Application Procedure
A detailed check list of items required for application to the Graduate School can be found on the Graduate School home page but these are the essentials with a few additional comments directed specifically at applicants to this Department.
Applicants must submit a completed Application Form (including a Statement of Purpose).
A printed version of the form may be obtained by writing or e-mailing the Department's graduate programs director. The form may also be downloaded or submitted online from the Graduate School home page.
International applicants from non-English speaking countries who have not already earned a degree from a U.S. university must submit TOEFL scores. (To be eligible for admission, an applicant must have a score of at least 550 on the paper-based version of the test or 213 on the computer-based version.)
The GRE is optional for all applicants with an undergraduate GPA of 2.7 or above.
Three (3) sets of transcripts of all undergraduate and prior graduate work showing the degree(s) attained (or to be attained) should be submitted. At least one set of transcripts must be official.
Applicants should obtain at least three (3) letters of recommendation from persons qualified to evaluate their potential for graduate study in the area. No particular form is required but, if possible, the letters should be written on the official letterhead of the respondent's institution.
International applicants who intend to attend the university regardless of whether they are awarded financial support by the Department should fill out a Financial Statement. (Applicants whose attendance is contingent on such support need not submit this form.)
An application fee ($40) should be enclosed with the application.
Applications for the Fall semester are generally reviewed by the Department's Graduate Student Affairs Committee in late February or early March and an initial "wave" of offers is made shortly thereafter. Applications received subsequently will receive full consideration so long as there are assistantship positions still available.
There is no formal deadline for receipt of applications but candidates for Fall whose applications are complete by mid-February (in time to be considered for the initial "wave" of offers) will have the best chance of success.
All applicants for admission to the M.A., M.S. or Ph.D. programs will automatically be considered for financial support. Decisions about admission and assistantship awards are based solely on academic merit (as perceived by the GSAC).
Preferably, applications should be sent to the Graduate School (rather than to the Department). A candidate who wishes (for reasons of time or otherwise) to send his/her application directly to the Department should first contact the Department's graduate programs director. Note, however, that an application must be processed by the Graduate School before any admission or financial support decision can be made.