Admission Requirements

Freshman Admission Requirements

IF1 (Non-US Citizen on a Visa Attending a US Accredited HS)

To gain admission to the University of Houston, all prospective students must complete an application for admissions. Applicants will complete an online application through Apply Texas or Common App. In addition to completing the application, an international applicant must pay a fee of $90 at the time of application submission.
An international freshman student cannot receive a NACAC application fee waiver.
Please refer to the freshman admissions website for application deadlines.
Admission Requirement: Same as the Domestic Requirement –The student can choose to be reviewed With Test Score or Without Test Score
If an international student is attending an International secondary school abroad that follows an American system, the school must be accredited by one of the following accrediting bodies: Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), or Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The international student will need to meet the domestic admissions requirement and is IF1.
International freshmen with U.S. accredited high school diploma, whether completed in U.S. or abroad and with attendance of at least senior year, then domestic freshmen criteria.

Cambridge Curriculum schools

For Cambridge Curriculum schools (British system), students typically complete the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)/International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) or O-levels around 16 yrs of age, after which the students go on to complete Advanced levels (A levels) around 18yrs of age.
Students that only completed IGCSE or O-levels are not college ready. They need to complete A levels, IB, or complete secondary school with a UH acceptable certificate/diploma (See IF4 documents below).
To complete the A levels qualification, students study for two years. The first year is the Advanced Subsidiary (AS level), and the second year is the A2 level. The AS Level is a qualification in its own right, and the AS Level together with the A2 Level forms the complete A Level qualification. Typically, students study 4 subjects in AS level and drop 1 subject if/when moving forward to the A2 level. Students have the option to sit for exams at the end of the first year for AS qualification, or take all four subjects together at the end of the second year for A level qualification.
To meet the University grade requirements, students must have taken either GCSE, IGCSE or O-levels, and students must have also taken AS levels and A2/A levels.
GPA/Grade Requirement: 5 subjects GCSE/IGCSE or O-levels with a B or better in the same sitting AND 2 subjects A-levels or 4 subjects AS-level with a grade of C or better in the same sitting.
Additional Admission Requirement: These students are exempted from the English proficiency requirement and have to meet the domestic admissions requirement. The students can choose to be reviewed With Test Score or Without Test Score.
AS and A level credits are college level and transferable. The credits will be evaluated during the student’s first enrolled term at UH. Submit International transfer credit Iris ticket for the student after final document is uploaded to student’s file.
If the student is a US citizen or permanent resident their admit type will be FR2 (Domestic freshman).

International Bachelorette Diploma

International Bachelorette Diploma (IB) holders meet the University’s grade requirements.
Admission Requirement: IB Diploma holder students are exempted from the English proficiency requirement and have to meet the domestic admissions requirement. The students can choose to be reviewed With Test Score or Without Test Score.
IB credits are college level and transferable. The credits will be evaluated during the student’s first enrolled term at UH. Submit International transfer credit Iris ticket for student after final document is uploaded to student’s file.
If the student is a US citizen or permanent resident their admit type will be FR2 (Domestic freshman).

Special scenarios

International freshmen graduate from English language speaking country high school must meet the domestic freshmen criteria. These students are exempted from the English proficiency requirement. Please look under ELR requirements for the list of accepted English language speaking countries.
For majors that require an audition and the applicant is abroad, the student needs to reach out to the specific major and send desired file formats to the contact person.

IF4 (Non-US Citizen on a Visa Graduating with Foreign Credentials)

To gain admission to the University of Houston, all prospective students must complete an application for admissions. Applicants will complete an online application through Apply Texas or Common App. In addition to completing the application, an international applicant must pay a fee of $90 at the time of application submission.
An international freshman student cannot receive a NACAC application fee waiver.
Please refer got the freshman admissions website for application deadlines.
General Admission Requirement: The student must have a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, and must meet the English language requirement.
UH Admissions will convert foreign marks, grades to 4.0 scale.
Special Major Requirement: In addition to general admission requirements, the student must meet either the GPA requirement or SAT or ACT score requirement including any courses required for admissions (varies by major).
English Proficiency Requirement: TOEFL (internet based) 79, TOEFL (paper based) 550, Duolingo English Test 105, IELTS 6.5, SAT total/creative writing 1170/530, or ACT composite/English 24/21

FR3 (US Citizen/Permanent Resident Graduating with Foreign Credentials)

To gain admission to the University of Houston, all prospective students must complete an application for admissions. Applicants will complete an online application through Apply Texas or Common App. In addition to completing the application, a domestic applicant must pay a fee of $75 at the time of application submission.
Please refer to the freshman admissions website for application deadlines.
FR3 students are domestic students and can submit a NACAC form to receive an application fee waiver.
General Admission Requirement: The student must have a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, and must meet the English language requirement.
UH Admissions will convert foreign marks, grades to 4.0 scale.
Special Major Requirement: In addition to general admission requirements, the student must meet either the GPA requirement or SAT or ACT score requirement including any courses required for admissions (varies by major).

Freshman Documents

IF1 (Non-US Citizen on a Visa Attending a US Accredited HS)

Official transcript from high school can be sent electronically directly from the school, a sealed envelope can be mailed by the school or the student.
If the IF1 student’s school is located abroad, and the secondary school follows an American system, the school must be accredited by MSACS, NWCCU, NCA, NEASC, SACS, or WASC.
ACT/SAT scores must be sent from College Board.
Applicants can also upload a PDF transcript if they choose to.

IF4 (Non-US Citizen on a Visa Graduating with Foreign Credentials)

The University must be able to determine that foreign school credentials are evidence of completion of secondary education that is equivalent to secondary education in the United States.
The University conducts its own evaluations, and outside evaluations (like WES and Spantran) are not accepted.
Different countries have different secondary school completion credentials. The student must send the appropriate foreign credential when they apply to the university. The following table lists required documents from the common countries where UH international student come from.

Please refer to this SharePoint file, for a complete list with foreign credential from all other countries.
The student can upload unofficial PDF transcript to complete their application. If the transcript is not in English, the student must also upload an English translation of the transcript in addition to the transcript in its original language,
An admitted student must submit final documents. Final documents must be originals and sent in a sealed envelope directly from the institutions or from the applicant. All documents from Nigeria must be sent directly from the institutions.
On a case to case bases depending on the student’s country, unsealed original documents will be accepted and if it is the student’s only copy, an admissions counselor will make a copy of the original and return the original document to the student.
Any document that is not in English needs to have an attested English translation submitted in addition to the original foreign language document.
Admitted students that studied the Cambridge curriculum and completed any of the following levels – IGCSE, GCSE, O-Levels, AS Level or A Levels; will have to submit the original Cambridge certificate. Copies will not be made. The students can have their certificates sent to the university directly from Cambridge as well.
Admitted students that completed the International Baccalaureate curriculum must have their transcript sent directly from the International Baccalaureate Organization.

Transfer Admission Requirements

IT1 (Non-US Citizen on a Visa attending a US accredited Institute of Higher Education)

IT1 students have only attended a US accredited college/university after graduating from high school.
Transfer students have completed at least 15 college credit hours after high school graduation.
To gain admission to the University of Houston, all prospective students must complete an application for admissions. Applicants will complete an online application through Apply Texas or Common App. In addition to completing the application, an international applicant must pay a fee of $90 at the time of application submission.
Please refer to the transfer admissions website for application deadlines.
Admission Requirement: Same as the Domestic Transfer Requirement

IT4 (Non-US Citizen on a Visa Transferring with International College Credits)

IT4 students are transfer applicants with college credits that are completely from an international institution, or some credits are from a US accredited higher institution and some credits are from an international institution.
To gain admission to the University of Houston, all prospective students must complete an application for admissions. Applicants will complete an online application through Apply Texas or Common App. In addition to completing the application, an international applicant must pay a fee of $90 at the time of application submission.
Please refer to the transfer admissions website for application deadlines.
UH Admissions will convert foreign marks, grades to 4.0 scale.
Student must meet the general transfer admission requirement and the English language requirement (see ELR section for the details).
If the student is applying for a special major, the student must meet the requirements listed for that major.
The Cullen College of Engineering does not accept international credits for the purpose of transfer admissions. Other special majors with specific course requirements (Ex NSM & College of Tech) might accept international credits for the purpose of admission through the college review process which might require contacting the colleges for approval.
International credits are evaluated and posted to the student’s account during the first enrolled term of the student. Submit International transfer credit Iris ticket for student if evaluation is not done during the students first term.
Generally, international and out of state courses get posted as electives and it is the students responsibility to petition their respective colleges for appropriate course numbers.

TR3 (US Citizen/Permanent Resident with International College Credits)

TR3 students are transfer applicants with college credits that are completely from an international institution, or some credits are from a US accredited higher institution and some credits are from an international institution.
To gain admission to the University of Houston, all prospective students must complete an application for admissions. Applicants will complete an online application through Apply Texas or Common App. In addition to completing the application, a domestic applicant must pay a fee of $75 at the time of application submission.
Please refer to the transfer admissions website for application deadlines.
Admissions requirements are same as IT4. Please see above.

Transfer Documents

IT1 (Non-US Citizen on a Visa attending a US accredited Institute of Higher Education)

Official transcript from the US accredited institute of higher education can be sent electronically directly from the school, a sealed envelope can be mailed by the school or the student, or a sealed transcript can be dropped off at the Office of Admissions front desk.
If the IT1 student’s University is located abroad, the University must be accredited by MSACS, NWCCU, NCA, NEASC, SACS, or WASC.
Applicants can also upload a PDF transcript if they choose to.

IT4 (Non-US Citizen on a Visa Transferring with International College Credits)

The University conducts its own evaluations, and outside evaluations (like WES and Spantran) are not accepted.
Applicants can upload a PDF transcript if they choose to. If document is not in English, an official English translation must be submitted in addition to the original document.
If submitting final document, document must be original and sent in a sealed envelope directly form the institutions or from the applicant. All documents from Nigeria must be sent directly from the institutions.
If the original document is not in English, an official English translation must be submitted in addition to the original document.
On a case to case bases depending on the student’s country, unsealed international original documents will be accepted and if it is the student’s only copy, an admissions counselor will make a copy of the original and return the original document to the student.
Post baccalaureate students must submit a notarized copy of their degree certificate or bring the original certificate to the Office of Admission and an admission counselor will make a copy.

TR3 (US Citizen/Permanent Resident with International College Credits)

The documentation requirements are same as IT4.

FR3 (US Citizen/Permanent Resident Graduating with Foreign Credentials)

The documentation requirements are same as IF4.

Post-application submission and decisions

After the applicant has submitted the application and paid the application fee, s/he will receive an email containing his/her UH ID. The applicant will use this ID to log into their My UH portal where s/he may see the completion status of the application. UH can only render a decision on complete applications. A complete file is one where no documents necessary to make an admissions decision are missing. Any missing items necessary to make an admissions decision will appear on the applicant’s checklist on their my UH portal page. Counselors may also check PeopleSoft to advise student of missing documents or admissions decisions.

All applications evaluated by the International Processing team is individually reviewed and takes longer to render a decision. The applicant should continue to monitor his/her My UH page to obtain the latest status on his/her application.

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