The guidelines below are provided to address questions faced by international applicants.
Submitting Official Documents
Documents submitted through an accredited evaluation service are considered to be official by the university. If you elect not to provide CGU with an approved evaluation, then the following applies:
To be considered “official” your transcripts must remain sealed as they were by the issuing university. If your university does not seal their transcripts as a standard procedure, please request that they place your transcripts in a sealed university envelope and stamp the outside flap with their school seal. Forward these documents directly to CGU as-is; please do not open the envelope as this will void the transcripts. Electronic transcripts sent directly from the institution to admissions@cgu.edu are also accepted.
Official Transcript Translation Requirements
Transcript and Credential Evaluation
To expedite the review of your application for admission, we recommend you submit to CGU an evaluation of any coursework completed at institutions outside of the United States. Transcript evaluations including Course-by-Course Reports can be evaluated by World Education Services (https://www.wes.org/) or another NACES accredited member service (https://www.naces.org/).
English Translation
Foreign transcripts that are not submitted for evaluation service and are not in English must be accompanied by an official English translation. Many universities will be able to accommodate your request to have your transcripts issued in English. If your school is unable to issue official transcripts in English, you have a few options:
- You may take your transcripts and diploma/proof of degree to the appropriate verifying institution (i.e. Educational Ministry) to have them translated and notarized. The institution can then send those documents directly to us in a sealed, preferably signed envelope. If the institution will only release the verification to you, please request that they put it in a sealed envelope so that you can forward that envelope directly to us; Do not open the envelope as that will void the verification. The documents must be received in their original sealed envelope to be considered official.
- You can submit your transcripts to a translation service. The translation service can then send those documents directly to us in a sealed, preferably signed envelope. If they send the translation to you, it must be forwarded to us in its original sealed state. Again, DO NOT open the envelope as that will void the translation; the documents must be sealed to be considered official. You should also request that an official copy (in your native language) be sent from your university to us so that we can compare the original to the translation.
Supplementary Degree Verifications
CGU requires that official transcripts showing that a degree was conferred be submitted for each institution. If your school is unable to issue official transcripts showing that a degree was conferred to us directly, you may follow one of the options below to ensure that your documents satisfy the transcript requirement.
- Submit your transcripts for evaluation through an accreditation service such as World Educational Service (wes.org) or another NACES accredited member service (https://www.naces.org/) and request that the evaluation report be sent to Claremont Graduate University.
- You can request your school to issue an official degree verification to you along with your official transcripts. Remember, documents must be received in sealed envelopes to be considered official. If your school will only release the verification to you, please request that they put it in a sealed envelope and stamp the outside flap with their school seal. You can then forward the envelope directly to us; do not open the item as that will void the verification. This official degree verification will be evaluated in combination with your official transcripts.
- You may take your transcripts and diploma/proof of degree to the appropriate verifying institution (i.e. Educational Ministry) to have them notarized. The institution can then provide you with those documents or send those documents directly to us in a sealed, preferably signed envelope. Again, the documents must be sealed to be considered official. Do not open the envelope as that will void the verification. If your country’s notary public offices are granted authority by the educational ministry to authenticate transcripts, you may take them there; if not, notarized copies will not be accepted.
In-Progress Transcripts
If you have not completed your bachelor’s degree (or master’s degree, if applicable) at the time you apply to CGU, please request transcripts from your university showing the work you have completed to date. These are called in-progress transcripts and will be marked as NDI (which simply means No Degree Indicated). These documents are acceptable for admissions evaluating purposes and an admissions decision will be rendered.
Please note that you will receive communication from the Office of Admissions indicating that your transcript requirement has not yet been satisfied. Once you complete your degree, you will need to submit official transcripts showing that the degree has been granted/conferred/completed in the manners described above.