An international applicant is an applicant who is not a United States citizen or permanent resident (green card holder) and requires a student visa (F-1) to study in the United States. If an applicant has completed any coursework or a degree(s) from institutions outside of the United States, he/she must request an official course-by-course evaluation from World Education Services (www.wes.org) to be forwarded to the follow address for review along with the application for admission:
PCOM Office of Admissions
4170 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131
Once an international applicant is accepted to a program, they must submit a Financial Responsibility form and all original bank and financial documentation to the PCOM Registrar. Upon receipt of required information in the PCOM Registrar’s Office, it will be presented to the PCOM Office of Finance (CFO) for verification and is subject to approval prior to the issuance of the I-20 by the Registrar. The Department of Homeland Security requires this documentation so a student visa (F-1) can be issued to study at PCOM. Click here for additional information.
English Proficiency Requirement
Proficiency in written and oral English appropriate to graduate and professional study is expected of all PCOM students. Any applicant whose native language is not English must demonstrate objective competency in English within the past two years by satisfactory performance on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum required score for the IBT (Internet Based Testing) is 79 and a minimum score of 26 is required for the speaking component. General writing assistance is available for theses and dissertations, however, as an institution offering only graduate and professional programs, PCOM does not offer remedial ESL coursework.
Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. Your score is considered too old, and will not be accepted, if it is more than 2 years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level, and how recent it has been, are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.
Applicants are exempt if:
English is the exclusive language of instruction at the undergraduate level; or
they have earned a degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university not more than 5 years prior to the anticipated semester of enrollment; or
they have completed at least two full-time semesters of graded course work, exclusive of ESL courses, in a U.S. college or university, or at an institution outside the U.S. where English is the exclusive language of instruction, not more than 5 years prior to the anticipated semester of enrollment.
