Undergraduate Admission

Admission Requirements

The following information will help you prepare for a complete application. Please note that the university will not consider incomplete applications. All required documents must be submitted for consideration. An application may take up to one month (30 days) to process. 

1. Online Application
   • You may apply online even if you do not yet have all the required documents. Once you start the online application, a university ID number will be assigned to you. 
   • You may be admitted with unofficial documents, but no visa document (I-20 Form) will be issued to you before completed, official documents are received.
2. Application Fee
   • Non-refundable fee of U.S. $30
   • A credit card is required for the application fee payment
3. Proof of English Proficiency
   Please submit the official scores from one of the following (other standardized tests may also be considered.) Your scores must be sent to our office directly by the testing company. We cannot accept these documents directly from you. Choose one of the following options:
   • IELTS score of 5.5 or above: https://www.ielts.org/
   • TOEFL iBT score of 61 or above (Computer-based 173 and above, or paper-based 500 and above. The MTSU institution code is 1466.) https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/about.html
   • TOEFL Essential at 6.5 level
   • Duolingo English Test with a score of 85 or above
   • iTEP score of 3.5 or above
   • Pearson Test of English score of 59 or above
   • For transfer students, completion of English 1010 and 1020 at a U.S. university
   • The ELS completion certificate of level 110: https://www.els.edu/destinations/nashville (email nsh@els.edu)
     • Please Note:
       Proof of English Proficiency is Not Required if… 
       • English is the native language of your country of citizenship
       • You have earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a U.S. accredited 4-year college or university
         
       *Nursing and Professional-Pilot degree programs require higher minimum English language proficiency scores: IELTS 6.0, TOEFL iBT 70, Duolingo 95, iTEP 3.8, or ELS level 112.*If you are funded by an organization, please make sure the type of English test is also acceptable to the funding organization. 
4. Official Academic Transcripts
   We accept official academic transcripts physically by mail or electronically by emailing them to international@mtsu.edu.
   
   If electronically submitting by emailing, your official high school or university transcripts must be emailed directly from your high school or university to international@mtsu.edu. We cannot accept these documents if they do not come from an email directly related to the school or a representative of the school.
   
   If mailing the physical transcripts, your official high school or university transcripts must be mailed directly from your high school or university to MTSU. We cannot accept these documents from you unless they have been provided to you in an unopened official envelope with an embossed stamp or inked seal across the flap of the envelope. If you are a transfer student, we will require your high school transcript only if you have completed less than 24 hours of university coursework.
   
   If you have attended university level courses outside the U.S. then you must have your foreign transcripts evaluated by any one of the Current Members on www.naces.org, such as:
   • TEC, The Evaluation Company (formerly SpanTran) (discount available for MTSU Applicants)
   • World Education Services, Inc
   • Global Credential Evaluators, Inc
   • Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc
   • Foundation for International Services, Inc
   • A full course-by-course evaluation is required for all foreign, post-secondary course work. You must submit any and all post-secondary course work prior to being admitted. Failure to submit all transcripts can result in your dismissal from our university. MTSU also accepts Credit by Examination. Photocopies of transcripts cannot be accepted. It is required that you have a commercial evaluation service translate and evaluate the transcripts. The evaluation service must send the report directly to the International Enrollment and Services office. If you have obtained a college degree or took some classes at another U.S. institution, that transcript is required. 
5. Copy of your passport photo page showing expiration date
6. Proof of current financial affidavit of support totaling $36,500. Financial Statement Form
7. If you are a transfer student in the U.S. on the F-1 Visa:
   • Copy of your visa showing issue and expiration date
   • Copy of pages 1-3 of your current I-20
   • Copy of your I-94 record: www.cbp.gov/i94
   • Please have your Designated School Official (DSO) at your university or English program complete Section II of the Transfer Verification form, and return it to us.  The completed section is proof that you have maintained your immigration status while in the U.S. International Student Transfer Verification Form

***International students who would attend MTSU on an F-1 student visa must receive an I-20 document from MTSU. Students who need to apply for a new visa in their home country must present this document at the local consular office, during a visa interview. Students transferring from another university in the U.S., or MTSU undergraduate students continuing to an MTSU graduate program, must have a new I-20 indicating they are pursuing graduate study at MTSU. Below is a list of documents newly-admitted students must submit in order to receive an I-20 from MTSU.

All materials should be submitted using one of the options below:

MTSU does offer scholarships for international students. Scholarships in the amounts of $6,000, $12,000, and $16,000 per academic year are available and are merit-based. Applicants are automatically considered for a scholarship when admitted and notifications will be included in the admission letter. Scholarships are awarded on a first-come/first-serve basis until all funds are exhausted. The scholarships are renewable annually during a student’s full-time enrollment but do not include summers.

International students who have been fully admitted to MTSU must submit the following documents:

• Tuberculosis Forms Packet
• Proof of two (2) Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) immunizations, and two (2) Varicella (Chicken Pox) immunizations
  • For each dose, the vaccines must be taken on the same day. For example, you should get the first MMR vaccine on the same day as the first varicella vaccine (and then receive the second doses of both vaccines on the same day, 28 days later).
  • The second dose of both vaccines is required before classes start. You will not be allowed to enroll in class full-time until proof of the second immunization doses is submitted to Student Health Services. Full-time enrollment is required to maintain F-1 visa status.
  • Present a certificate of immunization form.
• Health Insurance
• Photocopies of entire I-20 (if transferring from within the U.S.), I-94, Passport and VISA booklet

For all admission inquiries, please email: international@mtsu.edu

For all immigration inquiries, please email: InternationalStudentScholarServices@mtsu.edu