International admissions requirements

The online application will ask you a series of questions to help us determine whether the university would qualify you as a domestic applicant or an international applicant. The university will qualify you as an international applicant if

  • You are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and live outside the U.S.
  • You are an international student at another U.S. institution and you are currently in F-1 status (including OPT) or J-1 status (including Academic Training)
  • You are currently on an H1B visa
  • You are currently on a dependent visa — e.g., F-2, J-2, or H-4

Visit International Support Services for more information on visas.



If you are admitted to a program, you will be required to submit proof of finances. Proof of finances are not required to be considered for admission.

Transcripts

Before applying

For processing purposes, you may attach scanned versions of official transcripts to your application, as well as a copy of your degree certificate and/or diploma if the degree has been earned outside the U.S. A printout from a student portal is not considered an official copy. 

Some departments require official transcripts at the time of application. Check your program’s admissions requirements.

Transcripts that are in a language other than English must be accompanied with English translations.

After enrollment

If you are admitted to a program, and accept the admissions offer, you will be required to submit an official, final transcript before your second semester of enrollment at KU. Otherwise, you will not be permitted to enroll for your second semester. For those with degree conferral pending, we recommend you wait until your institution has posted degree conferral to your official transcripts before initiating the process of providing the document to Graduate Admissions.

Submitting transcripts

The transcript submission process varies; please see the instructions below for degrees earned in the United States and for degrees earned from outside the United States.

For degrees earned in the United States: Graduate Admissions must receive your official, final transcript(s) sent directly from your institution in a sealed envelope or through an electronic delivery service. Your official, final transcript(s) must show that the degree has been conferred. Transcripts should be sent to:

Graduate Admissions

The University of Kansas

1502 Iowa St.

Lawrence, KS 66045

If your institution offers a secure electronic transcript delivery service, you may have transcripts sent to graduateadm@ku.edu.

For degrees earned outside the United States: Graduate Admissions must receive your official, final transcript(s). The transcript must contain the following information:

  • Completion of coursework required for degree
  • Degree earned and the date degree was conferred (if this is not on the transcript, you must submit a degree certificate and/or diploma)
  • Official stamp or seal from the school

Official, final transcripts may be received as follows:

Documents can be sent by postal mail directly to Graduate Admissions from the degree-granting institution. For a timely receipt, transcripts should be sent to:

Graduate Admissions

The University of Kansas

KU Visitor Center

1502 Iowa St.

Lawrence, KS 66045 

For degrees earned in China, in addition to submitting your official, final transcript through the mail, you will also need to submit a CSSD (formerly CHESICC) verification report.

Once the official document is in our possession, we will be unable to release it back to you.

Verifying English proficiency

Non-native English speakers must verify English proficiency before being considered for graduate study at KU. More information about proficiency requirements can be found here.