International Applicants

If an applicant has completed any coursework or a degree or degrees from institutions outside of the United States, he or she must request an official course-by-course evaluation from World Education Services to be forwarded to the following address for review along with the application for admission:

PCOM Office of Admissions
4170 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131

To learn more about visa requirements after acceptance to PCOM, visit the PCOM Academic Catalog or contact the Office of the Registrar.

Once an international applicant is accepted and prior to matriculation in a program at either campus, he or she is required to deposit the necessary funds into a U.S. bank account selected by Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

It is the sole responsibility of an international applicant to determine if the degree received from PCOM and/or any licenses obtained in the United States will enable the applicant to practice a particular profession in his or her home country (or in any other country in which he/she desires to practice). Further, it is the sole responsibility of an international applicant to determine that he/she will meet the eligibility requirements for any applicable U.S. state licensing exam. PCOM does not guarantee that any particular country will allow the practice of the profession for which a PCOM degree is received and United State licensing is obtained.

It is the responsibility of the international applicant to ensure that he or she maintains all applicable terms and conditions of his/her period of stay in the United States, understands any employment-related requirement of the relevant PCOM program, and meets any requirements for receiving U.S. employment authorization.

The PCOM Registrar Office will assist students who currently have or are eligible for a Student Visa (F-1) status with all documentation required including applying approval of work hours that are required by the curriculum in which the student is enrolled and/or desired post completion employment authorization. PCOM does not guarantee that an applicant, student or graduate will be eligible for or receive any particular immigration status.

PCOM’s assistance with employment authorization is limited to international applicants on Student Visa (F-1) status; all other international applicants who do not have an or are not eligible for Student Visa (F-1) status should secure private legal counsel at the international applicant's own expense to assist with any immigration questions, concerns and/or filings.

For more information, review the international students information in the PCOM Academic Catalog.

PCOM fully online courses are not open to applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents for the 2024-2025 academic year.

In accordance with the March 2020 guidance, new or Initial F-1 and M-1 students who were not previously enrolled in a program of study on March 9, 2020, will not be able to enter the United States as a nonimmigrant student for the 2024-2025 academic year if their course of study is 100 percent online. Consistent with this guidance, PCOM cannot issue a Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” for a student in new or Initial status who is outside of the United States for courses operating fully online.

Federal laws, regulations, processes and requirements relevant to international applicants are subject to change at any time. PCOM requires that international students adhere to all applicable federal laws regarding their period of stay and/or ability to work in the United States. PCOM will also abide by all applicable federal laws, including future changes that may limit or restrict an individual's ability to remain in the United States.

PCOM urges applicants who have questions about their status or applicable immigration laws in the United States to seek private legal counsel.

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 two 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 from the TOEFL requirement 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 five 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 five years prior to the anticipated semester of enrollment. The Program Director has the discretion to override the TOEFL exemption in regard to verbal and written English proficiency.