A Word To Our International Students (Students with residence and citizenship outside the United States)
Admissions As an international student, in order to be admitted to Fuller, you must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) if English is not your first language. A score of 600 (paper test) or 250 (computer test) on the TOEFL examination is required to begin courses.
A student may petition to waive the TOEFL requirement if a baccalaureate degree was earned recently from a recognized institution where English was the language of instruction. For further details regarding a waiver, the student should email the Admissions Department.
Visa RequirementsMAGL students are required to attend two 2-week seminars as part of their coursework for the MAGL program.
According to the
U.S. Department of State, if you are going to the U.S. and your course of study is more than 18 hours a week, you will need a student [F-1] visa. This rule also applies to students in any of the tourist
visa waiver countries.
All “non-U.S. citizen” international students will need visa documents (I-20) from Fuller to enter the United States on a student visa. These students are also required to submit a financial guarantee. The financial guarantee must be from the source(s) that will actually provide the funds for study and living expenses.
Additional information on the F-1 and I-20 visa documents has been made available by the International Services Office. Please contact them for further information regarding visa requirements, financial guarantee information and any arrival details; you can reach the International Services office by calling 626-584-5395 or by emailing
iso@fuller.edu.
Minimum requirements for the competitive MAGL program include:
1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. If you do not have a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, please see the note below regarding "special student" admission.
2. 2.7 GPA
3. Pastoral letter of reference
4. For applicants for whom English is not the native language, a TOEFL score of 250 tested by computer and 600 on paper, tested within the past five years. The TOEFL's web site is www.toefl.com.
5. Resume of experience (one page maximum): List your professional experience over the past 5 years. Please provide the name of the organization for which you work, title of your position, a brief description of duties, and years of employment. Applicants must demonstrate that they have at least four years of significant ministry experience (10 hours per week or more) and are actively engaged in a leadership role.
6. Statement of Purpose (one page maximum): Briefly evaluate your personal ministry. Identify both perceived strengths and areas needing improvement. Please indicate what prompted your interest in the Master of Arts in Global Leadership and how you hope that the MAGL program will address your needs.
The MAGL program places a high priority on applicants who will help to stimulate peer learning because of their ministry and leadership situations. This is a competitive degree program, and space is limited.
Please contact the MAGL Office (
magl@fuller.edu) if you have further questions regarding these requirements.
Note: Applicants with significant leadership experience who lack undergraduate degrees may be considered for admission into the MAGL program. The School of Intercultural Studies will admit students in this category under certain circumstances, provided that they fulfill Fuller Theological Seminary's requirement for "special students." Such students must satisfactorily complete an online prerequisite course titled "ST511: Orientation to Theological Studies" with a minimum grade of "B-" during their first academic quarter of study. Students are allowed to take their first online cohort course, ML581, concurrent to ST511, though they are most often advised not to do so because of the heavy academic workload associated with taking two courses at the same time while continuing in ministry/mission. Typically, those who successfully complete ST 511 join an MAGL cohort the following quarter.
MAGL has frequent enrollment dates - cohorts start three times per year (fall, winter, and spring).
You can
apply online (recommended) or contact Fuller’s Office of Admissions to receive a paper application in the mail. At this website, you will also be able to print application forms or request other material from Fuller Seminary.
Be sure to specify that you want to apply for the Master of Arts in Global Leadership program.
You may also call the Fuller Office of Admissions to request an application: 1-800-AFULLER (1-800-238-5537) or 626-584-5400.
Applications must be complete in order to be reviewed by the Admissions Committee.
The MAGL committee will accept a maximum of 36 quarter units (24 semester credits) of transfer credit.
In order to ensure that a degree, when granted, represents education that is reasonably focused (not acquired a little at a time over an unreasonably long period) and current, all credit applied to the degree must be earned within a certain period of time. For the Master of Arts in Global Leadership, this period has been set at ten years. This includes all credit earned elsewhere and applied to the degree, as well as all credit earned at Fuller. Additionally, the courses need to be intimately related to the degree program; either missional-, theological-, or leadership-oriented.
You will need to inform the MAGL Program Office that you have courses you want to transfer into the program. If your graduate transcript is not in your application file, you will need to send an official transcript to the MAGL Program Office (sealed in an unopened envelope from your graduate institution). The MAGL Committee will review all transcript requests at some point after you have been accepted into the program.
- US Citizens are eligible for Federal Financial Aid
- The MAGL Program has a limited amount of funds for students who demonstrate need. These are primarily awarded to those without access to Federal Financial Aid. Awards are contingent upon successful completion of courses and continued enrollment.
- Once admitted, students my request a "Needs-Based Grant Form" from their MAGL Coordinator.
- Additional Resources on Aid, Grants and Scholarships (from outside sources).
MAGL STUDENT REFLECTIONS ON SEMINAR 1:
For those who are looking for further equipping in the area of leadership with a dual focus (personal and communal) this is the best course available. Do not miss the opportunity to learn from practitioners in the field and competent professors.
I would highly recommend the MAGL. The relationships alone are worth a lifetime of searching for the like-minded. This one week was worth years to me and I am humbled and in awe.
The course addresses important, even crucial issues of leadership and not only provides a framework for development and resources but put it all out to us in a context of intimate reliance on God.