U.S. universities generally require students (international or domestic students) to have completed four years of undergraduate education (bachelor's degree) to be considered eligible for admission to a graduate (master's degree) program.
Hyderabad: A lot of students approach EducationUSA offices wondering whether they are eligible to apply for master’s programs in the United States if they have completed a three-year degree program in India. Today, in our special topic series on U.S. higher education, we discuss this 10+2+3 year degree conundrum.
U.S. universities generally require students (international or domestic students) to have completed four years of undergraduate education (bachelor’s degree) to be considered eligible for admission to a graduate (master’s degree) program.
Some universities may clearly state that they do not accept three-year bachelor’s degrees. Students should avoid adding these universities to their shortlist for application.
Another set of universities in the United States may mention that they are willing to consider three-year degrees provided that the student gets his/her credentials evaluated by a credential evaluation service recommended by them. In such a scenario, the student will have to send their transcripts to these credential evaluation organizations and opt for a course-by-course evaluation. The evaluation agency will then directly send the evaluation report to the university concerned, following which the U.S. institution will let the student know if they are considering them for admission.
While the general experience, as stated above, is that U.S. universities are open and approachable to discuss specific requests, we suggest that students take the time to connect with an admissions officer and discuss their transcripts.
Students currently pursuing a three-year bachelor’s degree program are recommended to first shortlist a few universities and refer to their graduate admissions page to see if they accept three-year undergraduate degrees. If yes, then students can proceed with their application requirements. We also recommend that students reach out to the admissions offices of these universities and check with them to confirm whether or not they accept three-year degrees.
— Monika Setia (Regional Officer and EducationUSA Adviser at the United States-India Educational Foundation based at the U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad. Please visit https://educationusa.state.gov/centers/educationusa-usief-hyderabad for more information)
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Q&A
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Q. I am applying for Ph.D. programs in the United States. What academic records should I submit with my application and how should these be uploaded?
— Arshad Khan
A. Universities in the United States require academic records presented in a particular fashion, generally termed as a transcript. A transcript is officially issued by the college or university under which the student pursued his/her bachelor’s/master’s degrees. The transcript lists all subjects/courses that the student has taken during each year of her or his higher education, with the corresponding marks/grades received in each subject. All transcripts should be in English and carry the official seal or stamp of the college or university. Generally, the registrar’s office at the college/university issues transcripts.
Academic records from each year of the applicant’s bachelor’s program are required as part of transcripts for Ph.D. program applications at U.S. institutions if the student is applying right after completing the bachelor’s degree. If you are currently in the final year of a bachelor’s program, then the records up to preceding year should be submitted at the time of the application. If you are applying after a master’s program, then academic records from both the bachelor’s and the master’s program should be included in the transcript. Students currently in the second year of a master’s program submit records through the first year.
You should plan to get one set of transcripts, one for each level of degree, for the purpose of your application. This set may be scanned and uploaded with the online application. In rare cases, a university may request hard copies of transcripts, in which case students should collect several copies of the transcripts from their college or university. For hard-copy requirements, transcripts should be sealed in an envelope with the seal or stamp of the college or university on the flap of the envelope.
You should check the transcript requirements of each shortlisted U.S. university and request the requisite number of copies of transcripts from your college/university. Very importantly, the process of transcript preparation should be started a few months in advance of the application deadlines to avoid any delays in the application submission.
Q. I am enrolled in a master’s program in the United States and I want to transfer to another program in a different university. Do I have to pay the SEVIS fee again?
— Pragna
A. If you are transferring between approved schools at the same educational level, you do not have to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee.
If you are an F-1 student, your I-20 will have Initial attendance at this school, but your SEVIS records will show that you have maintained your status and are continuing your education. If you are changing your educational level while transferring, you still do not have to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee. A few examples of such a change include – you graduated from high school and are going directly into college or you received your master’s degree and are going directly into a doctoral program.
We recommend that you contact the international students office at your university and request the Designated School Official (DSO) on campus to make necessary changes in your SEVIS records. This will help prevent issues with visa issuance, reentry into the United States, and fee payment, etc.
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