Frequently Asked Questions:

1.  How do I start my online application?
2.  What if I have a technical problem while completing my application? 
3.  When is my application due?
4.  When will I be notified of the admissions decision?
5.  Where should I send my transcripts?
6.  What does "official" transcript mean?
7.  Can I submit official electronic transcripts via email?
8.  Do I need to send all of my transcripts?
9.  When will I know if my application is complete?
10.  Can I save my application and work on it later?
11.  What if I don’t want to do my application online?
12.  What if I don't have a bachelor's degree?
13.  What if I was a student at Fuller but did not graduate?
14.  What if I was accepted before, but never took a class?
15.  What if I want to change my start date, degree or campus? 
16.  What if I cannot find my school listed on the application?  
17.  What if I cannot pay my application fee? 
18.  What if I don’t know the campus I want to start my courses? 
19.  What if I want to start online and then move to a campus?
20.  What if I need to resend the email reference to my recommender?
21.  What if I need to change the information for a recommender?  
22.  What if I want to change one of my recommenders?
23.  What if my recommender cannot do the reference online? 
24.  What does the error "Please use only basic ASCII characters" mean?
25.  What about transfer credits?
26.  How do I apply for Fuller Financial Aid?
27.  How do I apply for Fuller housing in Pasadena?
28.  Still need help?  Question not on this list?    

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1.  How do I start my online application?

Simply click here to get started. You will need to create a username and password for your online account. Within this account, you can create as many applications as you need and return to them at later dates to continue submitting.  


2.  What if I have a technical problem while completing the application?

If you are having technical issues with our online application system, the best place to start is to call our main admissions office number. You can reach an admissions liaison at the Pasadena campus:  

626.584.5400 or 1.800.2.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu

You can also contact the help desk for the online system we use by emailing here:  support@targetx.com


3.  When is my application due?
For our Masters programs in the School of Theology and the School of Intercultural studies, our application process is on a rolling basis. That means you can apply at any point for any quarter you would want to begin your studies. The deadline for each quarter depends on the time of year, but it is normally around one month prior to the start of the quarter.

For our Doctoral degrees and other cohort based degrees, you must apply by a certain assigned deadline. 

To see the application deadlines for all of our programs, please click here. 

4.  When will I be notified of the admissions decision on my application?

Since admission our Masters level programs is on a rolling basis, once your application file is complete and all application materials have been submitted to the admissions office (including references, and transcripts, etc), the admissions committee will make a decision within three to four weeks. At that point, you will receive notice via email and/or letter from Fuller’s Admissions office informing you of the decision. 

For our doctoral programs in our three schools, as well as the MS in Martial and Family Therapy and MA in Global Leadership, admission decisions are based on application deadlines and cohort schedules. For complete details on deadlines, please click here.   

5.  Where should I send my transcripts?

All transcripts come through the Pasadena office, regardless of which campus you will be attending.   

Please have your transcripts mailed to:

Fuller Theological Seminary
Office of Admissions
135 North Oakland Avenue
Pasadena, CA  91182
USA

6.  What does "official" transcript mean? 

For a transcript to be considered official, an official copy must arrive at the Office of Admissions in a sealed envelope from the issuing institution. We do not order the transcripts to be sent for you, you will need to contact your institution to have the transcripts mailed to us.  Transcripts that have been opened by the applicant, electronic transcripts issued by the institution, photocopies, scanned copies, faxes, and printouts from student information websites will not be accepted as official. 

7.  Can I submit official electronic transcripts via email? 

Fuller requires official paper copies of your transcripts. Even if your school sends the email version of your transcript directly to our office, we cannot consider it official.  You will need to have the official paper versions sent to the following address:

Fuller Theological Seminary
Office of Admissions
135 N. Oakland Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91182
USA


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8.  Do I need to send all my transcripts? 

We will need to have all transcripts regardless of how many courses you took at each school, even if the classes are printed on your final degree transcript. You will need to have official copies sent from all schools that you attended post-high school for college and graduate studies.

Certificate applicants are required to submit an official transcript showing a bachelor's degree earned from an accredited institution; however, additional transcripts may be requested if a large amount of coursework was transferred. Certificate applicants who do not hold an accredited bachelor's degree will need to submit official transcripts of any undergraduate or graduate academic work completed. 

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9.  When do I know if my application is complete?

Your application is complete once you have fully submitted your application, and we have received all materials such as transcripts, references, etc.  

You will be able to tell that you are ready to submit your online application when you have all green check marks next to your application sections on the online application form. You do not need to have your references fully submitted or your transcripts sent in to be able to submit your online application (listed under “Application Requirements”). Once you have finished the required sections of your application, a new section will appear titled Verification. Once you finish the verification section, the submit application button will highlight and you can then submit your application in full.  

Once you have fully submitted your online application, your application will say “Your application has been submitted.” Once you see that confirmation, your application is complete. Then you can continue to log back into your online account and check the status of your admission requirements such as your references, transcripts, GRE scores, etc. 

If you have any questions about your submitted materials, please contact the general admissions office directly:  626.584.5400 or 1.8002.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu
 

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10.  Can I save my application and work on it later?

Yes.  At any point during the online application process, you can save your progress to return to it later.  Just remember your username, which is your email address, and password to log back in and you can work on your application at any point.  

Please note that your application is not considered complete until you have submitted your online application in full, and we have received all necessary materials such as transcripts, references, etc.  Starting an online application, but not finishing it, is not considered complete and will not be reviewed by the committee. 


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11.  What if I don’t want to do my application online?

If you would prefer, we can send you paper version of the application either through the mail or via email as a .pdf for you to download, print, and fill out by hand.  The application fee is $100 for the paper version whether submitted by mail or by scanned .pdf via email.  We can assure you that our online application system is secure and safe for your personal information. 

If you would like a paper application, please contact the main admissions office:  626.584.5400 or 1.8002.FULLER or  admissions@fuller.edu
 

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12.  What if I don't have a bachelor's degree?

All of Fuller’s master’s degree and certificate programs require that the applicant hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited undergraduate institution.  For our ministry degrees and certificate programs, however, we do have a options for applicants without an accredited bachelor's degree to be accepted to Fuller under the Special Student status. 

To read the requirements for being considered for admission as a special student, please click here. 

If this is a process you qualify for, you can fill out the application for the degree of your choice (as long as it accepts special students) by simply selecting “no” when asked if you have a bachelor’s degree on the application.  You will then be asked to fill out various other questions to fulfill the special student admissions process. 


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13.  What if I was a student at Fuller but did not graduate?

If at any point in the last 2 years (or 8 quarters) you have taken, and completed with a passing grade, a class at Fuller, you are allowed to continue your degree by simply speaking with your advisor.  You have an 8 quarter limit from the last time you took, and passed, a course at Fuller to start again without having to reapply.  

There are set time limits for completing your degree.  For the MA, MACL, or MDiv degree in the School of Theology, this limit is set at ten years. The time limit for the Th.M. degree is five years; for the D.Min. degree, seven years; and for the Ph.D. degree, eight years. There is a ten-year time limit for completion of degrees in the School of Intercultural Studies (master's or doctoral level). The limit for the M.S. degree in Marital and Family Therapy in the School of Psychology is seven years, and for all doctoral programs in that school, the limit is ten years. 

If you have taken, and passed, classes at Fuller but it is after the 2 year (8 quarter) limit and before your 10-year limit, you can apply for a reinstatement.  To find out how to apply as a reinstatement student, please click here.


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14.  What if I was accepted before, but never took a class?

If you were accepted into a degree program at Fuller, you have up to seven quarters after the original quarter to which you applied to begin your studies (8 total quarters). For example, if you applied and were accepted to begin studies at Fuller during the Fall quarter of 2012, you have until the Summer quarter of 2014 to begin your studies.   

If you are still within the 8 total quarter window, simply call the Admissions office and we will activate your account for the quarter in which you would like to start.  

626.584.5400 or 1.8002.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu

If you are past the 8 quarters after you were accepted, but would like to start again, you will need to fully re-apply into the program you desire.  This means you will need to submit a completely new application including new essays, new references, and the application fee.  Depending on the timeline, we may still have your transcripts that you submitted.  To be certain, please call our main admissions office. 


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15.  What if I want to change my start date, degree program or campus?   

Once you start an application, you cannot change the term, degree, or campus through the online system.  In order to change your desired term or degree, you can either start a completely new application or you can contact the Admissions office to change your information.

While you are still applying, and even after you are accepted, you can usually change your start date, depending on your degree.  Changing your degree program depends on the school that you are entering.  Changing your campus is as easy as calling. 

For any of these changes, contact the main Admissions office:  626.584.5400 or 1.8002.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu

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16.  What if I cannot find my school listed on the application? 

Most schools will be listed if you start typing out the name of your institution.  If your school is not listed, simply type “unknown” and wait for the "Unknown School" option to appear.  Click on "Unknown School" to submit it as your choice.  Then, when we receive your transcripts in the mail, we will put your school information into your application for review. 

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17.  What if I cannot pay my application fee?  

If you do not have access to a US bank account or US credit card, you are welcome to request an application fee postponement at the end of the application.  

This request will act as a fee deferral in that we still need you to pay the fee.  You can do that at a later point if you accrue the funds.  You can also wait to have the fee charged to your student account and added to your first quarter tuition fees if you are accepted into Fuller. 


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18.  What if I don’t know at which campus I want to start my courses?  

At Fuller, you can take all of your courses at one campus, or you can take courses at several different campuses including online, all without having to change your main campus choice.

For your application, please list the campus at which you are most likely to take classes. This helps us know how to best answer your questions in the process. However, if you change your mind about the campus you plan to take classes at, you can change the campus if you have not fully submitted the application.  If you have submitted the application, you can call us to change your campus in your file.  

You can also change your campus at any point during your time as a student. 

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19.  What if I want to start online and then move to a campus?  

For the application, you will need to choose a home campus which cannot be online for degree-seeking students.  Choose the campus that you most likely will take courses from in the future.  Then, you can choose “online” for the campus at which you would like to begin your studies.   

For most degrees, you can complete up to 48 units for Fuller’s master’s level degrees in the School of Theology and School of Intercultural Studies online.  The general rule is that half of your degree must be done on a campus.  The remainder of the degree program must be completed on a campus.


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20.  What if I need to resend the email reference to my recommender?   

To send a reminder to a recommender who has not yet received or finished their reference form, simply click on the link above the check list that says "Recommendations."  This will allow you to "Nudge" your different recommenders. 

Nudging your recommender will send an email reminder to them with the link included.  Once you click "nudge", a small yellow box will appear that confirms that an email has been sent.  Sometimes these emails will wind up in the Junk or Spam folders of your recommenders.  Please confirm with them that you have sent a reminder and have them check their inbox and junk folders to confirm.  To change your recommender's information, or change to a completely new recommender, see questions 20-22 below.    

 

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If you have not yet submitted your application, you can click on the “Recommendations” section and then edit your recommender’s information by simply typing over the existing fields and then hitting “save changes.”

If you have submitted your application, you will not be able to edit your recommender’s information.  Please call our main Admissions office line and we can edit the information for you:  626.584.5400 or 1.8002.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu


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22.  What if I want to change one of my recommenders?

If you have not yet submitted your application, you can go in and delete your previous recommender and then create a new submission.  Please do not simply type over the name of the old recommender and put in a new name as the online form that is sent will not have the right information.  Delete your first reference and create a new reference submission. 

If you have already submitted your application, the system will not allow you to change your recommender.  Please call our main Admissions office and we can send a new form to your new recommender:  

626.584.5400 or 1.8002.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu


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23.   What if my recommender cannot do the reference online?  

If your recommender is having trouble with the online reference form, or simply does not want to do the online version, we can send you a .pdf version of the reference either via email or through the mail.  Please give us a call or send us an email so we can determine which form your recommender needs.  Then you can pass along the form to your recommender, and they can fill it out and send it back to us via email, mail, or fax. 

626.584.5400 or 1.8002.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu


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24.   When submitting an essay, why does it say "Please Use Only Basic ASCII characters"? 

This error happens on our application when you try to copy and paste your text from a typing program like Microsoft Word, Pages, or email.  Most online browsers have difficulty reading text that is from a different formatted program when submitted into an online form.  Unfortunately, text like this will not work in our online forms.  The text that you can copy and paste needs to be "Plain Text" that is free from any formatting, code or ASCII characters, not Microsoft word (or others). 

If you are having this issue, there are a couple of options you can do. 

1.  We recommend that you save your essay or writing as a document (Microsoft word documents are fine), and upload the file as a Word doc or .pdf.  This is the best option for getting past the ASCII character options.  If you are filling out an application that has several questions, you can save one document with all the answers and upload that for each question, or you can save individual documents.   

2.  You can go through by hand and edit out the characters that may be causing some issues.  But that is tedious. 

3.  You can find some online programs that help strip your pasted text into "Plain Text" which will then submit. 

4.  You can simply type in your responses into the forms without pasting. 

5.  You can type into the field, "I will submit by email" and then email us your responses.  This will allow you to submit your application.  

We apologize for any inconvenience you may have by this error.  Please let us know what we can do to help. 

626.584.5400 or 1.8002.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu

 

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25.   What about transfer credits? 

Since Fuller is a graduate school, you are not able to transfer undergraduate credit into any of Fuller’s programs.

However, it is possible to transfer credit from graduate work you’ve done in the past into several of Fuller’s programs. In fact, in most cases you can transfer credits from another school to equal up to half of a degree at Fuller.  Transfer credits depend on the school you attended and its accreditation, and the types of courses you passed. 

Fuller is on a 4-quarter system, which means we have quarter units instead of semester hours.  We can help translate your semester hours into quarter hours, but basically, 4 quarter units at Fuller is equivalent to 3 semester hours at a semester based institution. 

While we do not do full transfer credit evaluations in the Admissions office, we can connect you with the Advising office who will evaluate your transcript for a small fee if you are not current student. 

To learn more, please contact Fuller’s admissions office at 626.584.5400 or 1.800.2.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu


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26.  How do I apply for Fuller Financial Aid?

Once you have applied for admission into a program at Fuller, you will be issued a student number (G#00000000).  Once you have that student number, you are then able to apply for financial aid.  The financial aid office will not process your file until you have been accepted, but applying before your admissions decision will speed up your financial aid process.

In order to apply for financial aid, you will need to visit the financial aid website.  You will complete the necessary forms, and the financial aid office will help you from there.

In order to be eligible for financial aid at Fuller, you need to be in at least 8 units per quarter (2 courses).  12 units per quarter (3 classes) is considered full-time. 

The financial aid office will help you with scholarships and grants.  We are also fully accredited and certified for full US Federal Direct loans.  Unfortunately, Fuller is unable to help prospective students find sponsors to help cover tuition. For a list of outside scholarships which students can apply for, please contact Fuller’s Financial Aid office: sfs@fuller.edu


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27.  How do I apply for Fuller housing in Pasadena?

Housing is only available at the Pasadena campus.  

Once you have applied for admission into a program at Fuller, you will be issued a student number (G#00000000).  Once you have that student number, you are then able to apply for Housing.  The Housing office will not process your file until you have been accepted, but applying before your admissions decision will speed up your housing process.  

In order to apply for housing, you will need to visit the housing website. You will complete the necessary forms, and the housing office will help you from there.

You must meet the following requirements to live on campus:

1. You must be accepted as a student at Fuller and be cleared by the Admissions Office.
2. You must register for at least 24 units of masters-level or 16 units of doctoral-level course work within an academic year. You are allowed to stay for 60 days after your last quarter ends.
3. If you are an international student—that is, if you are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States—you must also be cleared by the International Services Office (ISO). 


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28.  Still need help?  Question not on this list?  

For immediate help, please contact the Office of Admissions in Pasadena.   We are open Monday-Thursday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, and Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Pacific Time. 

626.584.5400 or 1.800.2.FULLER or admissions@fuller.edu.

You can find the contact information for Fuller Seminary’s Office of Admissions (Pasadena) as well as the contact information for admissions staff members by clicking here.

You can find links for the contact information for all of Fuller’s regional campuses by clicking here. 


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