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GRADUATE ADMISSIONS

Florida International University encourages and acceptsapplications from qualified applicants without regard tosex, physical handicap, national origin, cultural, racial,religious or ethnic background or association.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION

INTO GRADUATE PROGRAMSApplicants to a graduate program of the University mustmeet the minimum standards set forth by the Universityand the program. Applicants must check the individualprogram requirements before submitting their applications.

A student seeking admission into a graduate programoffered by the University must have a bachelors degreefrom a regionally accredited institution or, in the case offoreign students, from a well established institution ofhigher learning that is authorized to grant degrees byappropriate authorities in that country. The applicant mustsubmit official transcripts, test scores and other supportingdocuments to Florida International University, GraduateAdmissions Office, P.O. Box 659004, Miami, FL. 33265-

9004. All credentials and documents submitted to theGraduate Admissions Office become the property ofFlorida International University. Originals will not bereturned to the applicant or forwarded to anotherinstitution.

In the absence of specific program admissionrequirements, the applicant should have a minimum of a"B" average in upper level work, or a graduate degreefrom an accredited institution.

Degree programs individually determine admissionrequirements with respect to requiring nationally-normedexaminations and the required scores.

Admissions at the graduate level are competitive andmeeting minimum program requirements does notguarantee admission.

An applicant who fails to meet these criteria may gainadmission via an exception to the admissions standardswhich must be initiated by the specific academicdepartment.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Students interested in applying for admission into agraduate degree program or a graduate certificate mustsubmit their applications online by visiting FIUs website athttp://gradschool.fiu.edu for applications andinstructions. A $30.00 non-refundable fee (U.S. Dollars)will be charged for each online application.

INACTIVATION PROCESSApplications are valid for term of application only.Applications, which have not been acted on by theDepartment or remain incomplete, will be cancelled by theADD/DROP deadline date of the applicable term.Likewise, No-Shows (admitted student who do not enrollfor the term of admission) will have their admissionrevoked. Once an application is cancelled, the student willneed to submit a new application and application fee inorder to reactivate their admissions file.

READMISSION

An admitted degree-seeking student, who has not enrolledin any course at the University for three (3) or moreconsecutive terms, including the summer term, will berequired to apply for re-admission. (This policy does notapply to students on military withdrawals or approvedLeave of Absence - LOA.) Students applying forreadmission must meet the University and programregulations in effect at the time of application forreadmission. Applications for readmission are processedthe same as an application for initial admission with theexception of submitting documentation already providedas part of the previous application. If the applicant hascompleted courses in another institution of highereducation since the last attendance at FIU, however,transcripts from that institution need to be submitted inaddition to the application.

Application Deadlines for Domestic StudentsSEMESTER APPLICATION DEADLINE

Fall June 1st

Spring October 1st

Summer March 1stIf the application and supporting documents are notreceived by the appropriate deadline for the desired term,the applicant will need to submit a new application and feefor the next semester, unless a request to defer term ofentry is submitted for consideration to the GraduateAdmissions Office.

Note: Individual programs may have deadlines earlier thanthe University deadlines. Applicants should check with the

program to which they are seeking admission to determinethe application deadline.

CONDITIONAL TWO TERM ADMISSION

A graduate program may recommend for conditionaladmission students whose undergraduate GPA in theirupper-level coursework is below 3.00 or whosestandardized test score is below the programrequirements. Students who have already taken 12graduate credits at FIU are not eligible for two termconditional admission. Any graduate credit (fewer than12) already taken will be counted towards satisfying theconditional admission.

Students admitted under a two term conditionaladmission are required to: achieve a GPA of 3.25 orhigher for the first 12 graduate-level credits and completethese 12 credits within first two consecutive semesters,beginning with the term of admission.

TRANSFER OF GRADUATE CREDITFROM OTHER INSTITUTIONS

Doctoral programs may accept up to 20% of the requiredtotal coursework, subject to approval of the ProgramDirector, of graduate credit earned from another institutionbeyond a bachelors degree. An exception is made forcourses contained within an earned masters or doctoraldegree. For such courses, the maximum is one fewer thanhalf of the total credits required for the program.

Masters degree programs may accept up to 20% ofthe required total coursework, subject to approval of the

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Program Director, of graduate credit earned from anotherinstitution beyond a bachelors degree.

Education Specialist students are treated in the samemanner as Masters Degree students.

Acceptance of transfer credits for a course isdependent upon the following provisions:a. the student received a grade of 3.0 or better on a 4.0

scaleb. the course was taken at an accredited institutionc. the course was relevant, as judged by the admissions

committee of the department or program, to thegraduate program in which the student is accepted

d. the course is listed on an official transcript received bythe Graduate Admissions Office

e. the course will not be older than six years at the timeof receipt of a masters degree or nine years at thetime of receipt of a doctoral degree (does not apply tocredits earned as part of a completed graduatedegree program)

Note: Students are advised to verify this information withthe appropriate Graduate Program Director.

ACADEMIC RECORDS

Official transcripts must be sent directly from eachprevious institution to the Graduate Admissions Office.Documents in a language other than English must betranslated by an official translation agency. Notarizedtranslations are not acceptable.

ADMISSION OF INTERNATIONALSTUDENTS

Foreign graduate applicants are accepted subject to spaceand fiscal limitations. In addition to the general Universityadmissions requirements, foreign applicants must beacademically eligible for further graduate study in theirown country. Applicants from non-English speakingcountries must demonstrate proficiency in the Englishlanguage by presenting a minimum score of 80 on the iBTTOEFL (equivalent to 550 on the paper-based version ofthe Test of English as a Foreign Language) or 6.5 overallon the International English Language Testing System(IELTS). However, some departments may require higherscores. Applicants who hold an undergraduate or graduatedegree from an institution within the United States or otherEnglish speaking countries are not required to submitTOEFL scores. The applicant must check the individualdepartmental requirements. For TOEFL information, visitthe following URL:http://www.toefl.org/.

International student applicants must meet all theadmission requirements of the University as described in t

he previous sections and also comply with the following:Application Deadlines for International StudentsDue to the additional processing time needed,International Students should submit their applications andsupporting documents much earlier than students who areU.S. Citizens or Residents. It is recommended that allinternational students comply with the following applicationdeadlines:

SEMESTER APPLICATION DEADLINE

Fall April 1st

Spring September 1st

Summer February 1st

Note: Individual programs may have deadlines earlier thanthe University deadlines. Applicants should check with the

program to which they are seeking admission to determinethe application deadline.

Tuition for International StudentsAn international student is considered a non-resident and

is assessed non-resident fees.

ANNUAL ESTIMATE OF COSTS FORNEW

2INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTS

Single Student (18 semester hours)

Tuition and Fees $16,634

Maintenance $12,485

Books and Supplies $1,544

Medical Insurance $1,905

Total $32,568

1Based on 2012-2013 costs.

2Admitted for Fall 2006 or thereafter.

3Tuition and fees are subject to change. Fees include: Per credit fees:

$85.85 per credit. Per Semester fees: Student Health Fee ($83.19 persemester), the Athletics Fee ($10.00 per semester) and TransportationAccess Fee ($90.55). Amounts shown reflect 9 graduate credit hoursduring Fall and Spring terms only. 4Maintenance is estimated at $1,387.22 per month to cover room, board,

transportation, and personal expenses. This cost is for twelve months.5All international students are required to carry medical insurance. Thiscost is for twelve months.

Declaration and Certification of FinancesThe Declaration and Certification of Finances must becompleted and returned to the Graduate AdmissionsOffice. A Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20A) will beissued once the applicant has been found admissible tothe University.

The University is required by immigration authorities to

check carefully the financial resources of each applicantprior to issuing the Form I-20A. Therefore, it is importantthat applicants are aware of the cost of attending theUniversity and have the necessary support funds for theperiod of enrollment. Applicants should refer to the AnnualEstimate of Cost Chart.

The total funds available for the student for the first orsecond academic year, or both, must equal the totalestimate of institutional costs and living expenses. Allitems in the Declaration and Certification of Finances mustbe accurately answered to avoid unnecessary delay inprocessing. This document must be received by theGraduate Admissions Office two months prior to theanticipated entry date.

A married student should plan on an additional $6,000

in costs to cover the living expenses of a spouse.A couple with children should anticipate further yearly

additional costs of no less than $4,000 for each child.

MEDICAL INSURANCE

The State of Florida requires that all international studentsmaintain health insurance coverage to help defray thecosts in case of catastrophic medical emergency. Thepolicy must provide specific levels of coverage which havebeen established to ensure that the policy is adequate toprovide for costs at U.S. hospitals, usually much higher

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than costs in many other parts of the world. In addition, apolicy must have a claims agent in the United States whomay be contacted by medical providers and who facilitatesprompt payment of claims. The University has approved aplan which meets the state requirements and which meetsthe needs of most students; however, a student mayselect alternate coverage provided it meets the staterequirements for minimal coverage. A copy of theserequirements is available from University Health Services.Students are advised not to purchase insurance policiesprior to arrival without verifying that the policies meetFIU/SUS requirements. Compliance with the insuranceregulation is required prior to registration.

FULL-TIME ENROLLMENT

Non-immigrant alien students in F-1 visa status arerequired by United States immigration regulations to beenrolled full-time, except for the Summer Terms, and tomake satisfactory progress toward the degree program ineach term; otherwise the students immigration status willbe jeopardized. Full-time graduate enrollment is definedas a minimum of nine semester hours during Fall and

Spring terms and six credits during Summer terms.Doctoral students who have reached candidacy areconsidered active when registered for three credits perterm. Masters students who have completed allrequirements except for the thesis, and have an approvedthesis on file in the University Graduate School, areconsidered active in program when registered for onecredit per term.

It is the students responsibility to comply with all nonimmigrant alien requirements as stated under the UnitedStates laws Section 101(a)(15)(f)(i) of the Immigration andNationality Act and the provisions of the USA PATRIOTAct.

EMPLOYMENT

The legal regulations governing F-1 student employmentare complex, and advisors are available in the Office ofInternational Student and Scholar Services to explainthese regulations. In general, however, employment isavailable only to students who maintain their legal statusin the U.S. and is regulated under three categories:1) On-campus employment: F-1 students may be

employed on the FIU campuses for a maximum of 20hours per week during fall and spring semesters whileschool is in session, and full time during holidays,vacations, and summer. On-campus employmentincludes teaching and research assistantships forgraduate students and hourly part time work.Students must contact individual campus departments

to inquire about employment opportunities.2) Off-campus employment: F-1 students may request

off-campus employment under very limited conditionsand only after maintaining F-1 status for at least onefull academic year. Off-campus employmentopportunities are not readily available, and studentsshould not rely on off campus employment as asource of income to finance their studies.

3) Practical training: F-1 students may request optionalpractical training employment to accept jobs related totheir studies. Students usually pursue practicaltraining employment after completion of degree

requirements, although in some cases practicaltraining may be authorized prior to completion ofstudies. Since practical training employment is limitedto one year of full-time employment for each degreelevel, students cannot rely on it as a source of incometo finance their studies.

Note: An international student will not be grantedadmission to the University until all academic and nonacademic requirements have been met. Under nocircumstances should a student come to the Universitywithout having received the official Letter of Admissionand the SEVIS Form I-20.

All correspondence and document submissions shouldbe directed to: Graduate Admissions Office, FloridaInternational University, P.O. Box 659004, Miami, Florida33265-9004.

CREDIT FOR NON-COLLEGE LEARNING

Graduate credit will not be awarded for life experiences.In cases where a students learning experience would

appear to have been sufficient to develop theunderstanding and skills associated with a course that

would otherwise be included in his or her graduateprogram of study, he or she will be allowed to register forIndependent Study credits and demonstrate competencythrough development of an appropriate project acceptableto the faculty member who represents that specific area ofspecialization.

Not more than 10 semester hours of a 30 semesterhour masters degree, nor 15 semester hours of a 60semester hour masters degree, may be so earned.

TRAVELING SCHOLAR PROGRAM

The University participates in a traveling scholar programwhich enables a graduate student to take advantage ofspecial resources, special course offerings, research

opportunities, unique laboratories and library collectionsavailable on another campus but not available on his orher own campus. Further information may be obtainedfrom the Graduate Program Director of the program inwhich the student is enrolled.