International Applicants

If you list an institution on your application that is located outside of the United States, please use an academic credential verification service to obtain a course-by-course report, unless you are attending an institution where the method of instruction is primarily English. The credential verification service will then send this report directly to the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. These must be received by the application deadline. While students may upload an unofficial transcript to their online application, this will be in addition to the report received by a certified verification service (examples below), and not in lieu of that verified outside report.

Note that it could take 1 month or more to receive an official credentials evaluation, so you should plan ahead.

We will accept evaluations from any members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). Two of the largest companies are:

1. Word Education Service (WES): At minimum, please select the BASIC Package and the course-by-course evaluation.
2. Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE): At minimum, please select the course-by-course report.

If you list an institution on your application that is located within the United States, including the University of Virginia, your unofficial transcript may be uploaded to the online application. In the event that you gain admission to the MPP program, an official transcript will be requested at that time.

If you are an international applicant whose primary language is not English, you are also required to take the TOEFL examination. TOEFL scores must be sent to the Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy code B582. You may also submit the IELTS in lieu of the TOEFL scores. IELTS scores must be sent to the Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy. Competitive applicants receive a 100 on the TOEFL (with a minimum of 22 in each section) or a 7 on the IELTS. Scores are only valid for two years, so you must retake the TOEFL/IELTS examination if the scores are older than two years. Any applicant who receives below 100 on the TOEFL or below 7 on the IELTS may apply to the Office of Admissions for a waiver.

International students who attended a primarily English-speaking University for four years will be exempt from submitting TOEFL or IELTS scores.

If you are an international student who will require visa documents from the University of Virginia, you will be directed to submit a Financial Guarantee Form for graduate students once you have received your admission decision.

For all non-U.S. citizens, if the Batten School ultimately makes an offer of admission to you and you express your intention to matriculate, you will be required to submit a Confirmation of Lawful Presence Form. While you will not submit this form with your application, you should be prepared to complete this form as an additional requirement preceding your enrollment at the University of Virginia and the Frank batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.