Admission as an International Student

International students attend the University of California, Davis, from many countries around the world. There were 87 different countries represented on the Davis campus in the 2005-2006 academic year, by an international student population of approximately 1,900 students, as well as approximately 1,500 visiting international faculty and researchers.

Freshman Admission

To be considered for freshman admission, applicants must complete secondary school earning superior marks in academic subjects and receive a certificate of completion that grants admission to university-level studies in that country. All freshman applicants are considered using the same eligibility requirements and are included in the same selection process. If applicants have attended both foreign and U.S. high schools, then both foreign and U.S. courses and grades will be considered. Demonstration of English proficiency may also be required.

Transfer Applicants

Priority is given to prospective California community college transfer students who are prepared to begin their junior or third year of study. Coursework from other colleges and universities is considered transferable if the applicant completed the course at an institution that is recognized by the University of California and is comparable to coursework offered at UC Davis. Students attending colleges or universities outside of the United States should be aware that many foreign technical institutes are not recognized and that vocational coursework is not transferable.

International students applying to transfer to UC Davis from California colleges or universities are considered for admission using the same eligibility criteria as domestic students. Applicants who have attended both foreign and U.S. colleges and universities will be evaluated using both foreign and U.S. academic records.

Note: It is not possible to disregard any college or university work undertaken within the United States or abroad.

Required Academic Records

International students are responsible for providing UC Davis with official academic transcripts and/or certificates beginning with secondary school records. College and university records should indicate subjects taken; grades or marks earned; rank in class; number of academic terms per year; number of weeks in each academic term; and number of hours per week devoted to lecture and laboratory. Certifications must be provided for any university or government examinations the student has undertaken. Certified English translations of all academic records are required.

English Proficiency

Applicants must demonstrate English proficiency if they have been studying in the United States for less than two years; English is not their native language; and the school language of instruction prior to study in the United States was not English. Applicants may do so in one of the following ways:

• Complete two transferable college courses (3 semester or 4–5 quarter units each) in English composition with C grades or better at an accredited U.S. college or university.
• Achieve a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 213 on the computer-based TOEFL. For more information, see http://www.toefl.org.
• Achieve a minimum score of 7 (academic module) on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Your IELTS score must be sent directly to the following address:
  Undergraduate Admissions
  University of California
  One Shields Avenue
  Davis, CA 95616-8507
• Achieve a minimum score of 560 on the SAT II: Subject Examination in Writing (taken prior to March 2005) or a minimum score of 560 on the Writing component of the SAT Reasoning Test (taken March 2005 or later).
• The new ACT Assessment plus Writing, the Writing score of the SAT Reasoning Test and the Internet-based TOEFL examinations are currently under review.

Estimated Costs for 2006–2007

International students are responsible for all of their expenses while studying at UC Davis. The expenses include nonresident tuition, educational fees, room and board and a modest amount for personal expenses. For the 2006-2007 academic year, we estimate the cost will be $42,300. Because the exact cost for tuition and fees is not determined until just before the beginning of the academic year, $42,300 is only a preliminary figure. This minimum allowance may be increased without advance notice.