Transfer International Students

• International students cannot register for classes until they arrive in the United States and check in with the Office of International Services (I.S.). This can cause a time crunch for both the student and the academic advisor. International students do not arrive until right before classes begin because it is so expensive for them to live here.

• A maximum of 30 credit hours per academic year can be transferred from international institutions when transfer credit evaluations are prepared, so IS must calculate a conversion factor to reduce credits if necessary.

• One credit hour in another educational system is NOT necessarily equal to one credit hour here.

• International students transferring from a U.S. college only receive credit for the hours taken and passed—not necessarily the course.

• Grades for courses taken at international institutions are not posted on the transfer evaluation. The GPA is calculated, but the grades are not recorded on the evaluation.

• Most credits from international institutions are initially evaluated as departmental elective hours. The student must go through the transfer credit revision process to request specific course credit if he or she has courses that appear to be equivalent to Missouri State courses. Office of International Services (I.S.) is limited on specific course credit it can assign.

• Even if a full bachelor’s degree was completed at an international institution, it does not automatically fulfill General Education requirements. The courses only meet General Education requirements on a course-by-course basis.

• Grading systems can be quite different between the U.S. and other countries. For instance, a C in one country may be completely acceptable work. However, if a student plans to attend graduate school in the U.S., this may not be acceptable. World Education Services (WES) provides country profiles that may be helpful for you to look at when you receive an international student from a country with an educational system you are unfamiliar with. You can find this website at https://applications.wes.org/igpa-calculator/.