International Students

Study Permit to Enter Canada

Qualified international students are admitted to TWU on the same basis as Canadian students.

A study permit (student visa) is required in order to study in Canada for longer than 6 months.  If a student is coming to study for only one semester, no study permit is required. See the Canadian Immigration website for more details.


English Proficiency

International students who are not mother-tongue speakers of English must meet the following English language requirement: (i) a minimum IELTS score of 7.0 on all bands (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking) or (ii) a TOEFL score of 100iBT (with the Writing section assessed at no lower than 27 points). Applicants who have attended English-speaking universities or colleges in North America may request an exception to this requirement.


Transcript Evaluation

Trinity Western University requires that the academic records of applicants who have completed their degrees outside of Canada and/or the United States be assessed for Canadian equivalency. We require a course-by-course or comprehensive assessment.  This service is provided by a number of organizations and Trinity Western University accepts assessments from the four organizations listed below.

Please send an official copy of your transcript for evaluation to one of the organizations listed below and then have an official copy of both your transcript and the evaluation sent to Trinity Western University Graduate Admissions.

Educational Credentials Evaluators (Select “Course by Course” Assessment)

Foreign Credentials Service of America (Select “Detailed Evaluation of Coursework”)

International Credential Evaluation Service (Select “Comprehensive Report”)

World Education Services – Canadian Office (Select “Course by Course Report”)


Travelling to TWU

Before you make your travel plans for coming to Trinity Western University, be sure and understand the various ways you may enter Canada and the Travel Directions to take.


Employment in Canada

Students entering Canada with a study permit are allowed to work on campus at the school at which they study without acquiring an additional permit to work.  The hours they are permitted to work are unlimited.

Students from certain countries are permitted to work off campus while completing their studies. To qualify, you must be a full-time student. This means that you must apply once you have already been enrolled as a student.

Specific laws regarding international students working in Canada can be found in the Temporary Foreign Worker Manual.

To work off campus, students must apply for a work permit.  Apply online on the Canadian Immigration website. It may take several weeks to receive the permit in the mail. The work permit authorizes a student to work up to 20 hours per week during regular academic sessions, and full time during scheduled breaks (for example, winter and summer holidays, and spring break).


Visit our International Students page for more information.