International Student Affairs Office

Welcome!

McNeese has a growing international student population, with approximately 400 international students from 40 different countries. We have fully accredited graduate and undergraduate programs. Of particular interest to international students are our Engineering, Business, Nursing, Computer Science and Education programs.

For specific information on the programs and degrees that we offer at McNeese, please visit the catalog website for more information.

The deadline for the Fall Semester is May 15 and the deadline for the Spring Semester is October 15 for receipt of all required documents and exam scores, but we continue to process applications after the deadline and try to process in time for entrance in Fall Semester which begins August or Spring Semester which begins in January. Applications that are received by the deadline will be given priority and we cannot guarantee that applications received after the deadline will be processed in time for admission. A student can defer their admission to the next semester by sending us an email if there is not enough time to enter for the applied semester.

An outline of the cost of attendance at McNeese State University can also be viewed online on the schedule website under "Semester Specific Class Schedule Information" for a specific semester. Fees are subject to change. Some scholarships, non-resident fee waivers, or partial non-resident fee waivers are also available to students who qualify and subject to budget availability. In addition to tuition, international students are required to pay approximately $130 per semester for the International Student Insurance Policy and $60 per semester for the foreign fee. Room and board on campus are estimated to cost approximately $2500 per semester, though this cost varies greatly depending on the type of room and meal plan you choose, and is also subject to change. In addition, academically qualified students can apply for other scholarship awards which are based on academic excellence and performance on the computed GPA from your official transcripts, TOEFL/IELTS, and ACT/SAT or GRE/GMAT, and vary on the amount of tuition reduction depending on the award.

A final admissions decision cannot be made until we have received all required official transcripts, forms, documents, and exam scores sent directly to McNeese by the testing agency. All required forms can be downloaded and printed from our website. You must submit the following listed below to apply for admission:

1. International Student Application for Admission


2. McNeese Affidavit of Support Form and Official Bank Letter (For F-1 Students Only)

   Please read and follow the instructions very carefully. You must provide the Affidavit of Support Form promising the required $ amount of support from your sponsor each year and include all necessary signatures. You must also provide an official, original bank statement or bank letter verifying that your sponsor currently has the equivalent of the required $ amount for the first year of study in U.S. dollars deposited in a bank account.

3. Proof of Immunization form

   Every student must complete and return this document prior to admission to McNeese. If your medical records are unavailable, you may complete and sign the request for exemption section on the Proof of Immunization form.

4. $30.00 application fee

   Please make out the check, money order, or demand draft to "McNeese State University" for $30 drawn on a US bank.

5. Official transcripts and diplomas

   Official transcripts and diplomas/provisional certificates from all schools attended must be sent to McNeese directly from the school or by the applicant in envelopes sealed by the school and must be certified by the school's registrar, controller of exams or attestation officer.  Students applying for an undergraduate (bachelor's degree) program who have never attended a university or college must send official high school/secondary school transcripts from all high schools/secondary schools attended, including any US high schools/secondary schools, once grades are posted for the last semester attended. Students applying for an undergraduate (bachelor's degree) program who have attended a university or college for at least one full year must send official transcripts from all universities/colleges attended, including any US universities/colleges, once grades are posted for the last semester attended. Students applying for a graduate (master's degree) program must send official transcripts from all universities/colleges attended, including any US universities/colleges, once grades are posted for the last semester attended.  Your GPA will be calculated in our office and must meet the minimum requirements of 2.35 for undergraduate applicants, 2.50 for graduate applicants, 2.75 for environmental science/chemistry graduate applicants, and 3.00 for engineering graduate applicants.

6. Evaluation of Foreign Credentials: An Official Course-By-Course Evaluation of Credentials for all College/University Credit Earned from Foreign Institutions

   Transcripts must be evaluated by World Education Services, Inc. or Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. Detailed instructions for ordering a course-by-course credential evaluation can be found on each evaluator's website. The official credential evaluation must be sent directly from the evaluation service to McNeese State University.

7. Official TOEFL or IELTS score

   TOEFL scores must be mailed directly from the testing agency to McNeese (Code=6403) or a copy of the IELTS score report form must be sent to McNeese by the student with the Test Report Form Number so we can verify the scores online. The required minimum TOEFL scores are 61 IBT for undergraduate applicants, 71 IBT for graduate applicants, 75 IBT for environmental science/chemistry graduate applicants, 83 IBT for engineering graduate applicants, and 79 IBT for MBA graduate applicants, or the required minimum IELTS scores are 5.0 for undergraduate applicants, 6.0 for graduate applicants, and 6.5 for engineering graduate applicants. If you have attended a US university/college for at least two semesters we will waive the TOEFL/IELTS requirement.

8. Official GRE (for graduate applicants) or GMAT (for MBA graduate applicants)

   GRE or GMAT scores must be mailed directly from the testing agency to McNeese (Code=6403 for GRE and GMAT).  The required minimum GMAT score is 400 or GRE score 800 or New GRE score 286 for MBA graduate applicants.   The required minimum GRE score is 1050 Verbal + Quantitative (650 Quantitative) or New GRE Equivalency for engineering graduate applicants, and 900 (Verbal + Quantitative) or New GRE Equivalency for environmental science/chemistry graduate applicants.  The required GRE score for other graduate applicants is calculated based on the student's GRE or New GRE score and calculated GPA.

9. Official ACT or SAT scores for undergraduate applicants

   Official ACT or SAT scores must be mailed directly from the testing agency to McNeese (Code=6403 for SAT; Code=1594 for ACT).  The required minimum ACT score is 18 English/19 Math OR minimum SAT score is 450 Verbal/460 Math if you have never attended a university/college. If you have attended a US university/college you must have earned at least a US transferrable associate degree from a regionally accredited institution (AA, AS, AGS - not AAS) OR have the McNeese equivalent of English 101 and Math 113. If you have attended a Non-US university/college you must have the McNeese equivalent of Math 113 and the minimum ACT 18 English OR SAT 450 Verbal.

10. Academic Scholarship Application (optional)

    To be considered for the Academic Scholarship this form must be received in our office before the applicant arrives at McNeese. The scholarships are available to students who enter McNeese in the Fall Semester or Spring Semester only. For more information on scholarships please visit http://mcneese.edu/scholarships or email to scholarships@mcneese.edu.

11. Access Award/Non-Resident Fee Waiver Application (optional-undergraduate students only)

    To be considered for the Access Award/Non-Resident Fee Waiver this form must be received in our office. This is available to students who enter McNeese in the Fall Semester or Spring Semester only. The form can be downloaded from the Office of Scholarships and Testing.

12. On Campus Housing Application (optional)

    For information on campus housing, please visit the McNeese Resident Life website or email msuhousing@ambling.com.

13. 3 Recommendation Letters are required for environmental science/chemistry graduate applicants only.


14. Transfer Credit

    You will be considered a transfer student if you have any university/college credit in the US or in another country. Transfer credit for graduate students transferring from a US university/college will be decided by the department once the student arrives at McNeese. Decisions regarding undergraduate transfer credit from a US university/college will be processed and evaluated once the student is accepted to McNeese and the final transcript from the US institution is received in our office. Decisions regarding transfer credit from another country are made by the individual departments and if you are admitted to McNeese you will need official course descriptions from your university/college and official translations in English of all courses you wish to be considered for transfer credit (the evaluation will be done once the student arrives at McNeese during the first semester of study). For MBA students, the department will evaluate your undergraduate courses and decide if you have met all pre-requisites after receiving official course descriptions from the universities/colleges you have attended.

The mailing address for McNeese State University is:

McNeese State University
International Student Affairs
Box 90180
Lake Charles, LA 70609
USA

Some couriers require the exact street address which is:

McNeese State University
International Student Affairs
Smith Hall, Room 103
4205 Ryan Street
Lake Charles, LA 70605
USA