Admissions Portfolio

Complete all items on the Application for Admissions: F1 or Application for Admissions: Standard (non F1) form. Type on the form ensuring that the details are legible. Then, print the form and sign/date. Scanned/emailed forms are acceptable. Make sure the Application Portfolio (AP) is submitted before the deadline.

For campus-hybrid, online, or F-1 applicants, submitting an application requires a non-refundable application fee. F-1 students must also remit a non-refundable I-20 processing fee. See current Schedule of Fees.

As a prospective student, students are encouraged to review the School Performance Fact Sheet that includes student achievement data, which must be provided prior to signing an enrollment agreement. Applicants must sign and date the first page and initial the rest of the pages of the School Performance Fact Sheet and submit it with the Admissions Portfolio (AP).

A current photo that is no older than 6 months is required. The photo shall be used for the student identification card and uploaded to the student’s profile. The photo should be facing straight forward in front of a white background, like a passport photo. NO SELFIE’s. Remove accessories, such as a hat, scarf, hoodie, or handkerchief. Glasses are OK. The photo must be sent via email as a JPEG.

Applicants must request an original transcript from every U.S. post-secondary institution attended to be sent to the IAU Office of Admissions. Scanned or photocopies of the original are not considered original. The applicant may request the original transcript to be returned. Courier fees may apply. Prior college and university transfer courses and/or degrees must be earned at an institution accredited by an accrediting association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or a foreign institution.

If an applicant completed his/her coursework at a foreign (outside of the U.S.) institution, s/he will need to provide an official evaluation of the academic credentials. Transcripts not in English must be evaluated by an appropriate third party and translated into English or evaluated by a trained transcript evaluator fluent in the language on the transcript. In this case, the evaluator must have expertise in the educational practices of the country of origin and include an English translation of the review.

Course-By-Course Report: If the applicant wants to receive transfer credit for coursework completed at a foreign (outside of the United States) college or university, a professional course-by-course English-translated evaluation will need to be submitted.

General Report: For purposes that require showing evidence of an earned degree, a professional general report English-translated evaluation of the degree is acceptable.

See a list of foreign credential evaluators.

Proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and understanding English is essential to the student’s success at IAU. Since classes are taught in English, an applicant must demonstrate their ability to read, write, and speak English. If English is not the applicant’s native language, they will be required to provide proof of English Proficiency. See ways to meet the English Proficiency requirement.

Acceptable forms of Identification can be:

• U.S. passport
• Permanent resident card
• Driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles
• Foreign government-issued passport / identity cards or National identity cards / Driver’s license

Passport must be valid 6 months from the program start date.

Before a U.S. consul will grant a visa, an applicant must prove that they will have sufficient money to meet all expenses while studying in the United States. The applicant must explain the source of the funds and guarantee that they will receive them while at IAU. Unless the applicant can provide written evidence demonstrating they have adequate financial resources for the entire time needed to complete the degree program, the consul will not grant the applicant a student visa.

Prospective students must submit bank statements dated within three months that demonstrate funds to cover all expenses while in attendance at IAU. See minimum amount for each program level. Immigration laws only permit employment in special cases and only on a part-time basis.

Dependents: If an applicant plans to bring a spouse and/or children, the dependent will need to be listed on the financial documentation form. Please list dependents’ names at the bottom of the form along with their date of birth, country of citizenship, and relationship to the student. Applicants must add $2,000 USD per dependent to the total available funds and submit a copy of a passport for all dependents.

Provide a copy of the most recent Form I-20 to include pages 1 and 2. If the applicant is currently on OPT, submit a copy of the OPT Form I-20 issued from the previous institution.

The Form I-94 indicates the arrival departure record for a student’s F-1.
The Form I-797 Notice of Action indicates that the applicant changed status to his or her present visa.

Provide a copy of I-94 Card (front and back). For those students who arrived to the U.S. after April 2013, the I-94 is only available through the U.S. Government’s Official Web Portal for retrieving I-94 Admission number.

Digital I-94 can be obtained by going to: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home
Instructions on how to retrieve the I-94 online can be found at: https://help.cbp.gov/

Submit a copy of the most updated visa. The visa can be expired or, if you changed your status while in the U.S., it can reflect a different status (ex: B-1/B-2).

A CV demonstrating experience and qualifications including a thorough review of an applicant’s educational background, employment history and highlighting main accomplishments at each position.

The Letter of Interest contains three parts: Personal Statement, Professional Statement, and Research Statement.

Each part will need to include:

1. Personal Statement: Please express in no more than one page how the applicant’s experience, education, and training qualifies for admission into the DBA program.
2. Professional Statement: Please describe in no more than two pages your interests in the DBA program and the plan to complete it:

• Why pursue a DBA degree?
• What significant qualities or experiences will be brought to the DBA program?
• What are the career aspirations after graduation with the doctorate degree?
• What obstacles/challenges are envisioned having to overcome to complete the degree within a reasonable time frame (i.e. 4 years), and what is the plan to address these obstacles/challenges?
• What concrete steps will be taken to manage the time to tackle classes and up to 20 hours a week of study?

3. Research Statement: Please describe in no more than three pages the research interests and topics to be pursued.

Two letters of recommendation should be requested from professionals in academe or industry who can comment on the applicant’s:

1. Personal and professional accomplishments and how they achieved them.
2. Academic pursuits.
3. Demonstrated leadership and potential for doing advanced academic work.
4. Oral and written communication skills.
5. Potential as an instructor.

The University will consider accepting transfer students from other schools as determined by the Office of Admissions. IAU’s policy allows transfer of course credit successfully completed at accredited or foreign equivalent universities, colleges, or institutions that comparably meet university course work requirements and standards, and documented on official transcripts. Credit earned for courses for which a grade of “C” or higher will be considered for transfer. See policy in Academic Credentials in Part 1.

Once an Enrollment Agreement is signed, the transfer credit (TRC) is ‘locked’ and IAU can no longer award TRC for courses that applicants took in the past. However, IAU can award TRC for courses taken after a student signs the enrollment agreement with the submission of official transcripts and a TRC Evaluation Fee. See current Schedule of Fees.

The Office of Admissions has the sole discretion to award transfer credits based on official transcripts submitted. Unofficial evaluations may be conducted using unofficial transcripts. See “Official Transcript” policy herein.

Maximum transfer credit for each program is as follows:

• ASBA: 45 units
• BBA: 90 units
• MBA: 6 units
• DBA: 30 units
• DM: 18 units

The University recognizes a full range of standardized exams, which measure mastery of college-level, introductory course content in a wide range of disciplines. Students who obtain the credit-granting score required can earn credits and course exemptions. The University establishes standards that are recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE).

Standardized exam credit (SEC) is awarded only for undergraduate programs and the maximum amount of credit can be found on each respective program description.

DSST Institutional Recipient Code: 8476

If applicant plans to bring a spouse and/or children, the dependent(s) will need to be listed on the application for admissions form. If there are more than two (2) dependents, the applicant will need to fill out a separate application for admissions form to include the remaining dependents.

The applicant must demonstrate financial capabilities for each dependent.

Please provide a copy of the dependents passport and visa (if applicable).