Graduate Admission Transcript Requirements

Overview

Portland State requires a complete educational history in order to evaluate your application. This includes a list of all community colleges, colleges and universities that you have previously attended. The Graduate School requires copies of transcripts only from schools where a bachelor’s degree was awarded and/or graduate-level coursework was completed. Please note that specific programs may require additional copies of transcripts from other schools.

If you are offered admission, as the final verification step after enrolling in your program, you will be required to submit official transcripts from any institution where a bachelor’s degree was awarded, as well as any institution where graduate-level credits were completed.

Portland State University reserves the right to require official transcripts at any time during the admission process and to rescind any offer of admission made if discrepancies between unofficial and official transcript(s) are found, if it is discovered that the educational history was incomplete or if upon final GPA and degree verification it is discovered that the minimum admissions requirements were not met.

Submitting Official Transcripts:

After you are offered admission, you will be required to submit official copies of your transcripts and/or documents for GPA and degree conferral verification. Failure to provide official documents may result in registration holds that could delay your registration. Official transcripts should be sent to PSU by mail or electronic submission directly from schools where a bachelor’s degree was awarded and/or graduate-level coursework was completed. Enrollment in courses is contingent upon the receipt and verification of these official documents (which must show degrees awarded where appropriate). The official transcript will be compared to the document you uploaded in the online application. 

If you are currently enrolled in courses but will not complete the degree until a future semester, wait to send an updated transcript until the degree is awarded. After it has been awarded, send an updated transcript and the degree confirmation.

Attested International Documents

Many international schools issue only one original transcript or degree certificate. Do not submit your original copy to Portland State. Instead, request that the issuing institution attest a copy of the document.

To request an attested document, send a photocopy (never the original) of the document to the institution that originally issued it. They will verify the photocopy against their records, place the institutional stamp or seal on the photocopy (thereby attesting to its accuracy), put the attested copy into an institutional envelope, and affix their stamp or seal over the envelope closure. The issuing institution can mail the attested copy directly to the Graduate School or you may deliver the sealed envelope to the office in person.

Electronic Transcripts

Transcripts sent electronically must arrive from the registrar or recorder of records using the institution’s secured electronic submission system (such as eSCRIP, Digitary, Parchment, or Truecopy Credentials). If the registrar requests an email address to send the secured electronic transcripts, you can provide the following email address: graddocs@pdx.edu.

Transcripts by mail:

Official documents must arrive at Portland State in the original sealed envelope as issued by the originating institution, with an institutional stamp or signature on the closed envelope flap.

They should be addressed to:

Graduate Admissions
Portland State University
PO Box 751 (GS)
Portland, OR 97207-0751

Transcripts by courier such as FEDEX and UPS:

Send transcripts to:

Graduate Admissions
Portland State University
Parkmill Building
1633 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97201

All documents submitted to Portland State become the property of Portland State and cannot be photocopied or returned.

Transcript do's and don'ts

An official transcript is:

  • Sent directly from the college or university where credits were earned directly to Portland State University OR
  • Bears the college or university seal and is unopened 

An official transcript is NOT:

  • A document that arrives at Portland State without an envelope or in an open envelope
    A document that has been authorized by an official notary or government office
    A photocopy of a document
    A translation of a document which is not sent with the original official document

Tips for Scanning and Uploading Transcripts

  • Please obtain current copies of your transcript(s) from all schools where a bachelor’s degree was awarded and/or graduate-level coursework was completed.
  • Scan both sides.
  • Please do not directly upload a password protected file. Instead, print, scan and save the file and then upload.
  • The institution name and other identifying marks should be clearly legible.
  • Include the transcript legend (back page in most cases).
  • Make one PDF for each institution listed on the upload site, even if it includes multiple pages, translations, a legend, degree certificate, or diploma. Please keep your transcript pages in order. You will be allowed to upload only one PDF for each transcript on the pull-down menu at the upload website.

International Documents & Certified Translation

An official transcript or degree certificate is a verification of your academic record issued in the original language from the original issuing source (i.e., college, university, technical school, or secondary school). Official transcripts or degree certificates issued in languages other than English must be translated into English and submitted to Portland State along with the original official documents. International transcripts must be submitted in paper form to be considered official. Electronic transcripts will only be accepted from U.S. institutions.

A certified translation is:

  • An exact, precise English translation of your academic documents
  • Prepared by the issuing institution or a professional translator.

A certified translation is NOT:

  • A document that has been authorized by an official notary or government office
  • A photocopy of a translation that does not accompany the original official document
  • A document translated by you, your friends, or your family
  • An evaluation provided by a credential service, for example, Educational Credentials Evaluators (ECE) OR World Education Services (WES)