Before paying for a credential evaluation or enrolling in extra study, check what the exact master's programme asks for. “Three-year degree” describes duration; it does not establish the awarding institution, grades, subject preparation or the target university's assessment of the qualification. Those details can change the answer.
This guide provides a worksheet for making a useful university enquiry. The examples below are university-specific guidance checked on 7 October 2026, not acceptance rules for an entire country or a determination that a particular applicant is eligible. Meeting a minimum requirement also does not guarantee selection.
Identify the award before comparing requirements
Record the qualification title exactly as it appears on your documents, the awarding institution, teaching college if different, duration, study dates and completion status. Keep the original percentage, classification or GPA and its scale alongside the transcript. Do not replace them with a guessed overseas equivalent.
Oxford's advice for international applicants says applicants do not need to convert grades into the UK system; the academic department assesses their background against the course requirements. It also says applicants must complete their own application and that Oxford has no arrangements or relationships with agents. Use its official instructions directly.
If your degree was taught at an affiliated college, distinguish that college from the institution awarding the qualification. When a policy refers to an institution category or accreditation rating, ask the receiving university which institution and evidence it needs. Do not silently substitute the teaching college's status for the awarding institution's.
Read the actual university rule, including its categories
Oxford's India qualifications guidance includes standard three-year bachelor's degrees from recognised institutions. For courses requiring a strong upper second-class honours degree, it usually specifies 65% for degrees awarded by prestigious institutions, such as Institutions of National Importance, or 70% for other institutions. For a first-class honours requirement, the corresponding figures are 70% and 75%.
Keep those categories attached to the figures. A single “Oxford accepts 65%” headline would lose the course-classification and institution distinctions. Ask the academic department if the category or grading basis for your award is unclear; do not classify your institution from reputation or an unofficial list.
UBC Vancouver's India page says four-year degrees are normally required from most institutions, with three-year degrees an acceptable basis of admission when the applicant's overall standing is First Class/Division and the awarding institution has a NAAC rating of A. Preserve both conditions rather than using degree duration alone. If the rating wording or its applicability to your institution and qualification date is unclear, request confirmation from the programme.
UBC's eligibility guidance distinguishes common minimum requirements from additional programme requirements and states that meeting the minimum does not guarantee admission. These examples therefore support an exact-course enquiry, not a conclusion that all UK or Canadian universities treat the degree in the same way.
Check subject preparation separately
A qualification may fit a university-level rule while lacking the subject content a programme requires. For example, Oxford's MSc in Economics for Development for 2027–28 entry requires economics study equivalent to two full-time university years. Its page says finance, planning, business and management courses do not count as economics courses for that requirement.
Make a short module map using your transcript and relevant syllabus descriptions. Identify the subjects, credits or study periods that may answer the requirement, then ask how the department assesses them. A similar-sounding degree title or work role cannot resolve an explicit academic prerequisite on its own. Check the programme's complete requirements as well; the economics example is not a complete admissions checklist.
Confirm evaluation instructions before paying
Cornell's international degree-equivalency guidance describes optional tools and professional evaluations for applicants uncertain about equivalence. For a degree still in progress, it says waiting until the credential is formally awarded is usually best before paying for a professional evaluation, because updates often involve additional fees.
Treat that as Cornell's guidance, not a universal timing rule. Ask your target programme whether an evaluation is required, which type or provider it accepts, when it is needed and how the report must be delivered. An evaluation does not by itself answer a course's subject prerequisites or guarantee an admission offer. Before committing to extra study, identify the precise gap and obtain the receiving institution's guidance on what would address it.
Complete one worksheet per programme
- My award: exact title, awarding institution, teaching college, duration and completion status.
- My grades: original result and scale, with the relevant transcript available.
- Target requirement: course, campus, entry year, degree classification and institution-category wording, with the official URL and check date.
- Preparation: relevant modules and the subject requirement still needing assessment.
- Evaluation: required or optional, accepted report and delivery route, timing and unresolved cost.
- Open question: the precise uncertainty, official contact and next decision after receiving an answer.
Use this enquiry wording, filling it with accurate details: “I am considering [course and entry year]. My [exact qualification] is awarded by [institution] and taught at [college, if different]. It is a three-year degree, [completed/in progress], with [original result and scale]. Could you clarify how your published qualification rule applies, what subject evidence you need, and whether an external evaluation is required before application?”
Keep the response with the worksheet. Use our course comparison guide for the learning decision and application-calendar guide for the confirmed document sequence. The next useful step is resolving a named requirement, rather than spending money to solve a gap that has not yet been established.
