Transcripts and Diplomas/Degree Certificates
Submitting Academic Records in the Application:
- Applicants will need to upload PDF or scanned PDF copies of their transcripts into the application portal. If you have already graduated, please also include a scan of the degree certificate(s)/diploma(s). Transcripts, degree certificates, and diplomas should be uploaded in the same combined PDF, with a maximum file size of 4MB.
- For transcripts uploaded in the application: these must show all the courses you have taken during all semesters, and the grades/marks you have received. The grading scale of your institution and your average final grade/GPA/classification should be included. If there are descriptions of the coursework (content, etc.), they should be included.
- For degree certificates/diplomas, we are looking for the final, formal document that shows the Degree Conferred and Date of Degree Conferral. Degrees can be verified only through official copies of diplomas, or by a notation of degree conferred and date of conferral on your official academic record(s).
- If your degree was from China, please include both the Graduation Diploma (毕业证书) and the degree certificate (学士学位证书 for a Bachelor's, 硕士学位证书 for if you earned a Master's, 博士学位证书 for if you earned a Doctorate), as well as certified, literal English translations of each.
- If your degree was from India, please upload the final degree certificate. You may upload the provisional degree certificate if you graduated in the last year, AND if the final degree certificate has not yet been issued.
- If your institution does not issue records in English, official English translations must be provided/uploaded, and the original language records must be submitted/uploaded, as well. Only translations issued by the institution or a professional translating service will be accepted. Translations must be literal.
Submitting Official Academic Records During Your First Semester:
- If an applicant becomes an admitted student, they will then need to submit official academic records during their first semester (including official transcripts, degree certificates, and certified, literal English translations where applicable). This is typically noted in the decision letter under the Conditions of Enrollment.
- To be deemed ‘official’, academic records must be either original or verified copies that bear the institutional seal and official signature of your institution. If you become admitted, you will need to submit a hard copy of each official transcript in a sealed envelope during your first semester of enrollment, as well as show proof of the degree awarded. Proof of the degree awarded is typically in the form of submitting an attested copy of the degree certificate in a sealed envelope, or bringing the original degree certificate into our office.
If the authenticity of your academic documents is in question or if they are indiscernible, you may be required to obtain an evaluation from a foreign credential evaluation service. In this case, you would be contacted by the Graduate School.
I deferred graduate admission from last year. Do I have to resubmit my transcripts?
No, applicants should not start an online application for the new semester. Deferred applicants generally need to simply touch base with their intended departments to reactivate the application from the previous year. Generally, deferred students do not have to resubmit an application or pay the application fee. Applicants should contact the department with whom they had a deferral agreement.
If you have deferred your admission, please be sure to check if you have any conditions of enrollment that you still need to fulfill, such as submitting official transcripts during the first semester. If you have already had your institution send official transcripts directly to our office, you will not need to submit them again. If you have only submitted the unofficial/uploaded transcripts in the application portal, you will still need to have official, sealed transcripts sent during the first semester.
To be reconsidered for admission, applicants will need to apply again, pay the application fee, as well as submit all required materials to the Graduate School, including submitting/uploading copies of their official transcripts.
As applicants are applying to multiple graduate programs or departments within the Graduate School, they must remember to submit a separate online application for each program, and in this case upload separate copies of official transcripts. Departments do not share admissions files with one another. Applicants only need to send scores once.
If the study abroad is reflected on the applicant’s home institution’s transcript the applicant does not need to include that school in his/her list of universities attended. If not, then a transcript needs to be uploaded to the application.
The online application requires applicants to upload a PDF or scanned version of the transcript/diplomas/degree certificates issued by each institution in the original language of instruction and with a certified, literal English translation. International applicants must upload transcripts and official degree certificates in one combined, legible PDF with a maximum file size of 4MB (English/native languages together). If you have already earned your degree and your transcript does not state that a degree was conferred, you must also include a copy of your diploma/degree certificate.
The Graduate School requires transcripts/degree certificates to be uploaded for any postsecondary institution or coursework that is not on a degree-seeking transcript. For example, if an applicant did a study abroad program and those courses are not reflected on his/her primary institution’s transcript, then that study abroad institution’s transcript must be uploaded into the online application portal.
Upon admission by the Graduate School, a hard copy of the official transcripts and attested copies of degree certificates coming directly from the applicant’s respective institutions (in a sealed envelope), will be required for enrollment.
Do not upload an encrypted transcript to the application. It will upload as a blank document. The program will not be able to use it for its evaluation. Please print the document out, scan it, then upload a scanned version.