Questions about your International Undergraduate Application?
Below please find answers to some common questions about submitting documents required to complete your admission file.
Read this page carefully. If you do not find the answer to your question on this page, below, please complete this form. Your request will be sent directly by email to the International Undergraduate Admissions Team.
Technical Issues
Login URL: NDSU has separate portals for graduate applicants, international undergraduate applicants, and domestic (U.S.) applicants. Be sure you are logging into the correct portal. The portal for international undergraduate (bachelor's degree level) applicants is located here: https://ndsugrad.my.site.com/internationaladmissions.
Password: If you have forgotten your password, click the "Forgot Password" link on the login page and you will receive an email in the next few minutes which will allow you to reset your password.
Watch closely for this reset email - be sure that you are checking the correct email account, and that you have looked through your junk/spam folders for the email from our office.
The title of the email is: "Welcome to your NDSU Application for International Admission" and is sent from NDSU.Intl.Admissions@ndsu.edu.
Did you start an application but realize you intended to apply as a graduate applicant? Students seeking a Masters or Doctoral level program should apply at the NDSU Graduate School online application site instead. If you already created an account with us on the undergraduate side by mistake, you can use the same credentials (username/password) to log in to the online application, to begin your new graduate level application. If you’ve forgotten the password, click Forgot Password and you will receive an email to reset/create a new password.
A $35 application fee is required as part of the international undergraduate application process, each term that you apply, even if you defer your admission from one term to another future term.
Application fee waivers are not possible.
The payment for the $35 application fee is found within the application itself, through our payment service "Nelnet QuikPay." You must have a credit/debit card to pay. If you do not have a credit/debit card of your own, and you have a family member or friend who wants to pay on your behalf, please email us at NDSU.Intl.Admissions@ndsu.edu to ask for a special payment link for the person assisting you.
If your application is at 99% complete and you are unable to submit your application, it likely is because the application fee is unpaid. A $35 application fee is due before you can submit the application. Please return to your application, review it, and then click "Save & Pay" to pay the application fee online by credit/debit card.
If you need more assistance, please fill out our support request form by clicking the "Get Help" button below. You can explain your technical issues and upload any screenshots/photos of the error messages you may be receiving. The screenshots will help us address your issue more quickly.
We have a rolling admissions policy for international applicants and evaluate applications as documents are received. Although there are no final application deadlines, we encourage you to apply by June 1st for Fall semester (August start) and October 15th for Spring Semester (January start). Please note, being admitted after these dates may make you ineligible for certain scholarships based on these priority deadlines.
We want you to be successful here. If travel and/or a new visa is required for you to being study at NDSU, the Office of International Student & Study Abroad Services always reserves the right to defer your admission to a future term if additional time is needed to complete any required admission or immigration-related processes.
Students who are admitted for summer are only eligible to be non-degree students - for example, international students from another school just taking one or two classes on campus online over the summer. But for regular degree-seeking F-1 students, summer is not an option.
Summer term begins in May/June each year and the availability of in-person courses during the summer semester is quite limited.
We do not pre-review marks/transcripts or English Profiency scores for admissibility - you must submit your application, and then, materials are reviewed.
I submitted my application. What next?
Once your application is submitted, you can no longer upload a copy of your passport or test score to your application. Please email ndsu.intl.admissions@ndsu.eduif you need to upload documents after your application has been submitted
If you uploaded any documents/attachments to your online application, do not email additional copies to us. This will only slow our ability to process your application. If you send extra documents by email that were not specifically requested by us, the documents may be deleted.
If you have already submitted your application, you can log back into your online application to view your checklist.
How long before my items are marked as received?
If you recently submitted documents and the items are not yet marked as received, please be patient. Depending on the item and the special review required, it may take up to 2 weeks for us to check off items as received.
Once all documents have been received, please be patient. Your application will be reviewed and you will receive an admission decision within 3-5 business days. You will be notified by email that your decision is ready to view, and you will be directed back to your online application portal, to view your decision on the application dashboard. This notification will be sent to the email address you used when you created your online account.
If you are admitted, your decision letter will be available through the dashboard - you will have an opportunity to accept or decline the offer of admission.
Do you need an I-20 for F-1 status?
If you require an I-20, please wait to send any financial documents until after you are admitted to NDSU. Information about financial documentation can be found below in our After Admission section.
Requesting Academic Records
Request that official transcripts be sent directly to NDSU from your institution. We also accept the following versions of official transcripts from U.S. institutions sent from the following electronic delivery services: National Student Clearinghouse (send to Int’l Undergrad Admissions), Parchment, Credentials eScrip-Safe, SMART/Joint Service Transcript.
All transfer students applying for admission to North Dakota State University who have attended college/university outside the United States are required to have their official academic documents (transcripts, mark sheets, examination results, etc.) evaluated by an approved external evaluation service.
Requesting an Evaluation for NDSU Admission Consideration:
Students should submit official academic documents to World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), or SpanTran for a credential evaluation. The completed evaluation along with verified documents should be sent electronically directly from the service* to NDSU. Do not send a personal copy of the evaluation.
Select one of the credential evaluations based on your education history (see chart below).
Follow guidelines for document requirements based on country of education and arrange for document delivery to chosen agency. Be sure to add North Dakota State University (electronic delivery only) as recipient.
Please note: SpanTran has created a custom application for North Dakota State University that will make sure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. You can access their application here: SpanTran Application - North Dakota State University
WES Evaluation Type
ECE Evaluation Type
Transfer students (High school graduate and have attempted or completed university-level coursework)
If you are from one of the exempt countries, this item will be waived. For all others, please follow these instructions for sending your test scores to North Dakota State University.
Before you take the exam, you can request that your IELTS result be sent to us at North Dakota State University. After receiving your results, you can also send us a copy of your test score report and we can verify your result on the IELTS site using your TRF number from your report.
To ensure your name and date of birth is accurate in NDSU's student records and on any immigration document we may issue for you, a copy of the biography page of your passport is required.
When you are completing the online application, you have the opportunity to upload a copy of your passport biography page directly to your application. If you attached it, please be assured we have it and will be marking the item as received within the next few weeks. If you did not attach a copy to your application, you may use this DocuSign form to submit your passport to our office.
Please allow up to 3- 5 business days after all required documents are received for your admission decision. Important: Applications are not reviewed until you have 1) submitted the online application AND 2) sent us all mandatory documents.
You will be notified by email when your decision is ready to view, and you will be directed back to your online application portal, to view your decision on the application dashboard.
If you are admitted, your decision letter will be available through the dashboard - you will have an opportunity to accept or decline the offer of admission. This notification will be sent to the email address you used when you created your online account.
Secondary/High School: If you are a first-year applicant, you must have your official secondary marks/transcript mailed to us in a sealed envelope from your school(s). If your secondary schools cannot mail the original, they may mail a stamped copy of the original in a sealed envelope.
Post-Secondary/University level (foreign institutions located outside the United States): For transfer applicants with foreign coursework or credentials, you must obtain an external credential evaluation from a provider such as ECE or WES.
U.S. Post-Secondary University level: These transcripts can be mailed to us; however the easiest and quickest way is to send the transcript electronically through a delivery service such as Parchment or National Student Clearinghouse (send to "Int'l Undergrad Admissions"), or Credentials eScrip-Safe.
Office of International Student and Study Abroad Services c/o Lisa Hauck North Dakota State University 1401 Administration Ave, Memorial Union 116 Fargo, ND 58102 U.S.A.
English: Click here to take a survey to help you get placed in the correct English writing (composition) course during your first semester at NDSU.
Have you been admitted to NDSU as an undergraduate international student? Congratulations! Below you will find some important resources to read through as you plan to begin your studies at NDSU.
After admission, you will be notified to complete the Supplement Form where you viewed your admission decision. The documents must follow all guidelines listed on our Cost Information page, and the amount must be equivalent to at least 1 year of expenses.
Read more about scholarships available to degree-seeking international undergraduate students. Eligibility for these awards were determined at the time of your admission.
Please note, non-immigrant international students are not eligible for federal U.S. government "financial aid."
After you have been admitted and have received an I-20 from our office, you will remain in contact with the ISSAS office regarding your arrival and upcoming required orientation activities at NDSU. For more information on the steps to take after you have been admitted to NDSU, please visit the New Student Resources page on our website.
If you are an admitted international undergraduate transfer student, transfer credits are evaluated by the NDSU Office of Registration and Records and are posted to your NDSU account approximately six to 10 weeks following admission. Students with previous college-level credit should be prepared to submit course descriptions and/or syllabi to the Office of Registration and Records to assist in the transfer credit evaluation process. Students are notified by email once their transfer credit evaluation is available to view. The completed evaluation will provide clarification on whether or not course descriptions or syllabi are needed. If needed, course information should ideally be provided in advance of your arrival to NDSU. For more details, go to https://www.ndsu.edu/transfer.
Students at NDSU are allowed to enroll at certain times depending on student classification (level of study). You will receive a checklist of items to complete before you are sent information to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor to register. New international students also can wait until their arrival to register during orientation.
