International Graduate Admissions FAQs

Apply at stmarys-ca.edu/apply. You will create an account so you can save your application at any stage, and so you can access your status portal after a decision has been made. Within the application, you will be asked to provide:

• basic contact information
• your chosen program and semester/term
• a statement of purpose
• unofficial copies of your transcript, and GRE and English Proficiency scores (if applicable).

Saint Mary’s has programs following both the quarter and semester system. Please refer to the academic program page to see deadlines for:  

• School of Economics and Business Administration
• School of Sciences (Fall intake only)
• Kalmanovitz School of Education

Unfortunately, we do not provide application fee waivers. However, please monitor your email closely for events or other opportunities where you can receive an application fee waiver.

Yes, we do. However, since not all universities and colleges in the world do, SMC may request additional information to ensure these degrees are equivalent to four-year degrees in the United States.

You can check to see if your application is complete by visiting your application status portal. Here, if you are missing a document, next to any missing document you will see a red “X.” 

If we have received your document, next to each document you will see a green check mark.

Once we have received all of your required documents, your application will be reviewed and a decision will be made within two weeks. You will receive an email when a decision has been made. At that time, you will be able to log in to your applicant status portal to view your decision letter.

Visa-seeking international applicants with post-secondary degrees from the United States and/or select countries are exempt from providing English Proficiency exam scores. Click here for a list of exempt countries.

Saint Mary’s provides merit-based scholarship and assistantship opportunities for top international students. Incoming international Master's students may qualify for the Provost's International Master's Scholarship which provides up to $10,000. Scholarships vary depending on the program. 

Saint Mary’s has a limited number of Research Assistant (RA) and Teaching Assistant (TA) positions. If you are interested in an RA or TA position, contact faculty within your department.

Cost of attendance varies by program. Please visit this page.

If you received a scholarship for your Master’s program, you will be asked to submit an advanced tuition deposit to secure your scholarships. This will be credited in full to your first tuition payment and is non-refundable and non-transferrable.

After admission, you will receive an email requesting documents needed to issue your I-20: passport, financial documents, and certificate of finances. Once these documents have been received and verified, your I-20 will be sent electronically within 3–5 business days. Note that during peak periods, it may take longer for an I-20 to be issued. 

Yes, per current guidelines from Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), these are acceptable. You will need to print out and take the hard copy of the I-20 to your visa interview. 

You can check to see if your application is complete by visiting your application status portal. Here, if you are missing a document, next to any missing document you will see a red “X.” 

If we have received your document, next to each document you will see a green check mark.

Find more information here.

No, we do not charge a fee to issue an I-20 or DS-2019.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is about 35 miles from campus and is where most international students fly into.

From SFO, we will provide airport pickup for solo travelers during a designated time period before the semester begins. Please monitor our website and your email for updates. If you are traveling with dependents or outside the timeframe when we can provide pickups, you can either arrange a ride with a taxi or rideshare app (Uber, Lyft, etc.), or you can take a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train to either the Lafayette or Orinda stations. The BART stations are about 15 minutes from campus. You can take a free shuttle to campus from there (check schedule); call a taxi; or use a rideshare app. 

For individual students (no guests or dependents) arriving within a designated time period, we provide temporary housing for up to five days in campus residence halls. There is a nominal fee charged per night. These are offered on a first-come-first-served basis. Please monitor our website and your email for updates.

Meals will not be included in the fee.

If you are enrolling in a graduate program on the Saint Mary’s Moraga campus, check local real estate listings or look for affordable housing options in the Oakland/Berkeley area, which is about 15–20 minutes from campus. For those living outside the immediate area, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) offers service to the nearby Lafayette and Orinda stations. From there you can take a free shuttle to campus. Here is the shuttle schedule.

For details, please visit the Health and Wellness Center website.

Students who already have comparable health insurance may be able to request a waiver to the University plan. For details, visit the Health and Wellness Center website.