Graduate Studies in the Arts and Sciences

Unofficial copies of transcripts are required for application review. Official transcripts are required after an admitted student decides to enroll at Brandeis. For auditing purposes, the university must receive official transcripts including an official, final transcript showing that the incoming student has earned a bachelor’s degree or international equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree prior to enrolling in graduate studies. Official transcripts are typically sent through an electronic transcript distribution company or in a sealed envelope from the university. Please forward any transcript questions you receive to the GSAS admissions team and we will respond to the student directly. Do not direct students to mail transcripts to your department. If you happen to receive a transcript please forward it, preferably unopened, to the GSAS office.

Unofficial Transcripts for Applicants

Applicants are directed to upload unofficial copies of their transcripts with their applications for review purposes. Applicants are warned that GSAS will not store any official transcripts that are mailed to the GSAS office before admission decisions are made. Any paper or electronic transcripts sent prior to an admission decision will be destroyed/deleted. GSAS requires official transcripts only after an offer of admission is accepted.

Unofficial transcript(s) MUST be in Slate for an admission decision to be finalized and released by GSAS. GSAS will not release an official admission decision without having an unofficial transcript on file in the Slate application.

Transcript instructions are on the “Educational Record” page of our online application. The instructions applicants see are as follows:

Instructions

Please list all institutions where you enrolled in post-secondary coursework with the exception of institutions where the courses and/or credits were transferred to another institution that you have listed (e.g., study abroad or summer courses). Be sure to select the appropriate Level of Study and Degree. If you expect to earn a degree from an institution, please select that degree type. Please do not list institutions through which you have completed a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course, e.g., Coursera or edX). Instead, please reference any MOOCs you have taken on your resume/CV.

To be reviewed for admission, you are required to upload unofficial transcripts from all institutions that you list. Please do not mail any transcripts to our office at this time, as they will be destroyed.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences reserves the right to require official transcripts or transcript evaluations at any time during the admission process and to revoke admission of those who provide fraudulent information in their admission application.

Official Transcripts for Incoming Students

• Receipt of official transcripts is a contingency of admission, and the requirement is noted within all admission offer letters.
• Starting in June (for summer and fall admits), GSAS staff will begin to remind incoming students to request their official transcripts. Our reminder emails will ask that students request official versions of all transcripts that they submitted for review with their application, including the official final transcript from the institution from which they received the bachelor’s degree. Incoming spring students will receive similar reminders over the winter months.
• Once the official transcripts are received, GSAS compares the grades and GPA listed in the official transcripts to those listed on the student’s unofficial transcripts. GSAS also checks the official undergraduate transcript to confirm that the student’s bachelor’s degree was indeed conferred.
• Official final undergraduate transcripts and official transcripts for additional coursework are required prior to a student’s enrollment. Registration holds will be placed on student accounts that do not comply. GSAS will email students with details regarding the hold. Please direct any students with questions to gsas@brandeis.edu.

IMPORTANT: GSAS reserves the right to rescind the offer of admission if any discrepancy is found between the unofficial transcripts that were uploaded to Slate and the official transcripts received from their institutions. Departments will be notified in the case of transcript discrepancies if there are concerns regarding fraud.