International Students

Ottawa University is proud of our commitment to International education. We welcome every new international student, and we will do all we can to help you enjoy your time here at Ottawa University. All faculty and staff here are committed to helping our students succeed.

Admission Requirements

Please note: Students with foreign credentials who are applying to Ottawa University must have their credentials evaluated by a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). Reports include information about the credential awarded and the U.S. equivalency. Currently, Ottawa University is accepting evaluation of credentials by the following members of NACES:

• World Education Services (www.wes.org)
• Educational Credential Evaluators (www.ece.org)
• Foreign Academic Credentials Service, Inc. (www.facsusa.com)
• Global Credential Evaluators, Inc. (www.gceus.com)
• AACRAO International Credential Evaluation (www.aacrao.org and click on "foreign education evaluation" or call 202-296-3359)

Please request a course-by-course evaluation if you have taken college-level courses outside of the U.S. that you would like to transfer in to Ottawa University.

Students are responsible for submission of the appropriate documents and fees required for this evaluation. Otherwise, you only need to submit a certificate of graduation from a high school. This certificate does not need to be evaluation by a credential evaluation agency.

International high school students:

• A U.S.-Equivalent GPA of 2.5 or above (above-average grades in secondary school).
• Successful completion of a high school or secondary school diploma or certificate.

International transfer students:

• A U.S.-Equivalent GPA of 2.0 or above (passing grades in college).
• A course completion rate (Earned-to-Attempted Percentage) of 70 percent. (You need to have completed 70 percent of the courses you have started.)

All International Students:

• Meet any program specific admission criteria. 
• Submit a maximum two-page, double-spaced essay describing your "Sense of Purpose at Ottawa University."  Please organize your thoughts around one of the following three components using specific experiences from your life: Personal, Intellectual and Civc/Social.
• Established English Proficiency. This can be established by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). TOEFL scores required:
          Paper-based test:           550
          Computer-based test:     213
          Internet-based test:         79