General Admission Policies

International students are expected to meet the requirements for admission from secondary schools or from other colleges and universities as outlined below. Permanent Residents and students who have been granted Refugee or Assylee status apply through the Office of Admissions.

International students from secondary schools are expected to have an above average secondary school record and proof of adequate English proficiency, as well as a written statement of purpose.

International transfer students from other accredited colleges or universities must have above-average grades in all previous college study. Only credit appropriate to the curricula at this institution will be accepted toward a degree. Students transferring from other institutions in the United States must submit the International Transfer Form or other evidence of release from the previous program by their former foreign-student advisers and the equivalent of one semester's work at those institutions before admission will be granted.

An official statement of finances indicating sufficient funds available to meet all educational and other fees and living expenses for the duration of the studies is required.

A $50 application fee for new/renewal applicants is required. Application fees are non-refundable.

 

Priority Deadline for Application for Admission - International

UMKC generally follows a "rolling admissions" policy: i.e., admission action is taken as soon as the application file is complete. All international students should apply for admission (this includes taking all necessary tests and filing all required application forms and academic records) by the following priority deadlines:
Fall Semester: March 1*
Spring Semester: Oct. 1*
Summer Session: January 1*
*For application for assistantships, scholarships, etc., the priority deadline is Feb. 1. Several academic units have different deadlines as outlined in the current admission application materials.

UMKC reserves the right to consider applicants for the most appropriate semester.

 

Required Academic Records - International

Students must provide complete and official certificates of all degrees, diplomas, mark sheets, grade reports and examination records. Secondary-school records must be submitted as well as college/university transcripts or credentials. All previous undergraduate work must include syllabi of courses taken with literal translations.  If documents are in another language, applicants must also provide a literal English translation.

 

English Proficiency Requirement

International students are required to establish proof of adequate English proficiency as part of the admission process. However, some academic units allow conditional admission consideration (see "Conditional Admission" section below).

Applicants from countries in which English is not the native language (or if it is one of the official languages but is not necessarily the first language of the majority of the population) are required to present satisfactory Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores or International English Language Testing System (IETLS) Scores to satisfy this requirement. The minimum score is 61iBT (internet Based Test) or a score of 5.5 on the IELTS. Exceptions to this policy: 

1. Non-native speakers from post-secondary institutions in English-speaking countries [the full list of countries may be found here] provided they have spent a minimum of two years in successful full-time study and English was the medium of instruction.
2. UMKC accepts successful completion of ELS Language Centers Level 112 in lieu of TOEFL or IELTS.

For TOEFL information contact

TOEFL Services
The Educational Testing Service
PO Box 6151
Princeton, NJ  08541-6151  USA
http://www.ets.org/toefl

Request official TOEFL scores be sent to UMKC's institution code 6872.

For IELTS contact

The International English Language Testing System
http://www.ielts.org

Request official IELTS scores be sent to

UMKC International Student Affairs
Student Success Center, G-04
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO  64110

 

Other Admission Policies - International

Credit by Examination/Transfer Credit

For information on UMKC credit by examination policy, the transfer credit policy and course equivalency tables, the student is referred to the International Student Affairs Web site (http://www.umkc.edu/isao).

 

Admission Deferral

An offer of admission, granted on a regular basis for a given term, may be deferred for up to one calendar year from the term first granted. However, if the applicant attends another college or university after the original offer of admission, a new application must be submitted and official transcripts of the additional work must be furnished.

Applicants must request such an deferral for a specific term by contacting International Student Affairs. This request should be submitted through ISA's online services at http://www.umkc.edu/isao/services. Individual financial support documentation must be renewed annually.

 

Provisional Admission - International

International Student Affairs is authorized by certain academic units to admit on a provisional admission basis when certain applicants have not been enrolled at UMKC before. This category of admission is designed for use just before a given term pending receipt of credentials and the determination of eligibility for regular admission.

 

Conditional Admission

Students with no TOEFL or low TOEFL may be considered for admission to certain academic programs. Contact International Student Affairs.

 

Post-Bachelor's Classification-International

If international students do not want to work toward an advanced degree or are ineligible for graduate-level credit, they may be considered for admission as bachelor's degree students if they file credentials with International Student Affairs that indicate an undergraduate degree has been earned from an accredited institution. Students may take undergraduate-level courses numbered 300 or 400 for undergraduate credit while in that status, but they may not enroll in courses numbered 500 or higher. In general, the previously outlined policies for admission of transfer students are applicable.

 

Exceptions - International

Exceptions to admission policies must be approved by the appropriate authority in the college or school to which the students are applying. International Student Affairs should be contacted regarding forms and procedures.

 

Registration with International Student Adviser

Admitted international students must first report to International Student Affairs for a check-in session prior to their first registration at UMKC. Once admitted, international students must show proper and regular progress toward their degrees.

 

Health Insurance

At each registration session, international students must present health insurance containing repatriation and medical evacuation. Effective fall 1998, international students are required to purchase exclusive, mandatory UMKC health insurance.

 

English Proficiency Evaluation

All international students subject to the TOEFL/IELTS requirement must be evaluated (unless they have scored 100iBT or higher on the TOEFL or 6.5 or higher on the IELTS) by the Applied Language Institute staff at UMKC regarding the level of their English proficiency. If any weakness in that level of proficiency is revealed, appropriate coursework will be required to assure that the student's success is not jeopardized.

 

More Information

International applicants to undergraduate programs who want more information and forms to apply for admission can go to http://www.umkc.edu/isao or write to

UMKC International Student Affairs
Student Success Center, G-04
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO  64110  USA

Forms to apply for undergraduate admission can also be downloaded form the following website:  http://www.umkc.edu/apply.