Official transcripts or mark sheets must bear the official university seal and signature of the registrar, controller of examinations, or president of the university issuing the document. The copies must be returned directly to the School of Public Policy Office of Admission in the official sealed envelope. If you attended a non-English language institution, you must submit certified translated copies of your university transcripts to the School of Public Policy. Official records are to be in the language of instruction, accompanied by official translations in English, if necessary.
The academic records which we refer to as transcripts should provide a listing, year by year, of all courses taken and the grade or marks received for each one. It is helpful to have the grading scale of the institution and the student’s rank in class included when such information is available. Do not submit secondary school records. If your college or university will not provide original official academic documents, exact copies that have been verified as “Certified True Copies” by the appropriate institutional official of each institution attended should be sent. Uncertified photocopies are not acceptable. To be considered, all documents not in English must be accompanied by official English translations. These translations must bear an original ink signature and seal. Translations alone will not be accepted. Translations sent directly from the institution attended or from a recognized translator are considered official.
All applicants who received or will receive their degree from a university outside of the US (unless the degree is from a university that is already regionally accredited within the US) are required to submit a detailed foreign transcript evaluation report from any National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) member, such as the International Education Research Foundation at ierf.org or the World Education Services, Inc., at wes.org.
A detailed foreign transcript evaluation report will contain the following:
- Foreign transcripts translated into English.
- A detailed course-by-course report with the grade point average calculated on a US 4.0 scale.
- A determination of US degree equivalency (regional accreditation equivalency is required)
If you attend school outside of the US and still need to complete your bachelor's degree at the time of application, we would need your current NACES member international transcript evaluation (please see above for requirements). Upon degree completion, you must provide an updated NACES member evaluation reflecting your final courses, final cumulative GPA equivalency, and US degree equivalency.
Please have the evaluation service, send your updated evaluation to SPPAdmissions@pepperdine.edu.
International students whose first language is not English must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL); the International English Language Testing System (IELTS); or the Duolingo English Test. Applicants who have completed four or more years at a regionally accredited English-taught institution may be exempt from this requirement. Please feel free to reach out to SPPAdmissions@pepperdine.edu with questions. Please use the Pepperdine University institution code 4630 and have your score sent directly to the School of Public Policy.
Minimum Scores Required:
- TOEFL score of at least 600 on the paper and pencil test, or 95 on the internet-based test, is the minimum required.
- A band score of 7.0 minimum is required for the IELTS exam.
- Duolingo English Test score of 125 and above.
Applications are only considered complete with the test scores.
After international students have been officially admitted to the University and have accepted the offer of admission, they will need to submit the necessary documents in order to obtain the Form I-20, the document needed in order to apply for the nonimmigrant F-1 student visa. The Office of International Student Services will issue the Form I-20 after all required documents listed in the I-20 Checklist have been submitted directly to the Office of International Student Services.
Questions about F-1 Visa and immigration can be directed to the Office of International Student Services.