Taubman College

Apply / Master of Architecture

In addition to registering as a prospective student, applying to the program and submitting a portfolio, International students must provide the following materials.

  • TOEFL or MELAB Examination
  • Financial Certification
  • Passport Copies
  • I-20/Visa
  • Transfer-In Form

English Proficiency
All non-native English speakers must take the TOEFL or the MELAB Examination. Scores must be no older than two years old to be valid. Non-native English speakers who have earned their degree from a university, where English is the primary language of instruction, are not required to submit a TOEFL or MELAB score. The student must have attended the institution for a minimum of four years.

TOEFL Examination
Information about the TOEFL including test dates and locations can be found at www.ets.org/toefl/.
Please take the TOEFL exam 6-8 weeks prior to the January 15th deadline in order for test scores to be received in time.  Please contact ETS and have an official score report sent to the University of Michigan (Institution code 1839).

TOEFL minimum score:
computer based 250
paper based 600
IBT 100.

MELAB Examination
Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) Examination can be found at http://lsa.umich.edu/eli/testing/melab.  Please take the MELAB exam 5 weeks prior to the January 15th deadline in order for your score to be received in time. 

MELAB minimum score:
84

Financial Certification
All international students are required to submit financial certification as part of their application to show they have funding available to study in the USA. The estimated financial certification for 2010-2011 academic year for 3G applicants is $62,624 USD and for 2G applicants is $53,477 USD. The final tuition rates will be set in July and an exact figure will be available then. The Financial Certification does not affect your chances of receiving a merit based scholarship in any way. The admissions committee does not consider the financial certification form when making decisions regarding scholarships. The financial certification is only an administrative piece and is necessary to process I-20 forms for admitted students. Only funds in a liquid account, such as a checking or savings account will be accepted: Property, life insurance, stock, bonds, jewelry, mutual funds, land, medical savings and retirement accounts, benefit certificates, trusts, securities, and long term savings for housing do not qualify. If a student is supporting him/herself, the applicant must submit an original bank statement in the student's name showing sufficient funds. If a person other than the applicant will be sponsoring the student, the applicant must submit two important documents for the financial certification. An applicant must submit either #1 and #3 OR #2 and #3 below. An applicant may have several different sponsors. We will need the following documentation from each source of funding:

  1. A letter of support (who will support the student and what their relationship to the student is) signed by the family member(s) offering financial support to the student. It must be an original signature.

    2. OR

  2. A completed financial certification form (found in the online application) with original signatures from the family member(s) offering support and the proper boxes checked.

    3. AND

  3. An original bank statement (on bank letterhead) showing the type of account, the exact balance of the account, and signed by a bank representative (original signature required). The statement must also show the account holder's name; that name must match the name of the person offering support exactly.

2G Financial Certification Form (PDF 61 KB)
3G Financial Certification Form (PDF 67 KB)

Passport Copies
Each international applicant should submit a copy of their passport (and copies of any dependent family member's passport that would be accompanying the student to the USA) with their application materials. Passport copies are required in order to process an I-20 form. In order to avoid processing delays, please submit the passport copies with your application materials.

I-20/Visa
Applicants that are currently in the US should also send a copy of their current I-20 or I-94 form. A Transfer-In form is also required if an applicant is currently attending another US school or college and is admitted to the program.

Transfer-In Form
A Transfer-In Form is also required if an international applicant is currently attending another U.S. school or college and is admitted to the program.