International Applicants


International applicants have additional requirements for applications and admission. To keep all of the information in one place, please see details below on International Applicant requirements and details on specific documentation should admission be offered.

Who Qualifies as an International Applicant?

International applicants are citizens or permanent residents of a country to which they intend to return other than the United States. International applicants may be in the United States on an educational, worker or visitor visa, or be residing in their home country.

Domestic applicants are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States, or have been granted Asylee, Refugee or Paroled in the Public Interest status by the United States government. Lawful Permanent Residents are also required to upload a copy of their Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) directly to the online application.

Please note: International applicants who have filed an application for United States Permanent Residency, but have not yet been granted approval, are considered international applicants, but are not required to provide financial documentation.

Minimum Admission Requirements

All applicants must meet the minimum requirements for admission. The Graduate College at Illinois lists requirements by country. Visit the link below to find the list of countries and requirements.

Please note: these requirements are based on the minimum set by the Graduate College, our program's requirements may vary.

Credentials & Transcripts

The MHA program uses the HAMPCAS platform for applications, and all international applicants are required to submit foreign coursework to a US-based evaluation service for a course-by-course US equivalency report. The report must be directly send to HAMPCAS from the evaluation service.

The most commonly used foreign evaluation vendor for our applicants is World Education Services (WES), Inc. For more details on HAMPCAS requirements for Foreign Transcripts, visit the link below.

Should an applicant be offered admission to the program, they will be required to submit their official transcript to the University of Illinois directly. For transcripts that are not translated into English, the Graduate College will require transcripts in English and native languages.

English Proficiency Requirements

All international applicants are required to submit the results of an accepted test as evidence of English proficiency unless they qualify for an exemption. Official scores are required to be submitted directly from the testing agency. All scores must be dated within two years of the beginning of the proposed admission term. While the Graduate College does allow for students to be admitted on limited status, the MHA program will only admit students on a full admit status.

The following tests are accepted for English Proficiency:

TOEFL

103

IELTS

7.5

Duolingo*

135
*Duolingo test scores are only temporarily being accepted. Only exam results for tests taken between February 1, 2020 and August 1, 2024 will be accepted.

There are few exemptions to the English Proficiency requirements. For those exemptions, visit the link below for the Graduate College's full details on English Proficiency requirements and exemptions.

Please Note: In the HAMPCAS system, applicants will be asked to self-report their English Proficiency scores. If offered admission, applicants will be required to submit official test results to the University of Illinois directly.

Evidence of Financial Resources

All international applicants requesting visa eligibility documents (I-20 or DS-2019) are required to demonstrate that they have adequate financial resources to cover the cost of their education while in the United States. Financial documentation is required as part of the application process in order for visa eligibility documents (I-20 or DS-2019) to the U.S. to be issued.

If admitted for the for Fall 2025, International Applicants should be prepared to show proof of funding for the first year of instruction for roughly $60,953. Use the link below to see all details from the Graduate College on providing financial documentation.

See Tuition & Cost for details on the cost of the program.

Contact Information