Applicants Without a U.S. Degree & International Applicants

Official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score report or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) print out should be sent to the University of Maryland School of Nursing by the testing agency. The School of Nursing school code for TOEFL is: B638.

The TOEFL is required of all applicants who have not successfully completed a high school, associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree at an accredited U.S. high school, college, or university.

You must submit a TOEFL or IELTS report before the application deadline, or your application may be canceled.

Scores older than two years prior to the date of application will not be accepted. Minimum TOEFL scores to be considered for admission are:

• 550 on the paper-based examination
• 213 on the computer-based examination
• 79 on the Internet-based examination.

IELTS test takers must score no less than Band 6.5 for BSN or Band 7 for MSN, DNP, or Graduate (total).

However, you may petition to be exempt from this requirement. Please see the exemption tab below.

For more information about these reports:

• TOEFL Website
• IELTS Website

You do not need to submit an English proficiency exam if you meet the following exemptions:

• You have received a degree from an accredited institution in the U.S.
• You have received a degree from a nationally recognized university whose total education (primary - tertiary) was conducted in English in one of the countries on the list below
• You have completed the entirety of your prerequisite coursework (at least 59 credits) at a tertiary educational institution where the primary language of instruction is English. 

However, you must complete the required exemption form after the successful completion of your online application.

Applicants who complete coursework outside the U.S. must have official transcript(s) evaluated by a recognized international credit evaluation service. Official evaluation of all foreign (non-U.S.) coursework must be sent to the University of Maryland School of Nursing by the service. Evaluations are accepted from any NACES Member who provides:

• course by course evaluation
• both credit value and letter grade.

These can be obtained through any of the following NACES members:

• A2Z Evaluations, LLC
• Academic Evaluation Services, Inc.
• Center for Applied Research, Evaluation and Education, Inc.
• Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
• Educational Perspectives, nfp
• Educational Records Evaluation Service, Inc.
• Evaluation Service, Inc.
• Foreign Academic Credential Service, Inc.
• Foundation for International Services, Inc.
• Global Credential Evaluators, Inc.
• Global Services Associates, Inc.
• International Academic Credential Evaluators, Inc.
• International Consultants of Delaware, Inc.
• International Education Evaluations, Inc.
• International Education Research Foundation, Inc.
• Josef Silny and Associates, Inc. International Education Consultants
• SpanTran: The Evaluation Company
• Transcript Research
• World Education Services, Inc.

Any evaluations submitted that do not include course by course evaluations and both credit value and letter grade will not be accepted by the Office of Admissions and Student Scholarships.

To speed up the process of your application please be sure to add the GPA calculation (if available) to your evaluation.

I am an international student, but I’ve lived in the U.S. for many years and have taken English courses. Do I still have to take an English proficiency test?

Yes, you are required to take the test if you do not have a U.S. high school diploma or a U.S. college degree, unless you qualify for one of the exemptions listed above.

I took courses outside of the U.S. Can I send you the transcript from that school? 

No, you must have a course-by-course evaluation done by any NACES Member who provides:

• Course by course evaluation
• Both credit value and letter grade