International Transfer Applicants

UMass Amherst welcomes you to apply for admission as an international student if you are not a United States citizen or a permanent resident of the United States.

If you have completed high school (secondary school) and have been enrolled in a college or university, you should apply as a transfer student (see instructions below). If you have completed high school (secondary school) and have not yet enrolled in a regular session at a college or university, you should apply as a first-year student.

A note on spring admission for international students: Due to the lengthy VISA process, we are unable to admit international students for the spring semester, unless they are currently enrolled in a U.S. college or university.

Application materials needed for an international transfer student:

Applicants to UMass Amherst should use the Common Application and must pay the $85 application fee. Students who are enrolled in a Massachusetts community college and who are earning their associate degree in a MassTransfer program may instead apply using the MassTransfer Application.

Find all deadlines here!

Applicants needing an F-1 student visa will receive email instructions on how to submit their financial documents after an offer of admission has been made. For more about finances and visa processing for international students please see this page. If you are currently living in the United States and believe your visa status will qualify you as a domestic student, please be sure to include your U.S. visa information in the "Geography and Citizenship" section of the Common Application.

Architecture, art, dance, and music majors should submit an application early to Undergraduate Admissions to facilitate the audition or portfolio review process. See Special Requirements for Selected Majors for more information.

UMass Amherst seeks to admit students who will contribute fully to campus life, inside and outside the classroom. Therefore, all non-native speakers of English must demonstrate English language proficiency.

Official transcripts/mark sheets from all post-secondary institutions attended, along with official English translations, are required. 

Every school may have a slightly different process to request official transcripts but generally you can visit the Registrar’s Office website from your previous schools to request to have your official transcripts sent to UMass Amherst. In order for transcripts to be considered official, they must be sent directly from your previous institution to UMass Amherst.

If you have attended more than one college/university, you must have official transcripts sent from each school (whether or not credit is desired).

Many schools use electronic transcript services such as National Student Clearinghouse or Parchment to send official transcripts. If your school uses one of these services and you need to provide a UMass Amherst email to receive the transcript, please use elcolts@admissions.umass.edu.

If your school needs to send an official paper copy of your transcripts, please have the transcripts sent to:

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Undergraduate Admissions
37 Mather Drive
Amherst, MA 01003

Attention transfer applicants from Chinese Universities: In order to be considered for admission and/or transfer credit, please arrange for a verification report of your university transcript with the China Credentials Verification (CSSD). The electronic report must be sent directly to UMass Amherst through the CSSD Email Service, rather than by you or any third party. Please request that the CSSD Email Service send the reports to elcolts@admissions.umass.edu

While not required for admission, all international students may choose to submit a third-party unscripted interview. Because many students come from educational systems that are different from that of the United States, we find it valuable to view an unscripted interview where applicants may discuss their unique backgrounds and goals. A third-party company will conduct the interview, record the conversation, and send it directly to our admissions team for review. If you choose to submit such an interview, companies that provide this service include InitialView. (Interviews are optional and must be submitted by the application deadline to be considered.  Applicants must contact the company to set-up and pay for the interview. Submission of an interview does not waive any application requirement nor in any way guarantee admission.)

Applicants also have the option to provide additional information about their English ability by submitted a score on the Duolingo English Test (DET).  This is an optional supplement that may assist us in evaluating your application for admission or a specific major. Important: the DET will be used as a supplement only; applicants must still demonstrate English language proficiency as noted above.

At UMass Amherst, standardized tests are optional for first-year entering applicants. UMass Amherst will review applications with or without standardized test scores. Students who have taken the SAT/ACT exams are welcome to send their scores. Please see our test-optional policy for more information. Proof of English language proficiency is still required if English in not your first language and your high school is not following the American or British curriculum.

If an applicant's high school (or secondary school) is in a country that requires national or state exams in order to progress to higher educational levels, we require a copy of official exam results for any exams completed prior to applying for admission instead of a secondary school transcript. Some examples are GCSE ordinary, advanced subsidiary, and advanced level exams; Indian secondary school certificate, higher secondary school certificate, or intermediate examination certificate; Caribbean secondary education certificate (CSEC) or Caribbean advanced proficiency examination (CAPE).