Admissions and Information for Prospective Students#
Graduate Studies in CS at Loyola#
The CS department offers three different MS degrees and the PhD degree.
Admission Requirements and Procedures#
The application for graduate study can be found here. This application form is used for many programs at Loyola. Applicants may apply for teaching assistantships or for non-departmental financial aid.
Deferring Admission#
Admitted students may defer their start date for up to one year by filling out the form linked below. After one year, the application is withdrawn, and the prospective student must reapply.
https://gpem.luc.edu/manage/form/register?id=4b8f874b-79ce-43a2-9b61-3cd455dc0f9b
Additional Requirements for International Applicants#
Verifying Transcripts#
Students with transcripts issued by international universities or colleges must be evaluated by an outside evaluator for GPA calculation and determining if the degree is equivalent to an American Bachelor’s degree (four-year degree or 3-year degree with an extra year of study after that). Allow 4-6 weeks for them to evaluate transcripts and get the results to Loyola. ECE and Educational Perspectives both provide this service.
If you do not yet have your undergraduate degree, you must send transcripts to the evaluator once all your final courses are listed, even if some do not yet show grades – this is usually your final semester.
The evaluators can only determine the equivalence to a US 4-year degree if they see all the relevant courses listed on the transcript (again, possibly some without grades yet).
The conditional admission requires the university to receive another official transcript, showing degree completion, though this transcript can be sent to Loyola during your first semester here as a student. If you have international graduate-level coursework after 4 years of college-level work, you need a course by course evaluation to transfer international graduate credit.
If you are expecting to get transfer credit, it is most economical to ask for the course by course evaluation the first time transcripts are submitted to an evaluator.
Required English Exam#
The English requirement is waived for students meeting certain criteria, for example, US citizens, permanent residents, and citizens of certain countries. For a complete list, please see the LUC International Admission page.
All other students will have to take an English exam such as TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, and Duolingo. Please see the LUC International Admission page for more information on minimum scores.
If you do not meet the minimum scores, you can still be admitted conditionally to the ICAP program which requires you to complete the English Language Learning Program (ELLP) to determine your placement in ESL (English as a Second Language) preparation courses. For more information, please see the LUC International Admission page.
Visas#
International applicants who will be on an F-1 visa (including those who are seeking financial aid from the department) are encouraged to submit proof (affidavit) of financial support to our International students’ office simultaneously with filing their application.
The form is linked on the ISSS F-1 & J-1 Student Requests page, Declaration of Finances for Graduate & Professional Students. Students who are chosen for the merit awards or scholarships will be notified regardless of their financial standing or ability to support themselves financially.