Information for Prospective International Students in the MPA Program
Admission Policy
Application Form
Application Processing Fee
Official Documents and Test Scores
International Office
Certification of Financial Responsibility
Financial Assistance for International
Students
Housing
University Health Services
MPA International Connection
Admission Policy
Because The University of Texas at Austin extends its resources to only
a limited number of academically qualified international students, admission
is highly competitive. Applications are reviewed on an individual basis
and final decisions on admissibility are made only after all factors
and credentials related to an applicant's educational background have
been considered. The applicant's academic record should indicate excellent
preparation for study at The University in the proposed major field.
Meeting the minimum requirements may not be sufficient to receive an
offer of admission. Due to enrollment pressures, The University may
restrict the admission of applicants who are not legal residents of
the state of Texas, including international applicants. Admission is
offered only to those international applicants who will be seeking the
MPA degree on a full-time basis.
Application Form
An electronic application is available on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.utexas.edu/student/giac/.
The Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) prefers
electronic applications because they can be processed much faster than
paper applications. Please note that incomplete applications
cannot be evaluated and may encounter processing delays that could affect
the admissions decision.
Application Processing Fee
International applicants who have not been previously enrolled at the
University of Texas at Austin must pay a nonrefundable processing fee
of one hundred dollars (U.S. $100.00). Do not send cash or personal
checks. Only cashiers checks, bank money orders, bank drafts in U.S.
dollars drawn on U.S. banks, or payment by credit card will be accepted.
Checks should be made payable to The University of Texas
at Austin. NOTE: The fee must accompany the application for admission
to avoid a delay in processing.
Official Documents and Test Scores
All documents and test scores submitted in support of the application
must be official. To be official, a transcript must bear the original
seal or signature of the school's registrar. The University of Texas at Austin does not
consider documents certified by a notary public or commissioner of oaths
to be official. If these documents are written in a language other than
English, complete and official English translations must be provided
together with the original language records. Each transcript (mark sheet)
should contain a complete record of studies at the institution from
which it is issued (i.e., the subjects taken and grades [marks] earned
in each subject).
Information about the required test scores can be found on our admissions website at: http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/mpa/traditional/admissions/apply.asp. Only test scores mailed directly from the testing agency are considered official. Test scores are received by the Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) approximately four to six weeks after a test is taken if UT-Austin is designated as a score recipient at the time of testing. Tests should be taken well in advance of the appropriate application dates to insure that scores will arrive prior to the deadlines. Copies of test scores are not considered official, but they may help GIAC locate a student's official test scores and are therefore useful to include in the application packet.
International Office
The International
Office at The University of Texas at Austin assists foreign students
during their stay in the United States. The office provides information
concerning (but not limited to) housing, orientation, immigration status,
general academic considerations, financial aid, health insurance, legal
questions, employment, automobile licensing, income tax status, social
security regulations, and personal concerns.
The International Office is responsible for issuing immigration documents, for assistance securing visas, and for reviewing requests for renewal and changes in immigration status. The International Office also offers full-time English as a Second Language (ESL) courses for prospective graduate students who wish to improve their English. Also offered are ESL courses for enrolled students. Contact the International Office directly for more information.
Certification of Financial
Responsibility
All applicants using the International Graduate application form must
submit the
Certification of Financial Responsibility to The University even
if they are currently living in the United States. Immigration regulations
require every international student to verify the availability of financial
resources to pay for all educational, living, and other expenses prior
to the issuance of Form I-20 to obtain a visa to enter the United States.
A student who is not self-sponsored must have a financial sponsor; this
sponsor may be the student's parents, spouse, or other person or institution
accepting responsibility for the cost of study at The University. The
sponsor must sign the financial statement provided in the application
form or submit a separate letter guaranteeing payment of all educational,
living, and other expenses. A self-sponsored student must submit a bank
statement proving the availability of approximately $50,000 (U.S.) for
each planned year of study. Expenses are higher for students who are
married and/or have children.
Please note that the Certification of Financial Responsibility form is used for initial visa processing, not for admission purposes. Therefore, the form is not required for an application to be considered complete. The form can be submitted with the application to the Graduate and International Admissions Center (to save time) or after admission directly to the International Office. The International Office will not issue the Form I-20 or Form DS-2019 until a student has been officially admitted and certification of adequate financial resources has been received.
Financial Assistance for
International Students
International students should be prepared to finance the entire period
of proposed study from personal funds or from funds from other sources,
as financial aid is extremely limited. Please see the
MPA financial aid web site for more information.
Housing
Because on-campus housing is quite limited, most of our international
students live off-campus. For more information on locating both on-
and off-campus housing, please visit the
MPA prospective student web site. International students should
also be familiar with rental leasing procedures and questions to ask
when looking for off-campus housing. This information can be found on the following International Office web site:
http://www.utexas.edu/international/isss/housing/
University Health Services
University Health Services
is a student-funded care facility that provides primary health care
and health education services for registered students. Medical care
is provided by certified nurse practitioners and physicians.
Each admitted student must complete a report of medical history, including a medication list. Students born after January 1, 1957, must provide proof of immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella. In addition, all students born outside the continental United States are required to have documentation of a PPD (Mantoux) Skin Test for tuberculosis performed and read in the United States. The International Office provides the proper form for reporting the results of these tests with the I-20 form after notification of admission.
All international students are required to purchase health and accident insurance at the time of registration, or show proof of comparable insurance and receive a waiver from the International Office. For more information, please visit the International Office web site: http://www.utexas.edu/international/isss/insurance/.
MPA International Connection
Current international MPA students have volunteered to serve as informational
resources to both prospective and new international students through
our MPA International Connection (MIC) program. It is our hope
that the volunteer/new student relationship will be mutually beneficial,
as it will offer opportunities to form new friendships, share resources,
and create professional networking connections. The current volunteers
are listed on our website at:
http://fcc.mccombs.utexas.edu/mpa/int.asp.
You are welcome to contact them directly with any questions you may
have about their experiences in the MPA program.
