1. International Graduate Students Admissions Overview
Brief Policy Refreshers:
Degree equivalency
Institutional recognition
English proficiency
Official documents
Postsecondary Education in China & India (and Fraud)
Overview of the CDGDC requirement
It takes time to admit int’l students, so don’t wait till last one or two months before the start of the semester to admit students. It puts unfair pressure on the Grad School, the OA, and OISS. We may have to make exceptions which compromise our policies and our institutional integrity! But we also may push back, which can be frustrating for the dept and the prospective students. We’ve had a number of cases just this past Fall semester for Spring admits.

2. MSU Graduate Admission Policies Degree Equivalency
Admission to a graduate program requires completion of a level of education comparable/equivalent to a four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree. Normally, Michigan State University does not accept three-year bachelor’s degrees, diplomas or certificates as comparable to a four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree.
Exceptions are made by the Office of Admissions in the case of Indian students who have earned both three-year bachelor’s degrees and two-year master’s degrees.
Note: Applied Sciences bachelor’s degrees are not considered to be equivalent and require a waiver.

3. MSU Graduate Admission Policies Institutional Recognition
Degrees must be earned at an institution which is recognized by the government of the country in which it is located.
Recognition = MOE or membership in the International Association of Universities (IAU), or - in India – the University Grants Commission (UGC) or Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

4. MSU Graduate Admission Policies English Proficiency
All applicants must submit proof of English proficiency in the form of an acceptable score on one of the following standardized tests:
TOEFL MELAB IELTS
MELAB MSUELT PTE A
Waivers may be automatically granted by the Office of Admissions in cases of degrees earned in English-speaking countries.
In the absence of either of the above, departments must request a waiver approval from the graduate dean.
Details about waivers can be found at
ELP Waivers – see for details. TOEFL US-based while IELTS is international-based. NOTE UPDATED IELTS PROCESS - GRAD DEPTS SHOULD SAVE PHYSICAL DOCS AND ENVELOPES AND FORWARD TO ADMISSIONS. ANY UNUSUAL CASES WILL BE VERIFIED ONLINE BY ADMISSIONS. WE DO NOT ACCEPT TOEFL ITP SCORES IN LIEU OF REGULAR TOEFL SCORES. IT IS NOT A FULLY SECURED/AUTHORIZED TEST IN WAY THAT TOEFL IS. SEEMS TO BE USED AT INSTITUTIONS WHERE ENGLISH IS NOT THE DOMINANT LANGUAGE. Grad dean can check with us if questions about tests and scores.

5. MSU Graduate Admission Policies Official Academic Documents
Transcripts and diplomas must come in sealed, issuing institution’s envelopes.
Sealed envelopes may be sent directly from the institution to the graduate department or they may be delivered, sealed, to the department by the student.
Records not issued in English must be submitted with a word-for- word English translation. Translations may be issued by the student’s institution or may be prepared by an authorized translator in the student’s home country (for a certified American Translation Agency agent see Also:
Applicants should NOT submit their only copy (or an institution’s only copy) of transcripts and diplomas. Our policy is not return ANY documentation we receive!
RENEE SLIDE - Applicants can also use a local, Lansing translation agency – 7C Lingo / (517) / Please make sure that student’s do not submit their only copy (or an institution’s only copy) of a diploma! Our policy is to not return transcripts and diplomas that have been received. Renee discusses this slide. She includes info on department’s responsibilities with documents before sending to admissions (e.g., envelopes, etc.), particularly on handout.

6. Bernard’s Presentation…

7. MSU Graduate Admission Policies CDGDC Process
Chinese applicants should arrange for their official documents to be sent directly to their MSU department.
All ADMITTED students must then verify their undergraduate documents through the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center (CDGDC) and should be referred to (English) or (Chinese) for information.
Departments will receive an information sheet “verification of degrees from china” regarding the process for admitting Chinese students. Same as last year’s. A sample “perfect CDGDC report packet” will be sent out as well. Both of these are currently posted on the grad school website – under “grad secretaries”.

8. MSU Graduate Admission Policies – CDGDC Process
Students should have the CDGDC send a verification report packet containing their 1) Institutional recognition and undergraduate program completion information (e.g., 2008 – 2012), 2) copy of final bachelor’s transcript in Chinese and English OR just English and 3) verification of bachelor’s degree (verification page only). The report packet should be mailed directly from the CDGDC to the Office of Admissions. A hold will be placed on students’ accounts until the packet is received.
Deadlines for CDGDC verification: March 1st (Spring); July 1st (Summer); Oct 15 (Fall)
Because the verification process takes time, please be sure your Chinese students are aware of the policy and encourage them to start early!
I will be sending out, via the grad school listserv, the process report ALONG WITH a sample perfect CDGDC packet, along with clarification of what specifically needs to be in that packet. Departments need to ensure students are requesting the correct reports in the correct format. As example, reports MUST be in English. Transcript copies included in the packet can be in Chinese/English or just English.

9. CDGDC Report Pack Example

10. Questions?

11. Open Credential Analysis Sessions
Dates: Thursday, February 9, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Location: OA Conference Room
Time: 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
No RSVP Necessary.
Rm 255, in the Office of Admissions, Hannah Administration Building

12. Patrick Leahy, PhD International Credential Analyst Office of Admissions Phone: (517)
A copy of the powerpoints will be posted on the grad school website. Please do not distribute my phone number to applicants, students, or other individuals not affiliated with your department or MSU.