NCAA Guide to International Academic Standards for Athletics Eligibility

To compete in an intercollegiate athletic event, specific eligibility criteria must be met. For a student who has completed some or all of his pre-collegiate education outside of the United States, understanding the eligibility criteria can be difficult. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has a comprehensive document detailing the requirements; however, all eligibility requests are evaluated using some general criteria.

  1. Grade Point Average

    • Grading scales can vary widely from country to country, so the NCAA has developed a system to convert those grades to a standard four-point grading system in which an "A" is equivalent to a "4," a "B" to a "3," a "C" to a "2," a "D" to a "1" and a failing grade is averaged in as a "0." After evaluating the standard grading scale for each country, the NCAA developed a translation table that converts international marks to letters and ultimately to numbers for the calculation of the student's grade point average (GPA). The specific conversion charts can be found in the International Guidelines document.

    Graduation Requirements

    • The NCAA also considers if a student has met the standard graduation requirements of her home country. The guidelines offer a comprehensive list by country of the acceptable documentation that indicates successful completion and graduation from a secondary institution. These may include diplomas and certificates.

    Core Curriculum Requirements

    • A student's academic eligibility also hinges on the successful completion of core curriculum distribution requirements that generally include math, science, social science and a course in reading and writing. A student can earn a General Certificate of Education (GCE) or an International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) in most countries that will certify that core curriculum requirements have been met.

    Test Scores

    • The NCAA also requires that international student athletes achieve a minimum score on the SAT or ACT. The minimum score required varies depending on the student's grade point average (GPA). As of 2008, a student with a GPA of 3.40, for example, would only need a combined math and verbal SAT score of 460, whereas a student with a 2.50 GPA would need an SAT combined score of 820.