If you are an international applicant, we have some additional criteria.
International applicants to the Full-Time MBA/STEM MBA program must meet particular conditions for academic transcripts and English language proficiency.
Academic Transcripts
We require students to have completed a four-year undergraduate degree or a three-year undergraduate degree and a master’s degree.
We consider graduate-level work but do not allow transfers from other MBA programs or candidates who already have an MBA or an MBA equivalent from another institution.
Please arrange for one official/certified university or professional school record of subjects and mark sheet, transcript, diploma, and/or certificate to be sent to Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business from the principal or registrar of each school you have attended or by the Ministry of Education in your country in a sealed envelope.
The names of all certificates, diplomas, and degrees earned and dates received should be noted. Photocopies or notarized copies are not acceptable. Official translations must be furnished when originals are not in English. You must provide transcripts.
Note: The Full-Time/STEM MBA program will accept uploaded scanned copies of your academic records. If you are admitted, we will then require official versions of these documents to be sent to the program office.
English Proficiency Requirements
Proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking English is necessary for all students who wish to enroll in the Broad MBA program. Applicants without native fluency in English must fulfill proficiency requirements as part of their admissions process to Broad.
Broad requires applicants to provide a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score, an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score, a Duolingo score or a Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE A) score. The admissions committee will consider a candidate’s highest total score (and the sections associated with the highest score total).
Minimum Acceptable Scores
- 250 on computer version of the TOEFL exam
- 100 on iBT (Internet-Based Test) TOEFL exam
- 7 on IELTS exam
- 110 on Duolingo
- 70 on the PTE
Candidates with scores below these minimums might not be accepted into the program.
Test takers should use the following codes: Michigan State University institution code 1465 and 02 for the department code.
Note: MSU does not accept the Institutional TOEFL, a test taken at any site other than an official testing center and not scored by the TOEFL administration.
English Proficiency Waiver Policy
The English language proficiency test requirement may be waived for students with one or more of the following:
- A bachelor’s degree earned 100 percent in the U.S., as long as the candidate’s old English language competency scores were provided for admission. The B.A. or B.S. program should be a regular four-year degree in which most of the degree is earned in the United States, and that is not 100 percent online and is not an “experiential” degree (where credits are given for life experiences).
- A bachelor’s degree earned at MSU.
- A master’s degree earned at an AAU institution on a U.S. campus.
- At least three years of U.S.-based, English-speaking full-time work experience.
In most cases, candidates who are citizens from the following countries do not need to request a waiver, so long as the language of instruction at the institution where the candidate received his or her bachelor’s degree was English:
Anguilla, Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada (except Québec), Cayman Islands, Dominica, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Federal State of Micronesia, Liberia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, United Kingdom (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland), the U.S. Virgin Islands, and several other Caribbean nations.
Applicants who have completed their schooling with the medium of instruction in English can ask for a waiver. To be eligible for this waiver, you must have completed your high school and college with English as a medium of instruction and have completed an evaluative interview with an MBA representative (interviews are offered only after you have applied to the program and are shortlisted).
How to Request a Waiver
Applicants must request the waiver; it is not automatic. Submit a paragraph in your optional essay about your academic background, verifying that the medium of instruction was English. Acceptable proof: copy of transcripts/diplomas that specify English as a medium of instruction or a letter from the institution certifying that the medium of instruction was English.
Note: Any international student who qualifies for a waiver and who will be a teaching assistant at MSU must still pass the SPEAK test. The Broad College of Business will not make any exceptions to the policy listed on this page.
International Student Forms
The following forms are NOT required at the time of application for admission. Many who apply for MBA find it convenient to submit these forms with their application. Please note that if you are admitted to the Broad MBA, you must submit both documents within 14 days of admission to obtain your student visa.
