You are here: American University Admissions International Applications International Transfer Applicants

International Transfer Applicants

A transfer applicant is anyone who has enrolled and begun study at a postsecondary institution after obtaining a secondary school diploma in the United States or in their home country.

Apply online using the Common Application. There is a U.S.$75 fee for all applications; no fee waivers are available.

How to Apply

Important: Your application and all supporting documents listed below must be received by the appropriate deadline:

  • Completed Common Application, including essay and CV/resume
  • Application fee of U.S.$75
  • Academic records with official transcripts and certified English translations, if applicable, for each postsecondary institution attended
  • Demonstrated English proficiency 
  • Bank letter showing at least U.S.$78,296 for first year of study and living expenses (only required from students who will need an F or J visa):

Financial documents showing less than U.S.$78,296 will not be accepted. All financial documents must be dated within the past three months to be considered valid. Our International Student & Scholar Services office provides sample bank letters, the AU CFIS and Transfer-In Form, and AU Cost Guide.

Transfer Application Deadlines

Your application and all supporting documents must be received by the dates below.

Fall (August) Semester

  • Final deadline for students attending college or university inside or outside the United States: May 1

Important: For international transfer students applying from outside the U.S., we strongly recommend that you submit all required documents and university transcripts by April 15.

Spring (January) Semester

  • Spring (January) Semester deadline for international transfer students inside and outside the United States is October 1

Important: For international transfer students applying from outside the U.S., we strongly recommend that you submit all required documents and university transcripts by September 1.

Submitting Your Application and Supporting Documents

Important: Ask your school official to use their university email account to send electronic copies of your official documents (with English translation if needed) as PDF attachments to admissionsdocuments@american.edu.

Students cannot submit their own university documents. There is no need to mail hard copies if you choose this electronic option.

If your university/school does not wish to submit documents electronically, please have them use  a courier service (and keep your tracking number) to send your complete application packet to:

Undergraduate Admissions
Office of Enrollment
4801 Massachusetts Ave., NW
STE-218
Washington, DC 20016-8001
USA
Tel: +1-202-885-6000

Please note: You can submit your Bank Letter confirming a minimum of US$78,296 liquid funds on account electronically via the Future Eagle Portal or fax to +1-202-885-1025. Do not mail hard copies if you choose to electronically upload or fax your documents.

If you have any questions, please contact International Admissions at intadm@american.edu.

Application Form

Complete the application carefully. Please make sure to include your full name exactly as it appears in the machine-readable section of your passport (check the bottom of your passport page). The first three letters stand for the country of your citizenship. Omit those three letters when completing the admission application form. Also include your date of birth, complete educational history, country of birth, citizenship, current mailing address and a permanent address outside of the United States, even if you currently live or study in the United States.

Your Academic Records

If you have completed less than one year of full-time academic study at a postsecondary institution in the United States or overseas at the time of application (i.e. you have less than 24 semester credits per the U.S. system of higher education), please submit all of the following:

  1. Your secondary school diploma and academic credentials (examination results and certificates; transcripts for grades 9, 10, 11 and 12; etc.) for each secondary institution attended. Students who studied in 3-year secondary school systems only need to provide transcripts for those three years.
  2. Your academic credentials or transcripts from each postsecondary institution attended.

If you have completed at least one year of full-time postsecondary academic study at the time of application, submit only your postsecondary academic credentials. No secondary school academic records are required.

Please have academic records from each secondary and/or postsecondary school you attended sent directly from those schools to American University. These records should be submitted in their original language and accompanied by official English translations if applicable. You may submit certified or notarized copies of your original official transcripts if your country issues only one copy of your academic documents.

Contact intadm@american.edu with any questions regarding submission of documents.

College Transfer Report

Only Required for Admitted Students who Plan to Enroll at AU

Please have a college official from your current or most recent institution complete the Transfer Registrar Report if you plan to enroll at AU. This form ensures that you are in good academic and disciplinary standing at your current or most recent institution.

You can access the form through the Common Application. Within your My Colleges tab:

1. Click Assign Recommenders
2. Scroll to the bottom and click College Report
3. Download the form
4. Submit the form to a College Official and have them mail the completed form directly to American University.

Advanced Credit for Postsecondary Coursework

Courses completed at accredited postsecondary institutions within or outside the United States may be eligible to receive transfer credit.

Please visit AU's Transfer Credit Guidelines site for more information.
 

Advanced Credit for IB, AP, A Level, OIB English, and CAPE Secondary Exams

Students may be eligible to receive advanced credit for exams passed during secondary school. If you took IB, A level, AP, OIB English or CAPE exams while in secondary school, visit our exam credit page for full details on AU exam policies.
 

Letter of Recommendation

A letter of recommendation for transfer students is optional. You may select and assign at least one Academic Evaluator within the Common Application. If you request recommendations outside of the Common Application, they should appear on official letterhead and include your full name and date of birth and be sent directly to American University.

English Proficiency

AU requires strong English language skills. All transfer applicants (including US citizens) can prove English proficiency by one of the testing options listed below.

Internal transfer students—those who have taken prescribed coursework at AU and who are applying for degree-seeking status—must earn a grade of "C" or higher in all required English as a second language courses and the WRTG-100 course taken at AU to meet the English proficiency requirement for degree-seeking admission. Students who do not meet these criteria must prove their English proficiency by one of the following testing options:

Testing Options for Spring 2024 and Beyond


IMPORTANT: Students cannot self report English proficiency exam results. Ask the testing agency to send your official results directly to American University, Undergraduate Admissions, Washington, District of Columbia (DC).

 

  • TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) - TOEFL code 5007
    • Internet based test (iBT) score of 85 or higher. Sub-scores for each section of the TOEFL must be 20 or higher. To be considered competitive, a 90 TOEFL iBT score or above is recommended, with each sub-score 20 or above.
      • Note: AU Undergraduate Admissions does accept the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition
      • AU does not accept the “TOEFL Essentials Test.”
      • AU does not accept TOEFL ITP Plus for China exams taken after July 11, 2020. If taken before July 11, 2020, minimum TOEFL ITP Plus for China scores are: Total 627, with sub-scores 64 for listening comprehension, 64 for structure and written expression, and 63 for reading comprehension.
      • AU does not accept TOEFL IBT "MyBest" combined scores.
    • Paper-based test sub-scores of 20 or higher (taken after May 31, 2017).
  • IELTS (International English Language Testing System): Composite score of 6.5 or higher. Sub-scores for each section of the IELTS must be 6.0 or higher.
    • Note: AU Undergraduate Admissions does accept the IELTS Online exam. 
  • Duolingo English Test (DET):
    • Fall 2023: DET score of 115 or higher. Each sub-score must be 105 or higher.
    • NEW: Spring 2024 and beyond: DET score of 120 or higher. Each sub-score must be 110 or higher.
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE): Score of 60 or higher.
    • Note: AU Undergraduate Admissions does accept the PTE Academic Online.
  • Cambridge Assessment English score of 176 or higher. Each sub-score must be 169 or higher.
  • SAT Reading Test sub-score of 30 or higher (taken after 3/1/2016)
  • New as of March 2023: Score of 610 or higher on the SAT Digital version section called "Evidence-Based Reading and Writing"
  • ACT English score of 25 or higher.

NOTE: Proof of English proficiency via TOEFL, IELTS, DET, etc., is not required of non-native English speaking transfer applicants who:

  1. Have been educated in U.S. regionally-accredited post-secondary institutions inside or outside the U.S. where English is the only medium of instruction and where the student successfully completes two English college-composition (non ESL) classes with a "C" or higher;
  2. Have graduated 4 years (grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 or equivalent) of secondary/high school where English was the only medium of instruction with no ESL within the past two years in one of the following:
  • U.S. regionally-accredited high schools inside or outside the U.S.
  • IB secondary schools inside or outside the U.S.
  • In the following countries or in the educational systems of these countries around the world/regardless of location where English was the only medium of instruction and no ESL courses were taken: U.S., UK and Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, Canada (except Quebec), Singapore, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and these countries in the Caribbean (Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands

IMPORTANT: Though English proficiency may be met in one of the above ways, the Office of Admissions may request additional documentation if deemed necessary.

Note for Native Speakers of English: For native speakers of English from the U.S., UK and Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, Canada (except Quebec), Singapore, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and these countries in the Caribbean (Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands) who list English as their first language on the Common Application, proof of English proficiency is not required, but may be requested.

Bank Letter and AU Certificate of Finances (AU CFIS) and Bank Letter for International Students

Applicants who require a student or exchange visitor visa (F or J) must submit to the Office of Admissions by the application deadline date a letter (not a bank statement) issued by a bank showing proof of at least U.S.$78,296 for your first year of studies and living expenses. Please visit the International Student & Scholar Service's guide on financial documents for the AU Cost Guide, sample bank letters, and Transfer-In forms.

All financial documents must be dated within the past three months to be considered valid and must be submitted by the application deadline date.

Application packets without the correct bank letter will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.

The AU CFIS form (completed by applicant and parent) will be required at a later date if the student is accepted and decides to enroll at AU.