Graduate (Master Degree)

Graduate Student Application Process 

Graduate applicants are advised to review their specific graduate departments  directly for a complete overview of all requirements, documents, minimum grade point averages, and application deadlines.

Graduate applicants must satisfy admission requirements for both their specific academic department and international admissions.

How to Apply for International Graduate Admission

STEP 1: Apply Online at Cal State Apply (view instructions here) the official application system for all 23 California State University campuses.  Please take note of the following:

• Application Fee of U.S. $70.00 (non-refundable) is required to be paid online when applying on Cal State Apply.  International applicants are not eligible for an application fee waiver.
• Cal State Apply works best with Google Chrome.  Your application is complete when all four quadrants are blue in color, you submit and pay application fee.
• There are 3 Cal Poly's in our system.  Please make sure you are selecting the program for Cal Poly Humboldt.
• The following program is not open to international applicants as it is offered in a modality not in compliance with immigration regulations: MA Education

STEP 2: After you submit your application you will get an email from the Office of Admissions with instructions on how to log into your myHumboldt Applicant Portal.  This can take up to two weeks.  The email will be sent to the email address you provided on your application.  You may need to look in junk/spam folders.

Once you have access to your Applicant Status Page you will need to upload all required academic documents before your application will be routed to your department for an admission decision.  Documents required may include the following:

1. Copies of all academic transcripts/test scores/diplomas
2. Proof of English language proficiency - you can review our waiver policy and a list of acceptable test/scores on our website HERE.
3. Letters of Recommendation

We recommend making a habit of checking your Applicant Status Page at least once a week.  Also, continue to check your email for important updates and "next steps" instructions.

STEP 3: Submit the following required documents necessary for issuing the immigration form I-20.  While not needed to offer the admission decision, these documents are required before we can issue the immigration form for your admit term.  The documents below can be uploaded to your Application Status Page:

1. Copy of valid passport photo page
2. Completed Certificate of Finances Form, along with
3. Evidence of Funding (Bank statement/letter/etc.)

**REMINDER: All supporting documents must be uploaded by the following deadlines:

• Fall Applicant:  Document deadline is April 15th
• Spring Applicant:  Document deadline is October 15th

STEP 4: Continue to Check Your Email

• All application status updates, decisions and requests for additional documents will be sent to the email you provide on your Cal State Apply application.
• If you do not receive an email, make sure to check your Spam or Junk folders.
• Any questions:  Email international@humboldt.edu or make a Zoom appointment with our International Admissions Coordinator, Megan Mefford, here:  calendly.com/meganmefford

** If you are working with an Agent, please make sure they are listed on your official application in Cal State Apply.  Additionally, you will need to submit the Student Consent for Release of Information form before we will be able to work with the Agent.  Agents that are not identified on the application or within 15 days of submitting an application will not be considered for commissions.

Eligibility Requirements for International Students - Master's Degrees 

An international applicant may be admitted to a campus as an unclassified post-baccalaureate student if the applicant satisfies the requirements of each of the three following lettered subdivisions:

a. The applicant holds an acceptable bachelor's degree earned at an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association, or the applicant has completed equivalent academic preparation; and

b. The applicant has satisfied any one of the following:

1. GPA of at least 2.5 in an acceptable earned bachelor's degree,

2. GPA of at least 2.75 in the last 60 semester units (90 quarter units) attempted;

c. The applicant was in good standing at the last institution of higher education attended.

Master's applicants must satisfy admission requirements from both the graduate school department and International Admissions.

** Special Note for Second Master's Degree Applicants:

Applicants who have already completed the equivalent to a U.S. master's degree may apply to another master degree program at Cal Poly Humboldt as long as the new master's degree program is substantially different than the first degree earned.  If it is determined that the applicant has a similar degree in the same subject matter, we cannot admit them to our program.

3-Year Bachelor's Degree Information

• Accepted for some students on a case by case as long as they meet the following:
  • For European:  Most Bologna-compliant degree's accepted as equivalent to U.S. bachelor.
  • Indian Schools: 3-year degree must be from a recognized and accredited institution with a NAAC grade of A or better.  Degree earned must be in the Division I classification of academic performance.  If this is not the case then the 3-year degree must be accompanied by a post-graduate diploma (PGD) from an institution that is accredited or recognized by the NAAC and/or AICTE. Or, a 3-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year Indian master's degree (with at least 50% in marks obtained) from NAAC accredited institution will be accepted.
• If an applicant wishes to obtain an outside evaluation, such as WES (or any other approved foreign evaluation service), that indicates they have an equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree, Humboldt will honor the WES (or other) evaluation. 

Pre-evaluations cannot be made. Students must formally apply before credentials will be evaluated.

 Graduate Student Deadlines and Dates

Click here to review program specific deadlines and dates.

Graduate programs have earlier application deadlines, and may require department specific applications or supporting materials.  Please contact the department you are interested in for more information.  While most program deadlines are early, some are too late to support international applicants with post-admit visa steps.  For programs with later deadlines, please note that the final deadline to submit an international application for fall is April 1st (October 1st for spring cycles).  Even if the department deadline is later, we cannot accept international applications beyond these final deadline dates.

• Fall Dates and Deadlines
• Spring Dates and Deadlines