Question about transcripts

[TheHoff]

Hello,

In the application for the Ph.D. programs, I noticed that schools request transcripts from every university attended, even if a degree was not yet awarded, and here's a problem for me.

I'm currently doing my Masters in a top-tier university in Brazil, but I'm currently enrolled on what they call it "special student", where a student can take classes normally but they are not formally enrolled in the graduate program (similar to extension programs in some American universities), this is a very common "enrollment method" for student who does not get any financial support, and after they finish all the coursework, they will formally enroll just to present their dissertation and get their degree.

The problem here is that the university does not offer official transcripts for special students, and two of the universities I'm planning to apply requires them during the application, what do you think I should do? Maybe explain this situation on my SoP? Do not mention anything about my Masters during my application?

 

Any help would be appreciated!

Regards,

 

[_kita]

Speak to the departments you're applying to before doing anything else. The transcripts are absolutely essential, and they will cut your application from consideration if they think you're lying or missing a part of your application. The adcoms could have any number of policies such as wanting a formal letter from your masters department verifying the uniqueness of your situation, or they may tell you not to worry about it. Either way, the most direct answer you can get will be asking the department exactly what they want from you. 

[fuzzylogician]

35 minutes ago, TheHoff said:

The problem here is that the university does not offer official transcripts for special students, and two of the universities I'm planning to apply requires them during the application, what do you think I should do? Maybe explain this situation on my SoP? Do not mention anything about my Masters during my application?

Definitely ask the schools. I assume you're not the first person to be in this situation.

For a fairly similar situation, what I ended up doing was creating a "transcript" of my own that reported all of the classes I took and grades I had gotten, and then I had the department secretary print it on official university letterhead and sign it as correct, after she verified that the information I had put there was in fact accurate. That was good enough for all the schools that required the transcript.