Participating Master’s Programs

The following USC master’s programs offer admission to International Academy Pre-Master’s students who meet all of the academic qualifications except for English language proficiency. Every graduate program has different admission requirements. To check if you qualify, please visit the website of your master’s program of interest.

  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 100+TOEFL iBT 90-99TOEFL iBT <90
    IELTS Academic 7.0IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic <6.5
    PTE Academic 69+PTE Academic 61-68PTE Academic <61
    Cambridge 185+Cambridge 176-184Cambridge <176
    2 semesters3 semesters>3 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
    • Spatial Data Science (M.S.)
      STEM Designated Program
      Master’s Program Length: 2 Years
      Master’s Program Start: Fall, Spring
      The M.S. in Spatial Data Science is a joint degree program offered by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

    English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 80+TOEFL iBT 61-79TOEFL iBT <61
    IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic 5.5IELTS Academic <5.5
    PTE Academic 53+PTE Academic 44-52PTE Academic <44
    Cambridge 169+Cambridge 162-168Cambridge <162
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
    • Innovation Economics, Law and Regulation (M.S.)
      STEM Designated Program
      Master’s Program Length: 2 Years
      Master’s Program Start: Fall, Spring
      The M.S. in Innovation Economics, Law and Regulation (MIELR) is a joint degree program offered by the USC Gould School of Law and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

    English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 100+TOEFL iBT 90-99TOEFL iBT <90
    IELTS Academic 7.0IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic <6.5
    PTE Academic 69+PTE Academic 61-68PTE Academic <61
    Cambridge 185+Cambridge 176-184Cambridge <176
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 100+TOEFL iBT 90-99TOEFL iBT <90
    IELTS Academic 7.0IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic <6.5
    PTE Academic 69+PTE Academic 61-68PTE Academic <61
    Cambridge 185+Cambridge 176-184Cambridge <176
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters

    English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
    • Design (M.F.A.)
      Master’s Program Length: 2 – 2.5 Years
      Master’s Program Start: Fall

    English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 80+TOEFL iBT 61-79TOEFL iBT <61
    IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic 5.5IELTS Academic <5.5
    PTE Academic 53+PTE Academic 44-52PTE Academic <44
    Cambridge 169+Cambridge 162-168Cambridge <162
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 100+TOEFL iBT 90-99TOEFL iBT <90
    IELTS Academic 7.0IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic <6.5
    PTE Academic 69+PTE Academic 61-68PTE Academic <61
    Cambridge 185+Cambridge 176-184Cambridge <176
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 90+TOEFL iBT 80-89TOEFL iBT <80
    IELTS Academic 6.5IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic <6.0
    PTE Academic 61+PTE Academic 53-60PTE Academic <53
    Cambridge 176+Cambridge 169-175Cambridge <169
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters
  • Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

    Astronautical Engineering

    Biomedical Engineering

    Chemical Engineering & Materials Science

    Civil & Environmental Engineering

    Computer Science

    Data Science & Cyber Security

    • Applied Data Science (M.S.)
      STEM Designated Program
      Master’s Program Length: 2 Years
      Master’s Program Start: Fall, Spring
    • Cyber Security Engineering (M.S.)
      STEM Designated Program
      Master’s Program Length: 2 Years
      Master’s Program Start: Fall
    • Spatial Data Science (M.S.)
      STEM Designated Program
      Master’s Program Length: 2 Years
      Master’s Program Start: Fall, Spring
      The M.S. in Spatial Data Science is a joint degree program offered by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

    Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Industrial and Systems Engineering

    English Proficiency Requirements
    English proficiency requirements vary from program to program. Please see your desired program for details about how many semesters of Pre-Master’s program you will need to take at the International Academy based on your test scores. Please note that these semesters are not included in the master’s program length.

    TOEFL iBT 80+TOEFL iBT 61-79TOEFL iBT <61
    IELTS Academic 6.0IELTS Academic 5.5IELTS Academic <5.5
    PTE Academic 53+PTE Academic 44-52PTE Academic <44
    Cambridge 169+Cambridge 162-168Cambridge <162
    1 semester2 semesters>2 semesters

Depending on their USC graduate degree program requirements, USC International Academy students will study one or two semesters in the Pre-Master’s Program. Students with the following scores are welcome to apply:

  • TOEFL iBT score of 61
  • IELTS Academic score of 5.5
  • PTE Academic score of 44
  • Cambridge English score of 162

However, students at lower English proficiency levels may need to study additional semesters in the Pre-Master’s Program.

To determine your placement, submit an official TOEFL, IELTS Academic, PTE Academic or Cambridge English Test Score Report by the application deadline. If you do not submit an official score, you will be required to take the USC International Academy English Placement Exam on the program start date during orientation. This exam consists of a timed, written essay and an oral exam. A placement review of your Test Score Report or English Placement Exam will determine the number of semesters you are required to study.

Your offer letter from USC International Academy will provide details about your Pre-Master’s study plan based on your required duration of study and degree program’s start date. Application processing takes on average six to eight weeks after your completed application is received. You are encouraged to apply as early as possible.