In order to be eligible for admission, international applicants must hold, or be in the process of obtaining, the equivalent of a U.S. baccalaureate degree. In addition to the standard application documents, international applicants are required to submit a transcript evaluation (see below) and an English proficiency exam (see below), depending on where they completed their baccalaureate degree.
Please note:
In order to provide enough time for visa processing, applicants who will require a student visa to attend Teachers College must submit their application by the following deadlines:
Many programs accepting applications for Summer/Fall have Priority or Final application deadlines that precede these dates. Please note that if your program has an earlier deadline than the above, you must abide by the program deadline. Visit the Programs Search page to confirm the application deadline for your intended program.
Applicants who have completed, or are completing, undergraduate and/or graduate degrees at institutions outside of the United States are required to submit a full course-by-course evaluation including verified transcripts for U.S. degree equivalency. The evaluations must be prepared and sent by one of the two providers listed below. To ensure application review, full course-by-course evaluations must be received by the application deadline.
Please note this does not pertain to applicants from the United States who have spent a semester or year studying abroad. This requirement is only applicable for degree-granting institutions.
Teachers College will accept evaluations from the following organizations:
These organizations provide several types of evaluations. Please select the course-by-course evaluation option to ensure your evaluation meets our requirements for admission review. To have your evaluation sent to Teachers College, select "Teachers College - Columbia University" (for WES) and "Teachers College, Columbia University" (for ECE). Evaluations sent to Columbia University will not be received by Teachers College.
Applications are not considered complete without a course-by-course evaluation. The determination of degree equivalency to a U.S. degree is at the discretion of the College. Once submitted to Teachers College, the evaluation becomes an official academic record and sole property of Teachers College upon its receipt.
Applicants who attended institutions outside of the United States but did not complete degrees must submit these transcripts in order to be considered for admission review. Please note that if these transcripts are not in English, they must be accompanied by certified English translations. As with U.S.-based institutions, copies should be uploaded to your online application to ensure timely processing. If you are admitted to Teachers College and choose to enroll, you will be required to have final official transcripts submitted by all academic institutions listed on your application. It is recommended that you also request official transcripts from the issuing institution as early as possible, as international transcript requests may be delayed.
Please note: Course-by-course evaluations must clearly state that you have earned or will be earning the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s degree upon completion of your program. If you are admitted to Teachers College and your in-progress WES or ECE course-by-course evaluation does not indicate that you will earn the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s degree, you will be expected upon conferral to submit a second course-by-course evaluation from WES or ECE confirming you have earned the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor's degree. You will not be able to register for classes at Teachers College without fulfilling this requirement.
If your native language is not English and you have not received a baccalaureate (undergraduate) degree from an institution where English was the sole official language of instruction, you must submit official scores from an accepted English proficiency exam. We accept the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
In order to be considered official, scores must be sent directly from the testing administrator and have been taken within the past 2 years.
The accepted tests and minimum scores are:
Note: Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Applied Linguistics have different English proficiency requirements and policies, refer to the program website for details.
If you have taken the TOEFL exam multiple times and your MyBest Score meets our minimum score requirement, please order an official score report that reflects your MyBest Score to be sent to Teachers College. Then, please contact the Office of Admission at admission@tc.columbia.edu to ensure that your MyBest Score is reflected in your application. We do not require individual score reports if a MyBest Score is submitted.
If you have not earned an undergraduate degree at an institution where English was the sole official language of instruction, but you have successfully completed a graduate degree at a school that meets this criteria, you are not required to submit official results from an accepted English proficiency exam. If you meet these conditions, in order to qualify for a TOEFL/IELTS exam waiver, evidence of your conferred graduate degree must be displayed on the relevant academic transcript or course-by-course evaluation.
If you require a student visa to attend Teachers College, the Office of International Students and Scholars will provide you with instructions after you have been officially admitted.
DACA Recipients and Undocumented Students
Teachers College proudly welcomes DACA recipients and undocumented students as part of our community.
At Teachers College, we strive to establish an institution that attracts and retains a diverse student body and campus community. The admission process is open to all individuals, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
While DACA recipients and undocumented students are not eligible for federal aid, all admitted students are considered for institutional aid, as citizenship status is not considered in the scholarship process.
Per the New York State Board of Regents, DACA recipients and undocumented students can apply for and obtain a professional license and teacher certification in the State of New York.
For more information on services and resources, please visit Columbia University’s web page for DACA Recipients and Undocumented Students.