About degrees
In the U.S. educational system, bachelor's degree recipients have 16 years of formal education — 12 years of elementary and secondary education plus four years of post-secondary study — which qualify them for admission to advanced degree programs.
When reviewing academic records from a school outside the U.S., we assess whether the applicant has reached an academic level equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree. Our admissions staff is proficient in reviewing academic records from different educational systems around the world.
In rare instances when our admissions staff is unable to verify the nature or authenticity of foreign academic documents, the applicant may be asked to provide supplemental information or to obtain an evaluation from a foreign credential evaluation service.
Examples
Degrees typically considered equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree include the following:
- Bachelor's degrees based on at least 4 years of study from Japan, Korea, People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and Thailand.
- Bachelor's degrees representing 4 or more years of study, such as the B.Eng. or B.Tech. degrees from Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan.
- Honours bachelor's degrees from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and British-Style schools and universities.
- Bakalar, Diplom or Diploma, Inzenýr, Licenta, Magister, or Oklevél from East European states.
- Bakalavr, Inzenýr, Magister, or Specialista requiring a minimum of 4 years of study from former Soviet republics.
- Diplôme, Maîtrise, or a professional title such as the Ingénieur from France or French-style schools and universities.
- Diplom or Magister Artium from Germany.
- Licenciado or Titulo degrees from Central and Latin America, Mexico, Portugal, Spain.