International Applicant Requirements

International applicants should review the sections below on English language proficiency requirements, international academic credentials, and financial aid before starting their applications to ensure they are prepared to submit a successful application.

If you have any questions, please contact the Graduate Admissions Office at 212 998-1918 or tisch.gradadmissions@nyu.edu.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

Exemptions

Proof of English language proficiency is NOT required from applicants who meet any ONE of the following criteria:

  • Native English speakers (regardless of citizenship status)
  • Applicants who have earned or are currently earning a bachelor's degree in the United States
  • Applicants who have earned or are currently earning a bachelor's degree in a country where English is the language of instruction for ALL universities (e.g. UK, Canada, Singapore, India, Philippines, Malaysia, Nigeria, etc.)
  • Applicants who have earned or are currently earning a master's degree in the United States
  • Applicants who have earned or are currently earning a master's degree in a country where English is the language of instruction for ALL universities (e.g. UK, Canada, Singapore, India, Philippines, Malaysia, Nigeria, etc.)
  • Applicants who have earned or are earning a degree from NYU Shanghai or NYU Abu Dhabi*
  • Applicants who are US permanent residents with at least 5 years continuous residency in the USA

If you meet one of these requirements and fill out the appropriate section of the online application, then you will not need to submit test scores. You do not need to contact our office to request the exemption as long as you have filled out the appropriate section of the online application. 

*If you earned or are currently earning your bachelor's degree from NYU Abu Dhabi or NYU Shanghai, please indicate on your application that you completed a four year bachelor's degree in the United States. Because these campuses are part of a United States university, you meet the requirements for the exemption.

Waivers

If you do not meet one of the requirements for English language proficiency test score exemption as listed above but still feel that you may be eligible for a test score waiver, please send a waiver request to the Director of Graduate Admissions, Joe Miserendino, at jm7@nyu.edu. In your request, please include the following:

  1. Your full name and program(s) you are applying to
  2. An unofficial copy of your transcript(s)
  3. A detailed explanation as to why you feel you qualify for a waiver. 

After review, you will receive notice of whether your waiver request is approved or denied. If denied, an English language proficiency test score will be required as part of your application to be considered for admission.

Accepted Test Types

If you do not meet the requirements for an exemption or waiver, you are required to submit proof of English language proficiency to be considered for admission to a Tisch graduate program. We accept test scores from the following:

  • TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test).  We will accept results from the in-person version or the iBT Home Edition.
  • Duolingo English Test
  • IELTS Academic (International English Language Testing System)
  • PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English Academic)

We do not accept results from the IELTS Indicator, the TOEFL ITP Plus for China, or TOEFL Essentials.

Only test scores that are less than two years old will be accepted. 

We do not have a minimum language test score requirement; the admissions committee takes a holistic approach to the review process, considering all parts of your application together to come to an admissions decision. That said, because all students must be effective communicators in English to be successful in the program, competitive applicants will submit very high test scores.

Submitting Test Scores

Duolingo English Test: Please consult their website for delivery options.

TOEFL: We accept iBT as well as MyBest (Superscore) TOEFL test results. Please use institutional code 9633 and no departmental code 99 to have your scores delivered to us electronically.

IELTS: Please look up our institution using the following information:

Account Name: New York University Tisch School of the Arts

Address: 726 Broadway 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003
United States

PTE: Please consult their website for delivery options.

SELF-REPORTING TEST SCORES

Applicants can self-report Duolingo, IELTS, PTE or TOEFL test scores on the application. We ask that you also upload the unofficial score report if you have it. 

Even if you self-report your score, applicants MUST make sure the official score report is received by our office within 30 days after you file the application for admission. 

Do not self-report or upload scores that are more than two years old.

International Academic Credentials

Master’s degree applicants are required to have earned the equivalent of a regionally accredited US bachelor's degree by the time they would enroll at Tisch to be eligible for admission. PhD applicants are required to have earned the equivalent of a regionally accredited US Master of Arts (MA) degree.

We require all applicants who have completed, or are completing,
undergraduate and/or graduate degrees at institutions outside of the US or Canada* to provide an evaluation of their academic credentials. You must receive your evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), including:

Credential evaluations must be sent to us by the agency directly. Your application will not be considered for admission until we receive a credential evaluation confirming your education's US equivalency. 

*We do not require evaluations from applicants who:

  • Spent a semester or year of study abroad as part of their US or Canadian undergraduate degree studies, or
  • Attended a branch campus of a US or Canadian institution located in another country

You can check our US Bachelor Equivalency page to estimate whether the undergraduate degree you earned is likely to be the equivalent of a US bachelor's degree. A credential evaluation is still required from all applicants who earned degrees outside of the US and Canada, but this page can be helpful to predict what your evaluation may conclude before you order it.

Financial Aid for International Students

Unless you note otherwise on your application, your department will consider you for Tisch based scholarships and financial aid in the same way they do for U.S. applicants if you are selected for admission. This does not necessarily mean you will receive aid.  Funding from these sources is limited, competitive, and merit-based, meaning students deemed the strongest from the accepted pool will in most cases receive the higher awards.  As a non-U.S. national you do not qualify to receive federal grants and loans.  This is why you cannot file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) from the U.S. Government.

Please note that financial aid is not available for students in the MA Media Producing program: students in this program are responsible for securing their own funding.

If financial aid is an important aspect of your application you should research and seek funding from your home country, from your bank, from foundations and organizations in your home country, and from foundations that are internationally based, along with all possible personal, family, and local resources.