International student admission

An international student is a student who is not a United States citizen or permanent resident and plans to attend a college, university, or other post-secondary education institution in the U.S. This includes students that hold U.S. visas as students, exchange visitors, or other nonimmigrant classifications.

International first-year students

International students who have not completed any college credit after completing secondary school should apply as an international first-year student. Please see the section First Year Students for more information about applying as a first-year student.

International transfer students

International students who have completed college coursework after completing secondary school, regardless of the amount of credits earned, should apply as an international transfer student. Please see the section Transfer Students for more information about applying as a transfer student.

International post-baccalaureate students

Students who have completed a four-year bachelor’s degree or its equivalent may be eligible for graduate-level studies. Graduate study leads to a master’s degree, doctoral degree, or other professional degrees. If you have already completed a bachelor’s degree and would like information on graduate studies, please see our webpage on graduate programs.

Official International Credential Evaluation

UW Bothell will accept international credential evaluations from any of the preferred agencies listed below or any agency that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). All evaluations must be completed with official documents sent to the evaluation company directly from institutions. A course-by-course evaluation must be sent to the Office of Admissions at UW Bothell in a sealed envelope or other means of official transmission directly from the evaluation agency.

It is the responsibility of applicants to supply all required academic records. If you are requesting records from a country or institution where you may have difficulty with timeliness or issuance, please make certain you request your documents allowing enough time for them to be received for your application. We require the document in the original language when the issuing institution cannot issue in English. If it is issued in a language other than English, we also require an English translation. All transcripts written in any language other than English must be accompanied by a certified literal English translation in the same format as the originals.

To be considered official, the translator must be certified by the American Translators Association or corresponding body in the originating country, or should have a Master’s degree in Translation or Interpretation, or be completed by the issuing institution.

Note: Any document submitted to the Office of Admissions to supplement the application becomes part of the official admissions record and cannot be released back to the student.

Financial statement

All international students are required to submit a Declaration of Finances along with an official bank statement dated within six months of the application period. In order for the UW Bothell International Student Services to process an I-20, international students must submit documentation verifying they have sufficient funds to attend the University.