Graduate Studies

Admission Requirements

Please refer to the appropriate section below for details on admission requirements based on your student level:

Freshman

This section is for students who have not taken college classes after completing high school and would like to pursue an undergraduate degree.

  • Hold a credential that is comparable to a U.S. high school diploma.
  • Have a grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. All marks and scores will be converted to a 4.0 grading scale.
  • Non-native English speaking applicants must submit satisfactory English proficiency scores on one of the following exams: TOEFL, IELTS, ITEP, or PTE Academic. (Use school code 1900 for WIU.) Learn more about English proficiency requirements and countries exempt from this requirement.

Transfer Student

This section is for students who have taken college classes after high school but have not earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. 

  • Have a combined grade point average of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale for all college level coursework attempted and good standing at the last institution attended. All marks and scores will be converted to a 4.0 grading scale.
  • Applicants who have earned less than the equivalent of 24 semester hours must also meet freshman admission standards.
  • Non-native English speaking applicants must submit satisfactory English proficiency scores on one of the following exams: TOEFL, IELTS, ITEP, or PTE Academic (Use school code 1900 for WIU). Learn more about English proficiency requirements and countries exempt from this requirement.
  • See our Transfer Credits page for information about transferring your undergraduate college credits at WIU.

Graduate Students

This section is for students who have earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree and would like to apply for a graduate or second bachelor's degree.

  • Hold a degree comparable to a recognized U.S. bachelor's degree.
  • Applicants must have a combined undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale for all college courses attempted; or have a 3.0 or higher GPA for the last two years of undergraduate work attempted. All marks and scores will be converted to a 4.0 grading scale. Some departments have a higher GPA requirement so please refer to the Departmental Admission Requirements.
  • Non-native English speaking applicants must submit satisfactory English proficiency scores on one of the following exams: TOEFL, IELTS, ITEP, or PTE Academic (Use school code 1900 for WIU). Learn more about English proficiency requirements and countries exempt from these requirements. Some academic programs may require higher scores for admission.

Additional Information

  • WIU will accept three year bachelor's degrees for graduate admission consideration if entry to the three year degree was preceded by the completion of A Levels; the degree is Bologna Compliant; the Indian institution has an NAAC grade of B or better.
  • The following combinations of diplomas will be accepted by WIU as equal to a US bachelor's degree; A two year National Diploma followed by a 2-3 year Higher National Diploma. OR A three year Higher National Diploma followed by a minimum of 1 year of study in the form of a Postgraduate Diploma, Post Graduate Certificate, or Master's degree. The National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and subsequent top off program must be related to the graduate program to which you are applying.  The three year Higher National Diploma is not equivalent to a US bachelor's degree and applicants with this credential are not eligible for admission to graduate school. 
  • Applicants who have already completed a bachelor's degree and are seeking admission to a bachelor's degree program at WIU must apply as a graduate applicant seeking a  second bachelor's degree.