New Incoming Graduate Student FAQs

Graduate Program initial enrollment begins once a student has declared their intent to enroll by submitting the Decision Form and $500 deposit by April 15. By May 1, student records are created, and international student Form I-20/DS-2019 documents are requested for all students who have met the April 15 deadline. Initial enrollment for all new incoming graduate students is completed by the end of May.

Incoming graduate student records are created in mid- to late-April. Around that time, CMU Computing Services (it-help@cmu.edu) sends an email to your personal email address with the subject line "Receive your Andrew userID." The message contains a link to instructions about how to retrieve your Andrew ID and use the First Pass process to set up your initial password. 

Follow these steps to receive your Andrew ID and set your initial password:

1. Follow the link in the email sent by Computing Services to your personal email address.
   Note: The link is unique and can only be used once. Be sure to visit the webpage before the expiration date stated in the email.
2. Follow the on-screen First Pass instructions to receive your Andrew ID. Write down your Andrew ID; you will only see it once and you will need it to set your password.
3. Once you have received your Andrew ID, a confirmation page will be displayed.
4. You will receive another email with instructions about how to set a permanent password.

If you haven’t received your Andrew ID, or the link that you received in the email has expired, you must contact Computing Services at it-help@cmu.edu.

The School of Architecture initiates the student visa process in April by submitting an I-20/DS-2019 document request to the university’s Office of International Education (OIE) for each international student requiring a visa.

In order for the School of Architecture to request documents for a student by May 1, the following steps must occur:

1. Applicants must accept their offer of admission by submitting the Decision Form and $500 deposit by the April 15 enrollment deadline.
2. The School of Architecture creates the student’s record. The student’s Andrew ID is generated within 2-3 business days after their record is created.
3. Instructions are sent to the student’s personal email address (the one used in their application) about how to obtain their Andrew ID and activate their university email account. This step is important, because information about the I-20/DS-2019 is sent to international students’ university email address.
4. Once the student has their Andrew ID, a School of Architecture administrator requests I-20/DS-2019 documents for the student.
5. OIE sends instructions to the student’s university email address about how to submit the necessary information and documentation for their I-20/DS-2019.
6. OIE processes documents within approximately 6 weeks of receiving complete materials from the student.

It takes the Office of International Education (OIE) approximately 6 weeks to process and issue the I-20/DS-2019 document once the required forms are submitted by the student. This timeframe allows the office to work as efficiently as possible and best serve our community. OIE will not reply to individual requests for updates prior to 6 weeks from receiving your completed forms.

Visit the OIE website and read their frequently asked questions for more information.

Contact persons in the U.S. can include relatives or distant relatives. However, if you do not have any other contact in the U.S., you can list the contact information for our administrator who manages initial enrollment for international students:

Alexis McCune Secosky
amccune@andrew.cmu.edu
(412) 268-6390
Carnegie Mellon University 
School of Architecture 
4919 Frew Street 
CFA Bldg., Room 201 
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 
U.S.A.

No. We cannot receive PDF copies of your transcript as an attachment in an email because it is not a secure means by which to receive transcripts.

If your university registrar issues e-transcripts translated into English that are submitted through a secure means, then we may accept them as long as the degree and date of conferral is listed on your transcript and the document is authenticated by the issuing authority. The academic credential verification service will then send this course-by-course report directly to the School of Architecture either electronically or by mail.

For applicants whose institution is located outside of the United States and who wish to submit an electronic transcript, they must use an academic credential verification service to obtain a course-by-course report. We accept electronic delivery of official transcripts only if they can be provided through a secure electronic exchange that guarantees authenticity. If your institution is not able to send us an authenticated copy of your complete official transcript, then we prefer that you send a World Education Services (WES) evaluation of your transcript. At the minimum, please select the Basic Package with the course-by-course evaluation sent to us by mail.

If you are completing your degree program during the summer or too close to the transcript submission deadline, you must wait until after you have graduated, and your degree has been certified by your institution, to have the official transcript sent to the School of Architecture.

If you are unable to submit your transcript by the July 15 deadline, then you must contact the Director of Recruitment & Enrollment by email with the date your degree will be complete so that we can work with you to ensure that your official transcript(s) will be received by the beginning of the fall semester. You cannot begin fall semester courses until we receive copies of all official transcripts.