International Transfer Admissions
SDSU welcomes international transfer students who are prepared to face the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities offered by a top-quality land-grand university. We offer an affordable education at a top-ranked research university and will work with you to transfer your previous school's credits to SDSU.
For F-1 students the process is pretty straight forward. Please review the steps listed below to complete your transfer process to SDSU.
If you are a J-1 student, please contact the Office of International Affairs to discuss your transfer.
About Transfer Students
A transfer student is someone who has started post-secondary studies at one college or university and then chooses to move to a different college or university. If you have completed secondary school and studied one or more subjects at the college or university level (whether based within the United States or not) and now want to come to SDSU, then you are a transfer student. Transfer students secondary records must be submitted and reviewed, but only be used to determine admissibility if you have earned less than 24 semester credit hours. A 2.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) is required to be eligible for transfer to SDSU.
Completing the process of transferring to SDSU:
- The first step is being admitted. Haven't applied yet? No Problem. Follow these steps.
- If you have applied and been accepted to SDSU for either an undergraduate or graduate program, you will receive a transfer form along with your acceptance letter. (Please note that a transfer form will not be sent to students until all required financial documentation has been provided to us by the student.)
- Communicate with your international student adviser at your current institution that you would like to attend SDSU. Make sure you meet your current school's requirements for transferring.
- Discuss the date you want to transfer to SDSU with a designated school official at your current school.
- The date you transfer schools is called your "release date."
- As of this date, you will be considered an SDSU student and no longer a student at your previous university.
- The date must be after the end of a semester at your current school and no more than five months before beginning your first semester at SDSU.
- If you have completed your degree or are nearing completion of your OPT, the transfer release date MUST be before the end of your 60 day grace period.
- Please note: If you have received an employment authorization (OPT, Economic Hardship, CPT) it will no longer be valid after your record has been released to SDSU from your prior institution. Student's who continue to work on a prior EAD (Employment Authorization Document) will be engaging in unauthorized employment and will be considered out of status.
- The DSO at your current school must complete and send the transfer form to our office (via fax/email/mail) BEFORE releasing your SEVIS record.
- On your release date, SEVIS electronically transfers your immigration record to SDSU.
- SDSU does not mail transfer I-20's to students. You must collect your transfer I-20 when you check into our office during International Student Orientation.
- Finally, please follow our instructions listed below on how to transfer credit to SDSU.
International students transferring from a college or university outside of the United States:
Coursework completed at post-secondary institutions outside of the U.S. must be submitted for a course-by-course evaluation. South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University considers evaluations from World Education Services (WES) to be more accurate than other evaluation services. If you would like to have an idea about how many credits may transfer BEFORE you arrive in the U.S., you must provide SDSU with a course-by-course evaluation from . We also recommend requesting the WES International Credential Advantage (ICAP) package, as that includes an official copy of your transcript. If you do not select that option, you must request that official post-secondary transcripts be sent to SDSU directly from your previous institution(s).
If you are traveling out of the U.S. after your SEVIS release date, you must use your new SDSU I-20 when you re-enter the U.S. In this case, you will need to inform our office of your travel plans and your I-20 will be sent to you. If you are concerned that you might not get your I-20 before you leave the U.S., please send us your preferred home country mailing address, and we will send your documents there.
Upon request, SDSU will send your I-20 and application documents via courier using DHL. ($110 USD charge.
