Graduate Studies

Admission Requirements

Please refer to the appropriate section below for details on admission requirements based on your student level:

New Freshman

  • Hold a credential that is comparable to a U.S. high school diploma.
  • Have a grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. All marks and scores will be converted to a 4.0 grading scale.
  • Non-native English speaking applicants must submit satisfactory English proficiency scores on one of the following exams: TOEFL, IELTS, ITEP, or PTE Academic. (Use school code 1900 for WIU.) Learn more about English proficiency requirements and countries exempt from this requirement.

Transfer Student

  • Have a combined grade point average of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale for all college level coursework attempted and good standing at the last institution attended. All marks and scores will be converted to a 4.0 grading scale.
  • Applicants who have earned less than the equivalent of 24 semester hours must also meet freshman admission standards.
  • Non-native English speaking applicants must submit satisfactory English proficiency scores on one of the following exams: TOEFL, IELTS, ITEP, or PTE Academic. (Use school code 1900 for WIU.) Learn more about English proficiency requirements and countries exempt from this requirement.
  • See our Transfer Credits page for information about transferring your undergraduate college credits at WIU.

Graduate Students

  • Hold a degree comparable to a recognized U.S. bachelor's degree.
  • Have a combined GPA of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale for all college courses attempted; or have a 3.0 or higher GPA for the last two years of undergraduate work attempted. All marks and scores will be converted to a 4.0 grading scale. Some departments have a higher GPA requirement so please refer to the Departmental Admission Requirements.
  • Non-native English speaking applicants must submit satisfactory English proficiency scores on one of the following exams: TOEFL, IELTS, ITEP, or PTE Academic. (Use school code 1900 for WIU.) Learn more about English proficiency requirements and countries exempt from this requirements. Some academic programs may require higher scores for admission.

Additional Information

  • All applicants from Nigeria, Benin and Cameroon are required to submit official paper academic records prior to being considered for admission.
  • WIU reserves the right to request an official transcript from any applicant prior to admission consideration.
  • All applicants who attended a private University in Benin are required to submit a professional evaluation for admission processing. See below for evaluation options.
  • While we are able to evaluate most transcripts in-house, WIU reserves the right to request an official external credential evaluation in order to complete an admission decision.  Applicants will submit a professional evaluation that includes transcript authenticity, GPA calculation, and U.S. degree equivalency. WIU accepts evaluations from WES and Spantran (see below).  Evaluations from other agencies will not be accepted. While not required, investing in a professional evaluation from one of these two agencies will greatly help you when applying for admission to multiple colleges or universities, future employment in the U.S., or with changing your immigration status later on.

Spantran spantran logo

  1. Spantran offers this  WIU specific site  for your convenience and offers a discounted rate if the evaluation is  requested via this specific site.  
  2. Instructions are provided within the application.
  3. Spantran offers translation services for an additional fee.

 

World Education Services (WES) WES logo

Follow the steps below to secure your credential evaluation:

  1. Applicants can create a WES account by visiting: https://applications.wes.org/createaccount/login/login
  2. Select the Course-by-Course International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP) option to ensure that your evaluation meets our requirements for admission review.
  3. To ensure that Western Illinois University receives an official copy of your evaluation, select it from the drop-down box and add it as a recipient.

If you provided a WES transcript reflecting in-progress study, a follow-up WES course-by-course evaluation showing the complete academic record and degree conferral could be required. Applicants are responsible for paying all fees for such evaluations, upgrades, as well as making arrangements with WES to send and receive their documents.

The WES application will provide specific instructions regarding the required official transcripts to be sent from your former institution(s). Over 10,000 institutions are currently sending WES documents digitally. WES also requires photocopies of translations of all diplomas/degree certificates and transcripts issued in a language other than English which you will upload into your account (WES is not a translation service, so cannot prepare these for you).  WES will share copies of your academic records with WIU along with your completed evaluation.

For more information, WES applicants can visit:  https://www.wes.org/contact-us/ for assistance.