1. The candidate must have previously received a baccalaureate degree (or its equivalent) from an accredited college or university.
2. 2. The candidate must have a grade point average of B (3.00) or better in his/her overall program. For Ed.S. (Specialist in Education) degrees or the School Psychology credential, a cumulative grade point average of B+ (3.30) or better is required.
3. Scores on the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required with applications for admission to all baccalaureate programs. Application forms for the GRE and information as to the examination times and places are furnished by the Educational Testing Service, 1947 Center Street, Berkeley, California 94701 (for the West); and Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (for the East) and can be found online at http://www.gre.org/.
   
   NOTE: A candidate is strongly encouraged to take the GRE before submitting an application; however, if time constraints are noted, and the candidate has demonstrated above average achievement except for this test score and he/she fully meets all other admission requirements, it is possible to seek acceptance into the program on a "Provisional" basis. The candidate will be required to take the GRE and submit her/his scores before the end of the first term of provisional admission to be permitted to continue in the program.
4. A departmental interview should be arranged with the chair of the department or the dean of the school.
5. A departmental writing test must also be taken. The department can choose to waive the writing test if the candidate achieves a sufficiently high score on the analytical section of the GRE.

Please Note: For more information on the above, request a graduate bulletin from La Sierra University. Click here for the page that allows you to download the current graduate bulletin in Adobe Acrobat PDF form.

International Students Only
In addition to what is listed above, the following criteria must be met:

1. Official transcripts in the original language must be submitted (together with official English translations if the original language is not English).
2. Scores from either the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP) or the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) must be submitted. For those applicants unable to take either the TOEFL or MTELP tests before registration, the University can provide MTHELP testing as needed. There are a limited number of TOEFL test dates at the University. Please note that the only institutional TOEFL accepted at La Sierra University is the one taken here.
   
   NOTE: All graduate international students who do not have a sufficient score on TOEFL (550) or MTELP (equated scores of 90), or an acceptable score on the La Sierra University English writing competency test, are required to attend the American Experience and Language program which is offered during the five weeks before the beginning of the autumn quarter and during regular terms. Further study of English may be required to assure progress toward the degree. The University reserves the right to re-test any students who experience academic difficulty related to language deficiency, and if the scores indicate a need, such students will be placed in the ESL program.
3. The candidate must give evidence of his/her ability to meet all financial obligations to the University during the proposed course of study.
4. Upon acceptance into the graduate program, the candidate must submit the required deposit for issuance of the I-20 form.