Policy on transcript submission for admission

CMU-Africa considers applicants who have graduated or are in their final year of a three or four-year undergraduate degree. To assess your academic qualifications, you are required to submit your applications with transcripts showing that you have completed at least three-quarters of your undergraduate degree program:
  • If you are in a three-year program, you should submit at least two years of transcripts and be in your final year of study by the time you start your application.
  • For a four-year program, you must submit transcripts for at least three years of undergraduate study and be in the program's final year by the time you start your application.
  • Applicants currently in their final year must provide proof of enrollment in the final year. This can be:
    • A first-term transcript from the final year, or
    • An official letter from the registrar’s office, stamped and signed, confirming enrollment in the final year of the program.
  • If you pursued a diploma program before earning your bachelor's degree, you must submit all the transcripts from both programs. This also applies to candidates who attended two universities to earn their bachelor's degree.
  • If you have already completed your undergraduate studies and graduated, you must submit your final transcripts and diploma if available.

The difference between an official and an unofficial transcript

  • An official transcript is a complete academic record of all individual courses and grades achieved at an educational institution. The Office of the Registrar usually issues this document.
  • An unofficial transcript can be a student record from an institution's self-serve web system. It should include the system's URL and print date. Unofficial academic transcripts may be submitted for admission review; however, if you are admitted to the program, an official final transcript will be requested.

Content of an academic transcript

During application verification, ensure that the document you are submitting is clear, legible, and provides the following information:

  • Full name of the institution and/or letterhead or institution seal
  • Applicant's full name
  • Program of study
  • Duration of study
  • Courses completed
  • Description of course codes (where applicable)
  • Grades and marks/points received (completed).
  • Grading scale: When you submit your transcript, you must include a document explaining what the grades mean - commonly known as a "grading scale," or "grading key," or "back page." Learn more about grading scales.
  • Transcripts must be in English. If your transcript is in another language (other than English, you must submit an official, certified English translation along with the original transcript document.

English translation

If English is not your institution's official language of instruction, please include the original language document and a certified English translation of the transcripts and grading scale or transcript legend. Translation should be done by a certified translation service or through the registrar’s office, where possible. Transcripts translated by the applicant or anyone other than an accredited translator will not be accepted. Translations of academic transcripts and course descriptions must be accurate.

Reporting your Grade Point Average (GPA) accurately

If you have transcripts from a non-US University, please use the Scholaro GPA Calculator (previously Foreign Credits GPA Calculator) to recalculate and convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale.

Do not round up the GPA to the nearest integer when recording the GPA. The reported GPA must be consistent with the GPA generated by Scholaro.

Accepted format of a digital transcript

For your transcript to be considered, please see below the required formatting guidelines:

  • Each transcript must be scanned and uploaded as a single PDF file. Only one file per institution can be uploaded (if you completed more than one degree or attended different institutions, both transcripts can be uploaded in separate files). You can combine multiple pages from the same transcript into one file. The pages must be ordered by academic year, semester, or trimester.
  • The transcript must be scanned in its entirety (front and back pages), including the transcript legend typically printed on the back of the transcript, and be legible. Ensure that no information is cut off during scanning.
  • If the document's quality is unacceptable (the scan of the transcript file is not legible), you will be asked to resubmit your transcript.
Failure to adhere to the above criteria will make your application incomplete and eventually denied if you do not provide the required documents before the deadline.

Incomplete or falsified transcripts

CMU-Africa will only consider complete unofficial transcripts that are clear, legible, and certified by your institution. Providing an incomplete or falsified transcript will result in your application being incomplete and eventually denied if you fail to provide the correct documents by the deadline.

Below are the criteria that will disqualify your transcript:

  • Falsified transcripts
  • You have submitted fewer than the required three-quarters of transcripts for in-progress undergraduate studies
  • You have completed your undergraduate studies, but have not submitted or are missing final transcripts.
  • You have attended more than one institution during your undergraduate studies, and did not submit transcripts from each institution.
  • Missing or unofficial English translation for transcripts issued in a language other than English. Please refer back to the section about translation for more information.
  • Missing institution's names or letterhead
  • Missing applicants' full names.
  • Missing grades and/or marks for completed classes
  • Missing course code description
  • Missing grading scale
  • Grade or exam sheets are submitted instead of transcripts
  • Unclear scanned document that is illegible

Official transcript submission policy

To ensure accurate academic record-keeping and facilitate successful enrollment, the following policy outlines the requirements for submitting official transcripts upon admission for a student to complete their enrollment:

General submission requirements

All admitted students must submit an official academic transcript from their undergraduate institution for enrollment in classes, specifically for the Fall 2026 semester. Transcripts must be mailed directly from the Registrar's Office at the undergraduate institution to the designated CMU-Africa in a sealed, unopened envelope. Official transcripts should be sent to the following address:

Flavia Mugire (+250 788 624 384)
Office of Graduate Admission
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
BP 6150, Kigali, Rwanda
Regional ICT Center of Excellence Bldg
Kigali Innovation City - Bumbogo
Kigali - Rwanda

Submission deadline

Transcripts must be received no later than July 1, 2026, to allow sufficient time for processing before orientation begins. Students are strongly advised to initiate the transcript ordering process as soon as possible to meet this deadline.

Transcript content and language

The official transcript must list all courses and grades achieved at the issuing educational institution.

  • Language requirement: Only transcripts submitted in English will be accepted.
  • Translation requirement: Students are responsible for obtaining an official English translation from a legally accredited translator for transcripts originally issued in a language other than English. The translated document must be notarized and bear all relevant original stamps.

Document retention policy

Once submitted, all academic documents, including official transcripts and their translations, become the university's property and will not be returned to the student under any circumstances.

Please contact the Admissions Team if you require clarification regarding this policy or the submission process.