score as described above.
International students are also required to submit a financial statement, official academic transcripts, and have adequate medical insurance. A comprehensive medical insurance plan is available to students and their dependents through Southern Oregon University at the time of registration. For insurance information, contact Nathan Roberts, your International Student Advisor.
