Apply for a Master's Degree

 To be eligible to apply for admission, students must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. institution or its equivalent.

Students may take up to two courses prior to applying to a degree program. Individuals interested in applying for admission to a master’s degree program are required to apply by the end of their second graduate level course in order for all applicable courses to count towards their degree.

Applications for admission will not be reviewed until all required documents have been received at the GPS office. Admissions decisions are usually made within four to six weeks of receipt of a completed application.

Please Note: The Division of Graduate Professional Studies has decided that Graduate Certificate programs will no longer be offered as stand-alone, credentialed programs.  In that context, the Division will no longer be accepting new applications for admission to Certificate programs as of July 1, 2011.

Important: Changes are being made to the GPS Admissions Policies, effective October 16, 2011. Please read the news item for more details.

To be eligible for admission, the following documents must be submitted:

1. Completed online master's degree application 

The online application is designed to be completed in one sitting (approximately 15 to 20 minutes). A confirmation number will be generated upon submission.

2. Nonrefundable application fee of $50

The application fee may be paid online during the online application process via the university's secured server. The university accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express credit cards. You may also mail a check to the GPS office. [top]

3. A four-year bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or equivalent.

4. Official transcript(s) from every college or university attended.

Transcript(s) must be submitted in sealed, signed envelopes and mailed directly from your institution to the Division of Graduation Professional Studies admissions office. [top]

5. Resumé or curriculum vitae

The resumé or curriculum vitae may be submitted as an attachment during the online application process. The document should describe your professional and educational background and experience.  [top]

6. Statement of Goals

Statement of Goals - Please address in at least 500 words the following:

  • What are your motivations for pursuing a graduate degree?
  • What do you hope to achieve by pursuing this program? 
  • Please comment specifically on how your chosen program and each of its program outcomes may assist you in achieving your professional and personal goals.
  • If applicable, discuss how GPS, Rabb School courses taken to date have contributed to your professional and personal development.

If desired, you may supplement your statement of goals by providing additional, relevant information that you feel is not gathered by this application.  [top]

7. Letter of recommendation

The letter of recommendation may be completed by a GPS instructor, a previous faculty member or by an employer/supervisor who is qualified to evaluate your potential for success in your desired program. It should be submitted on company letterhead, or on the recommendation form. The person providing the letter of recommendation should seal the envelope and sign across the seal. [top]

8. TOEFL (for non-native English speakers)

Applicants whose first language is not English or who have not graduated from an English-speaking institution within an English-speaking country must take and submit scores for the TOEFL or IELTS, with guidelines and exceptions noted below. Test scores should be no more than five years old.

Strong communication skills including the abilities to read and write effectively in English are essential for student success in our programs, particularly our distance learning programs. The purpose of these requirements is to ensure that students are equipped to participate in and perform the work required by their courses.

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
Applicants must achieve a minimum score of 100 on the Internet-based (iBT) TOEFL,  with a minimum of 24 on each of the four sub-scores;  (or 600 on the paper-based (PBT) TOEFL with a minimum of 58 on the reading and writing sub-scores, and a 4.5 or higher on the essay writing score (TWE). 

IELTS (International English language Testing System)
Applicants must achieve a minimum score of 7.0 on the individual band scores for academic reading and academic writing.

All submitted score records must include the segmented point distribution among the parts of the test, along with the total.  Scores may be sent directly to the Division of Graduate Professional Studies, using the institutional code 0253. 

Exceptions are made for applicants whose bachelor’s degree was earned in Australia, Belize, the British Caribbean and British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), Great Britain, Guyana, Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, or South Africa and many “American Universities”, such as American University in Cairo or AU in Paris, among others. [top]

9. Education Credential Evaluation (if bachelor's degree was earned outside the United States)

Applicants who earned their bachelor's degree outside the United States must submit their records for a course-by-course evaluation (official transcripts/mark sheets) by Education Credential Evaluators (ECE) of Madison, Wisc. Information regarding the evaluation process is detailed at the ECE Web site. Applicants are responsible for the evaluation fee. [top]