INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS
General Appliaction Requirements
International applicants for all programs must complete an online application for admission.
You must demonstrate Proof of English Proficiency Minimum test scores: TOEFL, IELTS Academic, Duolingo or Cambridge. Please see exceptions below.
- Scores are considered valid from exams taken a maximum of two years prior to program application deadlines.
- Submit official TOEFL scores to Villanova using the school code 2959.
- Official IELTS Academic scores can be sent electronically or by hard copy to the Graduate Studies Office.
- Official DET scores should be sent electronically through the DET platform. (Example: 6.5 Overall IELTS; 7.0 Speaking or a TOEFL of 85 or above.)
*International applicants do not need to submit the TOEFL, IELTS Academic, DET or Cambridge if they meet any of the following criteria:
- You are a citizen of Australia, Canada, the UK, Ireland or New Zealand.
- You earned your prior college or university degree in the United States or one of the countries listed above.
Credential Evaluation: Villanova requires that transcripts from colleges and universities outside the U.S. and Canada undergo a course-by-course analysis by an expert academic credential evaluator in the U.S. Students are responsible for paying all fees for such evaluation and making arrangements with the credential evaluation company to send and receive their documents. Fees vary depending on the evaluation and whether a translation is needed. If you are using the service of a credential evaluator that has the capability to send the credentials evaluation electronically, please instruct them to send it to nursing.recruitment@villanova.edu or 2nddegreetranscripts@villanova.edu for the Second Degree BSN.
Villanova will accept a course-by-course credential evaluation from any NACES member. The following credential evaluators offer electronic delivery:
- International Education Evaluation
- International Education Research Foundation
- Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
- SpanTran
- World Education Services (WES)
International students must present evidence of adequate financial resources to meet the expenses of full-time study for one academic year and living and travel expenses to and from the Villanova campus.
If admitted, a Form I-20 will not be produced by the Office of International Students and Scholas until satisfactory financial documentation is presented to the College.
Program-specific Application Requirements
All applicants to the Post-Master’s DNP Track are required to:
- Hold current and unrestricted licensure in nursing (Master’s Degree in Nursing) in a jurisdiction of the United States, and you must be practicing with current licensure through the entirety of the program.
- Provide a copy of RN license for U.S. citizens/residents, and APN license if applicable
- Have a national certification in their practice specialty.
- Have taken a college-level nursing research course and received a grade of 3.0 or higher.
- Be currently employed and working a minimum of part-time in their field in the U.S.
- Provide three Letters of Recommendation from a professional who is in a position to judge your performance/professional skills.
- Upon acceptance, undergo a required comprehensive criminal background check through Complio (Villanova’s online compliance tracking service).
NOTE: The Post-Master’s DNP program does not accept transfer credits.
Your application should be submitted approximately one year prior to the desired date of enrollment.
All applicants to the DNP-NA program are required to provide a copy of RN License for U.S. citizens/residents. You must be able to have your current license renewed by the applicable state agency, and you must be practicing with current licensure through the entirety of the program.
International students applying to a clinical program must have RN licensure in the state of Pennsylvania at the time of application. For information on how to become licensed in Pennsylvania, contact the PA State Board of Nursing at www.dos.state.pa.us/nurse.
All applicants to the PhD program are required to provide:
- Copy of RN License for U.S. citizens/residents. You must be able to have your current license renewed by the applicable state agency.
- Evidence of scholarly writing (e.g., publication, rant, thesis, report, term paper or equivalent).
- Research Goals and a Personal Statement must be articulated.
All applicants to the MSN program are required to provide:
- Copy of current RN license. Must be practicing in the U.S. You must be able to have your current license renewed by the applicable state agency, and you must be practicing with current licensure through the entirety of the program.
- Personal Goal Statement identifying career goals that are congruent with the purposes of the program and indicate appropriate communication and writing skills (for Nurse Practitioners, an essay regarding goals and conceptualization of the role of the Nurse Practitioner in clinical practice).
- Resume.
- Application fee (waived for Open House event attendees).
- Three (3) Letters of Recommendation from a professional who is in a position to judge your performance/professional skills.
- Upon acceptance, a comprehensive criminal background check through Complio (Villanova’s online compliance tracking service) is required.
If the applicant is required to take prerequisites as a condition of admission, the College’s Admission Letter will not be sent until the applicant provides a transcript showing satisfactory completion of the required prerequisites.
International students may not enroll at Villanova University’s College of Professional Studies to complete required pre-requisites and maintain their F-1 status.