Applying as an International Transfer Student

Transfer applicants must apply through the Pepperdine Transfer Application, which asks questions about the applicant's background, education history, and transfer goals. Both the application and the $70 application fee must be successfully submitted by the deadline.  You will receive a final confirmation email from the Seaver College Office of Admission within 24 hours of our office receiving your application submission. 

Important: Please note that the Common Application is only available to first-year applicants and transfer applicants must use the Pepperdine Transfer Application.

 Official High School Transcripts or Official Exam Reports

• Official high school transcripts are required of all prospective transfer students. Please include your full legal name and birthday on all documents you submit. This will assist in the accurate and timely processing of your application file.
• The official, cumulative high school transcript submitted must indicate the date of high school graduation.
• If you have attended more than one high school, you must submit an official transcript from each school. If you graduated from a U.S. high school, the U.S. high school may submit a copy of the original official transcript they received from a previous school(s).
• If transcripts are not in English, English translations should be included.
• Students from educational systems with external exams (i.e. (I)GCSE/AS results, CBSE Board exams, etc.) should submit certified external exam results in addition to internal marks to finalize the high school transcript requirement.
• Students who have completed A levels must request the official exam results from the testing agency (i.e. CIE, Edexcel, AQA) to be sent directly to Pepperdine.
• Students who have completed an IB certificate of diploma, must request the official exam results from the IB organization (IBO) to finalize their high school transcript requirement and be considered for advanced standing credit.
• If applicable, students must submit official transcripts from any dual enrollment college.
• If an applicant is discovered to have falsified their academic documentation, Pepperdine University reserves the right to deny admission or dismiss the student from course study.

Submit Electronically

Transcripts can be submitted from the school through Parchment, Scoir, or National Student Clearinghouse. Please request that your transcripts be sent to the undergraduate Pepperdine University account at admission-seaver@pepperdine.edu.

Submit by Mail

If the transcripts are mailed, they must be official with an original signature of the school official(s) or the school seal on the transcript and sent directly from the school or submitted in an envelope sealed by the school. Transcripts should be mailed to the following address:

Pepperdine University
Seaver College - Office of Admission
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90263-4392

Please note: Faxed or emailed copies of transcripts are NOT accepted.

Secondary Credentials Required by Country

Please click on your country or province below to view the secondary credentials necessary to complete the high school transcript requirement. 

Include your full legal name and birthday on all documents you submit. This will assist in the accurate and timely processing of your application file.

Evidence of high school graduation and a final high school transcript must be sent for all transfer applicants, in addition to college transcripts for a complete application. Please note that colleges and universities in the United States do not send transcripts from other institutions or high schools you have attended to Pepperdine University. Therefore, it is the student's responsibility to request official high school transcript(s) from each high school attended in addition to college/university transcript(s).

• Applicants who have graduated from high school and obtained examination results (i.e. IB or A levels) must request final results directly from the testing organization (i.e. IBO, CIE, Edexel) to Pepperdine to finalize the high school transcript requirement and consider for advanced standing college credit. Please revisit STEP 2 for further details about high school transcript requirements.
• College transcripts must cover all work attempted by the application deadline and should be sent directly from each institution attended. Faxed or emailed copies are not considered official.
• All college transcripts in a language other than English must also be official and must be accompanied by an official English translation.
• All documents regarding your previous education (exams, marks, certificates, diplomas, etc.) and test scores (TOEFL, SAT) must be sent to us directly from the school(s) you attended, the Ministry of Education, or the testing authority.
• The document we receive may be a photocopy, as long as it has been signed by a school, ministry, or testing authority official, and sent directly to us by the school, the Ministry of Education, or testing authority in a letterhead envelope.
• In other words, we must be able to determine that the document we receive (whether the original or a photocopy) has been verified by the issuing institution and that the student (or anyone else) has not had the opportunity to see or touch the document from the time of the verification until we open the document in our office.

Submit Electronically

Transcripts can be submitted from the school through Parchment, Scoir, or National Student Clearinghouse. Please request that your transcripts be sent to the undergraduate Pepperdine University account at admission-seaver@pepperdine.edu. 

Please note: Faxed or emailed copies of transcripts are NOT accepted.

Submit by Mail

If the transcripts are mailed, they must be official with an original signature of the school official(s) or the school seal on the transcript and sent directly from the school or submitted in an envelope sealed by the school. Transcripts should be mailed to the following address:

Pepperdine University
Seaver College Office of Admission
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90263-4392

Pepperdine is test optional, and you can indicate on your application whether you would like SAT or ACT scores to be considered with your application. Applicants will receive the same consideration for admission and scholarships regardless of whether they submit test scores. If you would like to submit test scores, you can either send an official score report from the testing agency or enter scores on your application. If you self-report scores, you will be required to submit an official score report after enrolling.

If you choose to submit test scores, transfer applicants must take the SAT I or ACT by September in order to meet the October 1 spring application deadline or by January in order to meet the February 15 fall application deadline. The International Admission Committee will consider all official test scores from multiple test dates. We will superscore your scores for you, meaning we will combine the highest section scores across all test dates to create the highest possible total score. There is no limit to the number of test scores you may submit to us for your application.

NOTE: When taking the SAT/ACT, if you have used a different name (e.g. nickname, middle name, etc.) or a different email address from the one used for your application, you MUST notify our office by sending an email to admission-oiss@pepperdine.edu, so that your test scores are appropriately matched to your record.

Transfer applicants must submit an Academic Letter of Recommendation. The recommendation must come from a college professor or advisor. If you have completed fewer than 30 college units at the time of application, your recommendation can also come from a high school core subject (math, science, English, history, foreign language, religion) teacher or counselor who is familiar with the applicant's academic standing.

Your recommendation letter should be requested through the Pepperdine Transfer Application. On the Recommendations page, you will be able to enter the contact information for your recommender(s), and the application will email them a link to complete the recommendation for you. We highly recommend completing this step early, as the request can be sent before your application is ready to be submitted. You can manage your requests or submit new recommendation requests through the Pepperdine Application Portal once your application has been submitted. 

Although only one academic recommendation is required, the Admission Committee guarantees to read up to two letters, so you may request an optional academic or personal recommendation as well. 

Please Note: It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all required materials for the admission application file are received by the Office of Admission by the applicable deadline in order to be considered by the Admission Committee.

International applicants must submit proof of English proficiency, which may be demonstrated by one of the following:

• SAT I Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score of 600
• ACT Reading score of 24
• TOEFL iBT (or TOEFL iBT Home Edition) score of 85 and above - *Please note that Pepperdine does not accept TOEFL "MyBest Scores"
• Duolingo English Test score of 120 and above
• IELTS (or IELTS Indicator) overall score of 6.5 and above
• A "B" or better in a transferable English Composition course (not ESL) at an accredited US college or university
• A "C" or better on the UK system AS or A-Level English Exams (not ESL), or Hong Kong system HKALE English Exam
• The ELS Language Centers' Master level 112 class with a grade of "B" or higher
• IB 1 English grade result of 5 or better (not ESL)
• 4 years of study at a high school in which English is the medium of instruction - subject to verification by an admissions counselor

NOTE: All test scores must be taken within 2 years of time of application.

Seaver College of Pepperdine University Codes:

SAT 1: 4630
ACT: 0373
TOEFL: 4630
IELTS: Pepperdine Seaver College

All test scores must be sent to us directly from the testing agencies to be considered official. You may contact the centers below to have your scores sent:

SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) – 866.756.7346
ACT (American College Testing) – 319.337.1313
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) – 877.863.3546
IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

In order to further demonstrate English communication skills, international applicants may submit interviews from InitialView or Vericant. Application reviewers will consider these supplementary interviews as additional indicators of the applicant’s ability to succeed academically and engage in extracurricular programs.  To learn more about these opportunities, please visit the websites for InitialView and Vericant.

Once your application is submitted, you will receive access to the Pepperdine Application Portal. The portal will use the same credentials as your application and allow you to monitor your application to-do lists and verify that items have been received by the Admission Office. There will be a delay between submission of an item and reflection of it in your portal checklist. Sending multiple copies of your documents will delay the processing of your application file. We recommend verifying with your schools and recommenders that all materials have been submitted in a timely manner.

Please Note: It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all required materials for the admission application file are received by the Office of Admission by the applicable deadline in order to be considered by the Admission Committee.

Pepperdine University renders the I-20 after students accept their offer of admission by submitting their Enrollment Form and Tuition Prepayment (Deposit). Please refer to the ISD form on the International Student Portal for further information regarding obtaining your Pepperdine I-20.

ISD Submission Deadlines
Fall semester: July 15
Spring semester: December 9

For additional information on the F-1 Visa process, visit Becoming an F-1 Student.