How to Apply
STEP 1: Be Aware of Application Deadlines
Students must submit their complete application, including the online application form, non-refundable application fee, and all required supporting documentation by the deadlines below.
STEP 2: Complete the Online Application Form
If you meet the admission requirements for your undergraduate or graduate program of interest, you are ready to apply online!
Authorized International Agents: CMU has authorized one international agency to assist international students as they navigate the application process. This agency is called J Link Consulting Co. Ltd., operating out of Taiwan. CMU is not seeking partnerships with any other international agencies at this time.
STEP 3: Pay the $150 Non-Refundable Application Fee
Your application must be accompanied by a non-refundable $150 CAD application fee. CMU has partnered with Flywire (a money transfer service) to help make the payment process easier for international students. Payment can be made directly from your home country to your student account.
STEP 4: Submit Supporting Documentation
You will be able to upload digital copies of your transcripts to your online application portal; however, these uploaded copies cannot be used for any official assessment of your application.
International students applying for undergraduate programs are required to submit official transcripts to determine your eligibility. CMU can receive official transcripts in two ways:
- Official Digital Transcripts – CMU requires all digital transcripts to be sent in one of two ways:
- Through MyCreds™, the Association of Registration of the Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC)'s secure platform for certifying, sharing, and verifying academic credentials.
- Directly from the student's previous high school(s)/post-secondary institution(s) to admissions:@:cmu.ca (for undergraduate programs) or vsmith:@:cmu.ca (for graduate programs).
- If emailed, the transcripts must be sent from the Office of the Registrar, using a published email address which can be easily found and confirmed on the institution's website. If the email address cannot be confirmed, the transcripts will be considered unofficial.
- Official Paper Transcripts – CMU requires official paper transcripts to be sent directly from the student's previous high school(s)/post-secondary institution(s) to CMU. If students have contact with paper copies of their transcripts, these transcripts will be considered unofficial.
All graduate applicants who studied and obtained credentials at an institution outside Canada or the United States are required to submit their transcripts via a World Education Services (WES) Course-By-Course International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP) report. WES offers a variety of reports, but CMU is only able to accept the course-by course ICAP report. This applies to both international graduate applicants and domestic graduate applicants who studied abroad. Your report must be sent directly from WES to CMU. CMU requires transcripts of all post-secondary studies.
No admission decisions will be made based on unofficial copies of transcripts. Admissions assessments will only be conducted for applicants who have submitted the online application form and paid the non-refundable application fee.
If you require your transcripts back please inform us in writing, with a letter or email. We will send you your transcripts back either by post (with an additional charge for postage) or hold them until you arrive at CMU. In accordance with Canadian information laws, CMU will only hold onto a student's files for three years. When three years has passed, the files will be shredded.
For graduate students, references are required. You will enter the name and contact information for your referees into the online application. The referees will then be sent an e-mail with instructions and a link to upload the reference. If referees don’t receive the e-mail please have them check their spam and trash folders.
Application fraud and why it is serious
- It is an act of serious academic misconduct to provide any false or misleading information (either by omission or commission) in your application.
- It is your responsibility to ensure that your application information and all supporting documentation is truthful, complete and correct. CMU reserves the right to verify any information provided as part of your application.
- If it is proven, or if the university has reasonable grounds to conclude, that any information in your application, or in any of the material submitted in support of your application, is determined to be false or misleading, or written by a third party including a recruiter, your application may be invalidated at the absolute and sole discretion of CMU.
- If you have been admitted to CMU, and then come forward with a transcript from a different university that you did not declare on your application form (intending to get transfer credit), CMU will not consider transfer credit and your status at CMU will be assessed by the Registrar's Office at the end of the semester.
Graduate Studies
Graduate students should consult the Graduate Studies webpage for more details regarding the supporting documentation required for their program.
STEP 5: Include English Proficiency Exam Results
International applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English. If required to submit English Proficiency Exam results, these results must be less than two years old. These documents should be sent directly to CMU by the testing agency.
Refer to the country-specific requirements to see English Proficiency requirements.
STEP 6: Receive Notification of Eligibility (Undergraduate) or Admission (Graduate)
We will assess your application only after we have received your completed online application form, your non-refundable application fee, and all required supporting documentation. When the assessment is complete, we will contact you and inform you of the results of this assessment. Undergraduate applicants can expect to hear from us within three to four weeks. Graduate applicants can expect a response in six to eight weeks. You can expect a response even if your application is not successful.
If they are eligible for admission, students will receive an Eligibility Letter from CMU. This Eligibility Letter is not an official Letter of Acceptance (LOA) and cannot be used to apply for a study permit. In this Eligibility Letter, undergraduate students will be asked to pay their tuition deposit to receive their LOA and Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL), both of which are required to apply for a study permit.
STEP 7: Pay Your Required Deposit
- An advance deposit, either a Registration Deposit or a Tuition Deposit, is due for all new international students. We encourage international students to pay their deposit as soon as possible, as it allows registration for classes and secures a spot in on-campus housing.
- To apply for a study permit, students are now required to submit their Letter of Acceptance (LOA) and a valid Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL). Students must pay their Tuition Deposit to receive their LOA and PAL from CMU. When a Tuition Deposit is received from a student, the LOA and PAL will be uploaded to the student's application portal. Students can defer their offer of admission for one year. After one year, students must reapply for admission.
- Deposits are paid using Flywire or PayMyTuition.
- The Tuition Deposit must be received by:
- The deposit amounts are as follows:
* This policy applies to all new international students, except for international students already living in Canada on valid study permits.
STEP 8: Apply for a Study Permit
- Once you have received your official Letter of Acceptance (LOA), and, if you are an undergraduate student, your Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL), you can apply for your study permit. You can use either a Conditional or Final Letter of Acceptance to apply for your study permit. CMU will issue an electronic copy of the letter that can be used to apply for a study permit online.
- You will be issued a Final Letter of Acceptance once you have completed your current educational program and have provided us with your final official transcripts, direct from the high school or post-secondary institution you are attending. You will need your final letter of acceptance in order to enter Canada and continue with studies at CMU.
- You will need a visitor visa or eTA to enter Canada and a study permit to study in Canada. Please consult the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website for more information. We encourage you to book your flight to travel direct to Canada.
- Please Note: When planning your travel to CMU to study, we strongly encourage you NOT to travel through the USA. If you travel through the USA, even if you are only transferring flights, you MUST apply for a US Visitor's Visa or ESTA.
* This policy applies to all new international students, except for international students already living in Canada on valid study permits.
STEP 9: Apply for On-Campus Housing
Mandatory for first-year, undergraduate international students
- After March 15, apply for on-campus housing as part of your online CMU application.
- When applying for on-campus housing we require a housing application and, for undergraduate applicants, two housing reference forms. If you are an undergraduate applicant, you will need to make sure that the two reference forms (e.g., a teacher, pastor, community leader—no relatives) are all filled out and sent to us directly by the referees. Include the names and email addresses of your references on your housing application.
- Housing is not assigned to international students until a student has received a study permit and has paid the advance deposit (see step 7 above). Contact Gibo Shim, Residence Director, with any questions or for more information.
STEP 10: Inform CMU of Your Study Permit
- When you are informed about your study permit by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), CMU needs to know.
- To begin your studies on CMU campus, you must submit confirmation you have been granted a study permit by:
- August 15 for a September start
- December 1 for a January start
- Please complete, upload, or email the following documents by the appropriate deadline:
- A copy of your passport
- Confirmation of study permit application
- Study permit/visa status form
- Letter of introduction
- Visa copy (TRV/eTA)
- If you are unable to confirm your study permit details by the required dates, you can request to defer your offer of admission to a future term. If your deferral allowance has passed, you will be required to submit a new online application form and pay a new application fee.
Printed from: ftp.cmu.ca/admissions/international/how-to-apply