General Admissions Policy – All Programs

To be considered for admission to the SVBI Online MBA program, applicants must submit the following:

  • Statement of purpose describing why you are interested in the program, and how you hope to use this education to achieve your future goals
  • Resume demonstrating relevant work or volunteer experience
  • Payment of all applicable fees, as per the current published fee schedule, prior to the issuance of an enrollment contract or arrangements that are acceptable to the school
  • Proof of undergraduate degree from an accredited institution with a minimum GPA of 2.50. If you do not meet the minimum undergraduate GPA requirement, you may submit proof of at least three years of professional work experience
  • Applicants must present proof of their previous educational history in one of the following formats:
  • Photocopies of the original degree and transcript approved by an official authority or by a notary
  • Original Diploma and transcript. Diploma and transcripts that are not in English need to be submitted together with an official translation
  • Official certificate sent directly from an official authority; the copies must be received unopened

Admission Policy – Master of Business Administration

  • Baccalaureate 4-year degree or its equivalent completed at an appropriately accredited university with a minimum GPA of 2.50 or at least three years of professional working experiences.  
  • Sealed official transcripts from all universities attended.
  • Applicants with an undergraduate degree or its equivalent education from a school outside the United States must have their undergraduate transcripts evaluated by an independent approved agency. The evaluation findings will be accepted as the satisfaction of the degree requirement when indicating that an applicant’s degree is the equivalent of the one received from a regionally or nationally accredited or approved college in the United States.
  • A personal interview with an officer of the institute

International Admission

Silicon Valley Business Institute does not provide visa services to international students, nor verify student immigration status. Instruction at Silicon Valley Business Institute will be provided in both English and Chinese. However, the Institute does not provide English as a Second Language services. For program based in English, applicants whose native language is not English (or have not completed their studies at an accredited U.S. college or university) must submit evidence of English proficiency through one of the following sources:

  • Test of English as a Foreign Language. TOEFL Exam should be required a qualifying score of 530 for paper-based, or 71 for IBT Internet based. An IELTS score of 6.5 is sufficient. Or 50 on the Pearson Test of English Academic Score Report, 50 on the Duolingo English Proficiency Test. Or passing the Language Proficiency Test verified by SVBI.
  • A transcript verifying completion of at least 30 semester hours of credit with an average grade of “C” or higher at an appropriately accredited college or university where the language of instruction was English.
  • A transcript verifying a grade of “C” or higher in an English composition course from an appropriately accredited/recognized college or university.   

Applicants with non-U.S. educational credentials must first obtain a foreign credential evaluation from any member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (www.naces.org), such as Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE), or another independent U.S. evaluation service approved by the Institute before submitting their transcripts. If a student chooses to submit her/his credentials to ECE, request forms and cost information are available at the ECE website (www.ece.org) or by contacting ECE at Post Office Box 92970, Milwaukee, WI 53202-0970, USA, telephone (414) 289-3400, fax (414) 289-3411. International applicants must obtain subject evaluations; the general evaluation is not sufficient.

In order to be accepted, transcripts must be official (that is, sent directly from the institution to Silicon Valley Business Institute under seal) and must be confirmed by the Office of the Registrar as valid. The Registrar will evaluate all official transcripts for students within 30 days of enrollment.

Prospective online international students should send official transcripts and foreign credential evaluations to:

Silicon Valley Business Institute

1525 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035

Phone: (858) 832-3000

It is the prospective student’s responsibility to ensure the proper paperwork is submitted to verify that he/she has completed the prerequisites for online instruction before his/her first course starts. If the online instruction prerequisites are not completed by start date, the student will be placed into the appropriate course(s) automatically, and will be required to complete these courses before starting their degree program.