International Student Admissions

International Student Admissions:

Sofia University is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant aliens as students. Final authority to grant entry into the United States rests solely with the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS.) Note: Application requirements are program specific. Please see Undergraduate Application Requirements and Graduate Application Requirements for more information.

International students must take at least six units per quarter, which equates to two courses. Only one online course can be taken per quarter, and the other courses must be taken physically on campus. The online class is 100% remote, and there is no fixed time for the class (due to the asynchronous schedule). You are required to login to the self-study platform on Canvas and complete the weekly assignments. Each on-campus course has required attendance.

Foreign Transcript Evaluation:

Sofia University accepts document-by-document GPA reports equivalent to a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the U.S. if a student’s degree is NOT from a U.S. accredited institution. A course-by-course GPA report will be required if the student wishes to transfer course credits to Sofia University. This report includes the CGPA course listing.

• Applicants must use a NACES certified evaluation (https://www.naces.org/members) service for evaluation. These evaluation services are not affiliated with Sofia University and applicants are responsible for any associated processing fees.
• Official foreign transcript evaluation reports should be sent directly from the evaluation service to the Office of the Registrar (registrar@sofia.edu) or via post to:
  Sofia University Office of the Registrar
  1069 East Meadow Cr.
  Palo Alto, CA, 94303 USA

English Proficiency Requirements:

Students must use the following criteria to determine their exemption status for taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the Test of Written English (TWE), and the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) requirements.

If you meet at least one of the following requirements, you are exempt from TOEFL/TWE/OPI:

• Your native language is English.
• You have completed all secondary or postsecondary education in the United States, Canada, or other another English-speaking country.
• Attended a U.S. educational institution for 1 year or more and earned a degree or certificate with a 3.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) or higher.
• Attended an institution in a country where the native language is English for 1 year or more and earned a degree with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher.
• Attended an institution for a year or more and earned a degree with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher where the official language of the institution was English for ALL coursework.

*To prove that ALL courses were taught in English, students may provide one of the following:

• Verbiage in the official transcript verifying the program was taught in English.
• Verbiage in the transcript evaluation verifying the program was taught in English.
• Published information about the program on the school website – students need to provide it.
• Verification by the Registrar’s Office – an email must be directly sent by the school to Sofia Admissions.

*English scores cannot be older than two years at the time they are submitted to Sofia University

Courses taught in Chinese are exempt from the English proficiency requirements.

The following countries are exempt from TOEFL/TWE/OPI:

Acceptable English Scores for Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Acceptable English Scores for Master’s and Doctoral Degree Programs