International Students

International applicants are individuals who are a citizen or permanent resident of a country outside the United States. Chicago State University is authorized under federal law to sponsor nonimmigrant alien students studying on an F-1 visa. To be granted admissions to Chicago State University, applicants are required to submit academic documentation and proof of financial support before being considered for admission. To complete an application and before an I-20 can be issued, international applicants must complete the steps listed below by category.

Freshmen Applicants

Prospective freshman undergraduate international students must submit an application via the common app at (www.commonapp.org) and submit a downloadable international application packet.  Applicants who are currently in high school or have earned a high school diploma and never attended college must submit the following requirements to complete the admission application: 

• Official High School transcript – Foreign transcripts not written in English must be translated into English by a nationally known credential translator. Applicants must meet a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.50 on a 4.0 scale.
• Foreign Credential Evaluation – Only accepted by Education Credential Evaluators (www.ece.org) or World Education Services (www.wes.org)
• Official ACT or SAT scores – Must meet a minimum ACT composite of 18 or SAT composite of 940.
• Official TOEFL or IELTS scores (Not required if English is the applicant’s country first language).
• Personal essay
• Letter of Recommendation
• $100 (U.S.) non-refundable Application fee 

To demonstrate financial support for the duration of the time required to reach planned academic objectives, applicants must submit the following:
• Certification of sponsorship along with documentation in support of the sponsorship such as; an official letter from the bank or a bank account statement

Transfer Applicants

Prospective transfer undergraduate international students must submit a downloadable international application packet. A transfer applicant is an individual who has earned an Associate degree or have more than 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours of earned college level coursework from an accredited U.S. college or university. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale and submit the following requirements to complete the admission application:

• Official College transcript
• Foreign Credential Evaluation – Only accepted by Education Credential Evaluators (www.ece.org) or World Education Service (www.wes.org)
  *only required if the College transcript is from a Foreign institution
• Official TOEFL or IELTS scores (Not required if applicant completed 24 semester credit hours or 36 quarter hours of earned credit from an accredited U.S. college or university)
• $100 (U.S.) non-refundable Application fee                               

To demonstrate financial support for the duration of the time required to reach planned academic objectives, applicants must submit the following:

• Certification of sponsorship along with documentation in support of the sponsorship such as; an official letter from the bank or a bank account statement

NOTE: Additional documents may be required to complete the admissions application or before an I-20 can be issued. Transfer applicants that do not meet the minimum of 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours of earned college-level oursework from an accredited U.S. college or university will be processed as a Transfer Freshman and must comply with those requirements.

For questions, contact the Office of Admissions at 773.995.2513 or via email at:ug-admissions@csu.edu

English Language Proficiency Policy for International Applicants:

International applicants whose native language is not English must present evidence of proficiency in oral and written English by obtaining a satisfactory score on the Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and secure the minimum score of:

International applicants that meet and can provide evidence of one of the factors below will not be subject to TOEFL or IELTS requirement.
    • The applicant completed secondary education in a country where English is the official language; OR
    • The applicants completed secondary education at an institution where English was the medium of instruction; OR
    • The applicant has completed a minimum of completed 
    • 24 semester credit hours or 36 quarter hours of earned credit from an accredited U.S. college or university

For more information on TOEFL and IELTS, please visit:

• TOEFL
• IELTS

Very Important to Note:
In order to ensure there is sufficient time to process the application and student visa, the application must be completed and all required documents submitted by the priority deadline. To confirm what is required to complete the application reference the student checklist included in the admissions application packet.