You are considered a first-year university student if you have completed your secondary education and earned a certificate of completion that enables you to be admitted to a university in your home country and is equivalent to a U.S. High School Diploma and have never been enrolled full-time as a college or university student. If you have enrolled as a full-time college or university student, you will need to apply as a transfer student.

International applicants must meet the same first-year or transfer requirements for admission as any other applicant in addition to the following requirements:

English Proficiency Requirement

International Students Applying as a First-Year Student

For international students to be considered for admission to UC San Diego, you must meet specific English proficiency requirements. If you are a transfer applicant, you can fulfill the requirement with grades of “B” or better in your two required transferable courses in English composition. All other applicants must fulfill the requirement with an exam. Report your scores to the undergraduate admissions office before January.

TOEFL minimum scores

• Internet-based: 83
• Paper-based: 550

IELTS minimum score of 7 (Academic module)

AP Exam accepted scores

• English Language and Composition: 3, 4, 5
• English Literature and Composition: 3, 4, 5

IB Exam accepted scores

• English (Lang. A) higher level: 5, 6, 7
• English (Lang. A) standard level: 6, 7

Duolingo English Test (DET): Minimum score of 115

International Students Applying as a Transfer

If your native language is not English, and your high school or college/university education was in a country where the language of instruction was not English, you must provide evidence of English proficiency in one of the following ways:

• Achieve grades of B or better in the required UC-transferable English composition courses.

• Submit a TOEFL score of 83 or higher (internet-based test).

• Submit an IELTS examination with a 7 or better band score (academic module).

• Duolingo English Test (DET): Minimum score of 115

TOEFL and IELTS exams must be completed no more than two years prior to transfer.

When you apply

Report all completed coursework as it appears on your academic records at each institution. The application will analyze your scores using your country's grading standards. Do NOT convert scores yourself or have them converted professionally. Be sure to include explanations if grades do not fit in the given space and are abbreviated.

Additional First-Year Requirements

Secondary School Requirements

To be considered for admission, you must have completed secondary school with a superior average in academic subjects and have earned a certificate of completion that enables you to be admitted to a university in your home country and is equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma.

Use the dropdown selector to identify the names of certificates, diplomas and other documents that are the equivalent of a U.S. high school diploma. In addition to these international secondary school completion requirements, keep in mind that admission to UC San Diego is competitive. You must achieve excellent results on your final secondary school exams.

Some community colleges may not have an articulation agreement in place with UCSD for all courses. If there is a course at your college with a similar title and description, you may choose to take it and submit a petition for equivalency after transfer. The petition will be reviewed and a decision made by the department that offers the course at UCSD. You may also choose to wait and enroll in the course at UCSD after transferring. 

Yes, all International Studies majors are open (not capped) majors, and students can easily switch into the major or into another discipline online after they have enrolled in classes for their first quarter.

Please use the: How to Declare or Change a Major