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Information for International Applicants

The information below is for applicants and admitted students in French and Francophone Studies; Germanic Studies; Hispanic and Italian Studies; and Polish, Russian, and Lithuanian Studies.

We are happy and excited to accept applications from international students for all of our graduate programs.

• Application Instructions
• English Proficiency Requirement
• Department Requirements
• Document Requirements
• Deadlines and Dates

For Admitted Students
• Visa Information
• Official Documents
• Arrival in Chicago

How to Apply in General Heading link

All applications and materials are submitted electronically through our application portal.

To begin an application please visit the Graduate Admissions site and search for the program you are interested in. Click the APPLY → link to access the form.

You will enter information about yourself and your educational background into the form and be asked to upload the following documents:

  • scanned copies of your university-issued transcripts and diplomas/certificates for all degrees completed or in progress
    • Please see the Documents from Prior Institutions section below for detailed information on this requirement
  • the names and email addresses of your recommenders
  • department required materials (e.g., personal statement, CV, etc.)

Once you have completed all parts of the application, you will be able to pay the fee ($170) and submit your application.

English Requirement Heading link

UIC requires students who have studied in non-English speaking countries to provide proof of English proficiency.

TOEFL, IELTS Academic, and PTE Academic are accepted. The minimum scores can be found on the Graduate Admissions website.

Applicants who have worked or studied full-time in an English speaking country in the last five years may be able to waive their proficiency requirement.

If you are unsure if English proficiency is required for your country, please search for your country on the International Requirements page.

Department-specific Requirements Heading link

Please visit each programs website for information on specific documents that are required as part of the application. These pages give suggestions and details on things like writing samples, statements, and more.

Documents from Prior Institutions Heading link

All students who have completed courses outside of the US must submit acceptable, official documents with translations (if the documents are not in English).

To find out what type of documents are required, enter the country in which you studied into the UIC Admissions “International Requirements” page. A list of materials required will be given.

Transcripts

Transcripts are your academic record. Documents submitted to fulfill the “transcript” requirement should show:

  • courses taken (with titles/descriptions)
  • grades for each course
  • credits/hours earned

These must be issued by a university records office and cannot be marked “student copy” or printed from a student portal.

Proof of Degree

You must prove that you have fulfilled all requirements for your degree. You can do this with the following documents:

  • degree certificate / diploma
  • provisional degree certificates

UIC will not accept final / degree exam or pass certificates. Certificates or letters from departments, faculties/colleges, or divisions are not considered official.

Translations

Literal, certified translations are required for all documents not in English.

If your university provides official translations, UIC will accept those.

Otherwise, translations must be done by ATA certified translators, translation agencies, court-appointed translators, or the consulate AND be on the translator’s letterhead.

Deadlines and Dates Heading link

The deadline to apply for admission is different based on the program to which you are applying. Find your program below to see when you need to submit your application.

University Fellowship

The University Fellowship seeks to recruit outstanding students newly admitted to terminal master’s and PhD programs and provides a multi-year funding package that includes both teaching and fellowship (non-teaching) years.

  • French and Francophone Studies – December 15
  • Germanic Studies (PhD only) – January 10
  • Hispanic Studies (PhD only) – December 15
  • Polish, Russian, and Central and Eastern European Studies (PhD only) – December 15

Admission

Students in all programs but Teaching of Spanish are also considered for Teaching Assistantships.

  • French and Francophone Studies – January 15
  • Germanic Studies – February 15
  • Hispanic Studies – January 15
  • Polish, Russian, and Central and Eastern European Studies – February 15
  • Teaching of Spanish – February 15

Visa Information (For Admitted Students) Heading link

Once you’ve received your acceptance letter from the Graduate College and letter of financial support (TA offer letter) from your department and decided to attend UIC, please log in to the application portal at applygrad.uic.edu/apply/status and upload the following items under OIS documents:

If you are currently in the US on a student visa, you will also need to complete and upload a SEVIS Transfer Verification Form. Your current institution may also require some paperwork process from their international office to release your record, so be sure to contact them as well.

Please keep an eye on the email address that you used for your application as OIS will notify you if any of the documents are not sufficient or if additional documents/information is required.

Once your documents are approved, you will receive a notification that your I-20 is ready for mailing and be asked to select a delivery option. Digital delivery is strongly encouraged as it is the fastest (and least expensive) option.

When you receive your I-20, you can apply for your visa! Please keep in touch us updated with your progress on obtaining your visa.

If you encounter any difficulties or have questions about the visa process, please reach out to OIS at newintl@uic.edu.

Official Documents (For Admitted Students) Heading link

Degree Documents

All admitted students must submit official copies of their transcripts and proof of degree documents.

IMPORTANT!!!

If your university does not issue duplicate copies of credential documents, DO NOT GIVE ORIGINAL COPIES TO UIC! You will not get them back. Instead make a photocopy and follow the steps below.

  • Have each page individually stamped/signed/attested by an “acceptable authority”
    • Acceptable attestation authorities include Registrar (Assistant/Associate/Deputy), Controller of Examinations, Attestation Officer, Principal, or Dean – The attestation authority is the official/office responsible for issuing documents for your university.
  • All pages must be in an envelope that is sealed and is signed/stamped/sealed over the flap by the same official/office.

Official copies can be sent directly to UIC Admissions or can be transmitted to UIC Admissions by the student; however, the seal must remain intact.

Do NOT send official documents to your department!

Translations

You need to submit translations of your official documents as well. If the official documents are identical to those used for your application, you can just print the translations you used for the application and submit them.

If the official documents are different, you will need a copy of the documents that is not the attested, sealed copy so you can have a translation done of these.

If the translations were done by the university, they must meet the same certification requirements as the degree documents.

Arrival in Chicago (For Admitted Students) Heading link

Please see our Information for Graduate Employees (TAs, RAs, GAs) page for detailed instructions on when you should plan to arrive in Chicago and what you need to do when you arrive.