Applying

Is this the right place for you to start?

The University of Pittsburgh welcomes applications from international students and we want to make your application process as smooth as possible. Before you begin, be sure you are at the right admissions site to begin your process.

• If you are a prospective freshman, transfer, or second degree candidate, or a student applying for guest, post-baccalaureate or, exchange student status as a non-degree candidate to any campus in the University of Pittsburgh five-campus system, you are in the right place. Exception: transfer applicants to the School of Pharmacy PharmD program. School of Pharmacy transfer applicants must file a PharmCAS application and the School of Pharmacy supplemental application.
  
• Graduate/professional students all apply directly to the graduate or professional program in which they're interested. Click here for the appropriate contact information.

Requirements for Degree Applicants

When should I apply?

As an international applicant, your application timeline differs slightly from the one for domestic applicants to allow time to apply for a student visa. It is to your advantage to plan ahead and submit your application and required admission materials early. Also, smaller schools may fill up early in the admissions cycle.

Application review begins in early fall for the following fall term and students are notified of admissibility on a rolling basis, but are not asked to submit an enrollment deposit until May 1.

At the latest, your application must be received by:

March 1: for fall term admission (August)

October 1: for spring term admission (January)

March 1: for summer term admission (May)

Your supporting information (transcripts, TOEFL/IELTS, course descriptions, etc.) will be accepted for up to one month after that.

When is my application complete?

International applicants must file the international undergraduate online application, which provides detailed instructions on how to make your application complete unless an exception is noted that applies to you. Here is a brief summary of what is detailed in our online application instructions. To make your application complete, you need to submit:

1. Online application, including a personal essay.
   
   
2. Your original or certified secondary academic records and translated versions of them if they are not in English.
   
   
3. SAT or ACT results for freshmen.
   
   
4. Official TOEFL or IELTS results, if required. Click here for exceptions.
   
   
5. Transfer students and freshmen who have taken university credits
   1. Official post-secondary records and an
      
      
   2. Official course catalog and/or course syllabi for all courses completed or complete course descriptions for the courses, modules, and subjects that you have completed and plan to complete. If written in a language other than English, an English translation must be submitted.
      
      Note: The University of Pittsburgh does not accept or recognize transfer credit evaluations done by other institutions or private credential evaluation services. Course descriptions for courses completed at regionally accredited institutions in the U.S. are not required.
      
      Note: Transfer applicants to the Swanson School of Engineering should be prepared for the possibility of limited transfer credit. All the university-level coursework that you have completed in the United States or outside the United States may not satisfy the degree requirements for the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. Transfer students must satisfy all of the freshman-level (required first year) engineering courses in order to be considered for admission into an engineering degree program and therefore may be required to take one or more of the freshman-level courses. In that case a letter of admission for transfer students may indicate admission to the Freshman Engineering Program.
      
      
   3. Transfer applicants to the upper-division Schools of Education, Social Work, and Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, must also submit supplemental requirements as specified by these schools on the transfer student website.
      
      
6. $45 application fee.
   
   
7. Proof of Financial Support. Review and complete the "Information Regarding Financial Support Requirements & Certification of Financial Responsibility" information and form. This information will give you clear estimates of the costs associated with enrolling at the University of Pittsburgh. Proof of financial support is not required to make your application complete, nor will the provision of this information or lack of it at the time you are reviewed for admission affect your admission decision. However, the University's Office of International Services will only issue an immigration document (Form I-20 or Form DS-2019) to you after you have: been offered admission to an academic program; paid the enrollment fee required to reserve a place in the class; and submitted acceptable documentation of financial support for the program.
   
   It is important that you review this information about financial support documents carefully, as financial aid and scholarships are not available to international students.
   
   

Or, you can send them as an e-mail attachment to intladm@pitt.edu. Please use your full legal name in your e-mail, exactly as it appears on your passport, so we can properly match your documents with your application.

Requirements for non-degree status applicants

Non-degree status students include guest students, exchange students, and post-baccalaureate students. Wondering if one of these applies to you? Click here for a description of each of these non-degree status options. In addition to completing the online admissions application, you will need to complete some additional steps, specified below.

• Post-baccalaureate students
  • Instructions for applying as a post-baccalaureate student
  • Information Regarding Financial Support Requirements & Certification of Financial Responsibility" form
• Guest student
  • International guest student application instructions
  • International Undergraduate Guest Student Supplemental Form
  • Information Regarding Financial Support Requirements & Certification of Financial Responsibility" form
• International exchange student
  • International Exchange Student application instructions
  • International Undergraduate Exchange Student Supplemental Form 2010-2011 and International Undergraduate Exchange Programs Certification of Financial Responsibility 2010-2011

Other Tips for Submitting Your Application

To ensure proper and efficient processing of your application, keep these tips in mind:

1. Use Your Full Legal Name on All Documents. It is extremely important that you use your full legal name, exactly as it appears on your passport, when completing your application. We will not be able to issue the necessary immigration documents if the name you provide on your application is different from your name as it appears on your passport. Be sure to print this same full legal name clearly on all of your application materials (application fee, test scores, Certification of Financial Responsibility Form, academic records, etc.).
   
   
2. Do Not List a Post Office Box as Your Permanent Foreign Address. In order for us to issue your I-20 form, the permanent home address listed on your application for admission must be a foreign physical address. When completing your application, be sure to provide a foreign street address (not a P.O. Box) as your permanent home address.
   
   
3. Use the Correct Mailing Address. Send all materials to:
   
   

   Office of Admissions and Financial Aid 4227 Fifth Avenue, Alumni Hall Pittsburgh, PA 15260-6601, U.S.A.

   Or, you can send them as an e-mail attachment to intladm@pitt.edu. Please use your full legal name in your e-mail, exactly as it appears on your passport, so we can properly match your documents with your application.

Wondering if we have received your required credentials?

If you have applied and been assigned a user name and password, go to my.pitt.edu.

This portal allows you to check the status of your application at any time. Accessing this link will tell you if all of the required items — the application, the application fee, your test scores and your official transcript(s) — have been received. Please note that my.pitt.edu will not indicate whether supplemental information, such as art portfolios or recordings, letters of recommendation or additional requirements for non-degree students, have been received. To confirm any items, or to address any concerns about the status of your application, you may contact your admissions processor personally. Just click here for contact information.

Questions? E-mail us at: intladm@pitt.edu.