Admission Eligibility

The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited graduate degree university established for the advanced education of selected United States and Allied military officers on active duty.  The only civilian students accepted must be employees of an agency within the United States Government, or of sponsoring allied governments.

Admission Procedures

Unlike civilian schools, we do not accept an application for admission directly from a prospective student.  All international students must be formally sponsored and nominated by their respective governments.  There is no formal application form. Requests for evaluation of academic records for admission into a specified curriculum should be made through appropriate channels in your Ministry of Defense.  Your authorities will coordinate your application with the Security Cooperation Office of the U.S. Embassy in your country and that office will forward your records to NPS for formal evaluation for the specified curriculum.  The academic records that you need to provide for forwarding to NPS should consist of a legible copy, in English, of the official transcript from each college and university that you attended.  Transcripts should include the title or subject area of each course studied, the number of credit hours and the grade or score you received in each course, and the date and name of each degree and certificate that you have been awarded.  Grading scale in use, as well as lowest passing marks, should also be shown.  For programs that lead to the Ph.D. current results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required.  Please note that the GRE is not required for Masters Degree programs.  After your records are received by NPS, four to six weeks are required for our evaluation process.

Academic Requirements

Academic requirements are straightforward and simple.  All students accepted for admission must possess, at a minimum, a baccalaureate degree or equivalent.  This course work must have been completed at a recognized university or college with a grade point average of at least C+ (2.20 on a 4.0 scale). For candidates applying for entry into the Department of National Security Affairs, a grade point average of 2.6 is required.  For technical or engineering programs, successful completion of calculus and calculus-based physics must be documented as well.  The Business School degree programs (MBA’s) and Special Operations curricula require successful completion of college level algebra. 

TOEFL

International candidates from non-English speaking countries will be required to validate their fluency in English through the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

• Minimum TOEFL score required for direct entry to NPS is 83 IBT (Internet Based Test) or 560 (written test).  Additionally, we require that a candidate achieve a minimum of 18 in each of the testing sections (reading, listening, speaking, and writing) on the IBT. For candidates applying for entry into the Department of National Security Affairs Curricula 681-693), an IBT score of 90 or higher is required.   Requests for exemptions will be considered on a case by case basis.  Candidates for PhD programs or accelerated programs are required to score a minimum of 100 on the IBT.  Waivers will be considered on a case by case basis for scores between 90 and 100 based on the overall application package.
• When applying for a TOEFL exam, the NPS identification code is 4831.  This should be included on the registration application so a copy of the results can be sent directly to NPS.  TOEFL test results are valid for two years from the test date and must be valid when the student reports to NPS.
• If a candidate fails to achieve the 83 IBT score, but does achieve a score of 70 IBT, he/she is eligible to attend the TOEFL Preparatory Academic Writing Course (Advanced Language Proficiency/3), MASL P177022 (16 weeks) at the Defense Language Institute in San Antonio, Texas. DLI will also accept a score of 90 on the English Classification Level Test (ECL) within 30 days prior to arriving at DLI.  The minimum requirement upon completion of the TOEFL Prep course is 78 (IBT) with a minimum of 16 in each of the testing sections (reading, listening, speaking, and writing).  
• The only countries exempted from TOEFL testing are those countries who are exempted from all ECL testing requirements as determined by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) memorandum dated 27 Dec 2011 (Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, Mauritius, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom). (Note: Students from Pakistan and Kenya scheduled for senior PME courses, including NPS, are also exempt from in-country and CONUS ECL, TOEFL, and OPI testing.)
• Information regarding TOEFL testing can be obtained at the following addresses:

TOEFL Website: http://www.toefl.org

Mailing Address:
TOEFL/TSE Services
Test of English as a Foreign Language
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, USA

Telephone: 609-771-7100

• Most countries have in-country testing locations where test applications/test bulletins may be obtained.  Generally, testing sites are located at local colleges and universities.  When applying for a TOEFL exam, remember to identify NPS on your application with Code 4831.  This will ensure that your test score results will be sent directly to us.
• The following country does not have CBT and will continue to offer the paper based exam (Bhutan). (Direct entry score of 560 required)
• Test dates for the paper-based exam are scheduled periodically throughout the year.  Check with TOEFL Services for actual dates and registration deadlines.  Be sure and allow at least 3 months from time of application to our receiving your test results.

International English Learning Testing System (IELTS)  

The IELTS may be substituted for the TOEFL test in those cases where the TOEFL Test is not available.  A score of 6.0 is required for direct entry to NPS.  A score of 5.0 will be required for entry to the TOEFL Prep course.

English as a Second Language (ESL) Program

The Naval Postgraduate School has an established on-campus English as a Second Language (ESL) program.  We continue to utilize an ESL instructor on staff from DLI (ELC).  The ESL Instructor on staff will teach both a speaking and writing course (see course description below). The Instructor also manages an ESL lab which consists of eight workstations and network compatible ESL program software.

IT1600 Communications Skills for International Officers (3)

This is a three-hour a week course that is designed for first quarter officers who need to refresh or improve their speaking and listening skills.  Speaking activities include pronunciation practice, impromptu exercises, group discussions, and organized briefings.  Reading and writing skills are addressed in the speaking and listening activities.  Grammar is not taught, but troublesome constructions will be covered and practiced in exercises.  Materials include the use of handouts, audio, video, computer software programs and the Internet.

The ESL Instructor on staff will conduct a speaking and listening proficiency interview with each incoming international student to determine the individual’s need to attend the course.

IT1700 Academic Writing for International Officers (3)

This is a three-hour a week course that is designed for third or fourth quarter students who need academic writing instruction before starting their thesis work.  The course focuses on paragraph organization, rhetorical styles, coherent and cohesive forms, troublesome grammatical structures, punctuation, and documentation.  Students will write several drafts in the different rhetorical styles as out of class assignments.  Writing software programs may be used as a means of self-study for part of the class.  Students will maintain a portfolio of drafts for the class.

A student’s writing score from the TOEFL determines the need to attend this course.  If the score is 4.5 or under (out of the 6 point scale), a student attends the course