The Theatre School > Admission > International Admission

International Admission

​​​​​​​​​​​If you have questions about a requirement, please contact Theatre Admissions at (+1) 773-325-7999 or theatreadmissions@depaul.edu.

​Undergraduate Applicants (BFA)

Freshman - You are considered an international freshman applicant if you have been educated outside of the U.S. at any time during secondary school (high school).

Transfer - You are considered a transfer international applicant if you have been educated outside of the U.S. at any time during secondary school (high school) or university and/or college.  Required documentation is based on age and number of credits completed.  

​Age
​University Semester Credits
​High School Transcripts Required
​23 and younger
​24+ total semester credits
23 or fewer total semester credits
​No
Yes
​​​​24 and older

​12+ total semester credits
11 or fewer total semester credits
​No
Yes
In addition to the requirements on the Theatre School Undergraduate Admissions page, the following items may also be required of international undergraduate applicants:

Submit official transcripts, in the original language, from all high schools/secondary schools attended, for all years attended. If the official transcript is in a language other than English, you will also need to submit word-for-word English translations of all pages.  

Students educated outside the U.S. for secondary school (high school) are required to submit an exam score that meets our English proficiency requirement.  If your English proficiency scores are below the minimum requirement, you might be considered for Conditional Admission.  Students can demonstrate proof of English proficiency by one of the following:

Test Exam English Proficiency Requirement  Send Scores to DePaul
TOEFL 80 on the IBT TOEFL with no subsection lower than 17  ETS TOEFL
School Code: 1165
IELTS Academic 6.5 on the IELTS Academic IELTS 
Duolingo English Test (DET) 115 on the DET DET
SAT minimum evidence based reading and writing score of 540 CollegeBoard SAT
School Code: 1165
ACT minimum reading score of 18 and English score of 20 ACT
School Code: 1012
PTE Academic minimum English academic score of 53 N/A

TOEFL, IELTS Academic and PTE Academic exam scores are valid for two years.  SAT and ACT exam scores are valid for five years.  Scores that are older will not be accepted.

We will waive the English proficiency exam requirement for students who have completed the following coursework and achieved the minimum following results:

Curriculum / Exam Minimum Result
International Baccalaureate (IB) English A: Language & Literature IB grade of 5 or letter grade equivalent (HL and/or SL)
Advanced Placement (AP) English Language & Composition Score of 4 on the exam AND/OR a grade of B in the class
British Curriculum (I)GCSE (O levels) English First Language Result of D (letter scale) or 3 (number scale)
British Curriculum GCE (AS/A levels) English Language and/or English Language & Literature Result of C 

Exception: Students whose secondary education (for all years of secondary/high school) took place in one of the countries below are exempt from the English proficiency requirement.  Students born in one of these countries, yet educated elsewhere for secondary education, are required to satisfy the English proficiency requirement.

Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada (English speaking provinces), Cayman Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Leeward Islands, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos, Uganda, United Kingdom (including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), Vanuatu, Windward Islands, and Zambia.

​​

Graduate Applicants (MFA)

In ​addition to the requirem​ents found on the The​atre School Graduate Admissions page, the following items may also be required of international graduate applicants:

We welcome students from all over the world to The Theatre School.  As part of the application review process, DePaul University conducts a free course-by-course transcript evaluation for coursework completed outside of the U.S. These evaluations can be used for DePaul admission purposes only. If you would like to take advantage of this service, you will need to upload complete academic documents for all post-secondary levels of study at the time of application. These should be in original language with English translation (as needed).

If you choose to "opt-out" of DePaul's credential evaluation, you will need to provide your own course-by-course credential evaluation from one of the companies listed below.  The agencies require those with non-US educational credentials to submit their original educational credentials (transcripts, mark sheets, degree certificates) and evaluation fee directly to one of the three evaluation companies below. You must request an evaluation that will provide us with a course by course evaluation of your record which will be used during the admission process. Official transcript evaluations must be sent to us directly from the credential agency.

If you choose to use one of these external credential evaluation companies, please direct any questions about required credentials to the evaluation company you have selected and not to our admission office. The Theatre School's preferred outside evaluation agencies are the three list above.  Your application will not be reviewed until we receive the completed evaluation from the company you select.

Transcripts submitted to The Theatre School for any administrative purpose will become property of The Theatre School and will not be returned. Documents can be obtained from the institution or organization that originally issued the document.

Students who earned a bachelor's degree outside of the U.S. must present proof of English proficiency to be considered for admission. The Theatre School accepts the TOEFL, IELTS, Pearson Test of English or Duolingo English Test (DET) as proof of English proficiency.  TOEFL, IELTS and PTE exam scores are valid for two years. Scores that are older will not be accepted. If your English proficiency scores are below the minimum requirements, you may be considered for conditional admission.  Applicant files will not be reviewed until all documents have been received.

Test/Exam English Proficiency Requirement  Send Scores to DePaul
ETS TOEFL Minimum score of 80 iBT TOEFL with no section lower than 17; minimum score of 550 on the paper-based exam 
ETS TOEFL

School Code: 1165
IELTS & IELTS Indicator  Minimum overall score of 6.5 on the IELTS Academic IELTS 
Send to DePaul University
Duolingo English Test (DET) Minimum overall score of 115 on the DET DET
Send to DePaul University
Pearson Test of English (PTE) Minimum English academic score of 53 PTE
Send to DePaul University
TOFEL Essentials Test

Minimum score of 8.5

ETS TOEFL

School Code: 1165

The English proficiency requirement can be waived for applicants who have received a bachelor’s degree or higher in the following countries:

  • United States
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Australia
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Canada
  • Dominica
  • Fiji
  • Ghana
  • Grenada
  • Guyana
  • Ireland
  • Jamaica
  • Kenya
  • Marshall Islands
  • Micronesia
  • New Zealand
  • Nigeria
  • Solomon Islands
  • St Kitts and Nevis
  • St Lucia
  • St Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • United Kingdom
  • Vanuatu

Once we receive a transcript evaluation verifying that you have received a degree in one of these countries, the English proficiency requirement will be waived for you.

An admission email will be sent to provide next steps.  Admitted international students seeking an F-1 or J-1 student visa must take the following steps: 

Step 1: Pay Your $2,000 Enrollment Confirmation Deposit 

  • This creates your DePaul student record. 
  • The Enrollment Confirmation Deposit is non-refundable unless you provide documented evidence of a visa denial. 
  • The Enrollment Confirmation Deposit is credited towards your first term tuition.

Step 2: Submit Your Intent to Enroll Form 

  • This tells us that you plan to join the DePaul community.  
  • Approximately 3-5 days after you complete both Step 1 and Step 2, you will receive an email invitation to request your I-20.

You can find more information on the I20 request process here.  The I20 document checklist can be found here.   

Request Information Visit The Theatre School​​