Verification of Degree From Domestic and International Institutions
General Information
All graduate students must verify that they have been awarded a bachelor’s-level degree from an accredited institution in the United States or an equivalent degree from an institution outside the United States.
This requirement is separate from and additional to the credential review conducted for admission. Therefore, you may be required to submit another set of credentials in addition to the materials submitted with your application for admission.
Please keep in mind:
Students whose admission is conditional on having their previous degrees verified will have an “Activity Restriction Warning”, identified as an ADM40 or RNR40, placed on their records. Failure to complete the verification process in the allotted time may result in delayed or cancelled registration, as well as late fees. Your previous degrees must be verified before your graduate degree can be awarded.
Most students will have to satisfy this requirement before the end of their first term at USC.
Domestic Degree Verification
Students seeking to verify prior degrees from domestic institutions must submit official transcripts to the Registrar’s office. During the COVID-19 disruption, official transcripts should be mailed to the following address:
USC Degree Verification
C/O The Degree Progress Department
University of Southern California
University Park Campus
700 Childs Way, John Hubbard Hall 106
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0912
Electronic transcripts sent through email attachments from issuing institutions may be received by USC if sent to etrans@usc.edu.
Please note: All transcripts must be enclosed in the original envelope and must be sealed with intact security marks from the issuing institution.
Contact the Registrar One Stop Center or call (213) 740-8500 for assistance.
International Degree Verification
Students who received a degree from an institution outside the United States will need to obtain a “Certification of Studies for USC” from the International Education Research Foundation (IERF).*This service is not offered on campus. You will need to send IERF your original documents for inspection, but in most (though not all) cases, your prior institution won’t have to send IERF independent verification. When your verification is complete, IERF will mail your documents back to you. Opting for upgraded return shipping with tracking is strongly recommended.
Please note that transmission of your evaluation results to USC is already included in the base fee. You do not need to pay for an extra copy of the report. Visit the IERF website for more information about required documents and fees.
If you are admitted to an off-campus program, it is strongly recommended that you initiate the verification process directly with IERF as soon as all your credentials are available.
*GEMBA program students: Please contact the program coordinator at uscgemba@sjtu.edu.cn for more information regarding verification of your previous degree(s) before engaging IERF.
The Degree Progress department no longer forwards documents to IERF. You will need to arrange shipping through USPS, FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc. Opting for a level of service that provides a tracking number is strongly recommended.