General Information

Columbia welcomes applications from international transfer students. However, in order to be eligible to apply as a transfer, you must first meet certain criteria. You must be enrolled in a “U.S.-style” college or university. A college or university is considered U.S.-style if:

• courses are offered term by term (quarters, semesters, etc.);
• a grade is given for each course in each term;
• your college/university can provide an English-language transcript showing those courses and those grades.

If your school in not U.S.-style as defined above, you must apply as a first-year student, by the appropriate Early Decision or Regular Decision deadline, and only in your first year of study; if you have begun your second year of study or beyond, you are no longer eligible to apply to Columbia as an undergraduate at all.  Should you be admitted to Columbia and accept our offer, your post-secondary work can be considered for possible transfer credit.

Some Examples of “U.S.-style” Foreign Colleges and Universities

American College Dublin (Ireland)
American University in Cairo (Egypt)
American University of Paris (France)
Franklin College (Switzerland)
International University in Germany
National University of Singapore
Richmond, the American International University in London (England)
Seoul National University (South Korea)
University of Oslo (Norway)
University of St. Andrews (Scotland)

English Language Proficiency Requirements

If your home language is not English and if your primary language of instruction has not been English for at least five years, you are required to take an English proficiency examination, in addition to the testing requirements outlined above:

1. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). You are urged to visit www.toefl.org as quickly as possible for more information on this examination. A minimum score of 600 (paper-based test), 250 (old computer-based test) or 100 (new Internet-based test) is necessary for admission to Columbia. Your score must be reported directly to Columbia by the testing service, using report code 2116 ( Columbia College) or 2111 (The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science).
2. IELTS (International English Language Testing System). You are urged to visit www.ielts.org as quickly as possible for more information on this examination. A minimum score of 7.0 is necessary for admission to Columbia. Your score must be reported directly to Columbia Undergraduate Admissions.
3. If you have a 650 on the Critical Reasoning/Verbal section of the SAT, you are exempt from taking an English proficiency examination.

Please visit the Transfer Admission and Financial Aid web page for more information. (please hyperlink to new page)