Graduate School Office

Application/Admission

Admission

Any student with a U.S. bachelor's degree or a comparable foreign degree from a recognized college or university may apply to the Graduate School dean for admission. Applicants with the necessary background for their chosen major field, an excellent scholastic record from an approved college or university, and appropriate professional qualifications may be admitted for graduate work on recommendation of the graduate faculty in the proposed major field and approval of the Graduate School dean. The Graduate School operational standard for admission is an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00. Individual programs may require a higher GPA. Applicants should consult the program to which they are applying for more specific information about admission standards.

Graduate School faculty and staff encourage applications from persons of color or other groups that have been underrepresented in the student body.

Application Fee

For each program, the Graduate School application fee is $55 for U.S. applicants and $75 for foreign applicants. This fee is subject to change. The most detailed and up-to-date information about the fee is included in the instructions that accompany the Graduate School Application for Admission.

Transcripts

Two copies of official transcripts of all previous academic study must be submitted. Also, during the program of study, students often need a complete set of official credentials covering previous college and university training. Applicants, therefore, are urged to request three sets of official credentials when preparing their application for admission: one to be submitted with the application, one for permanent filing in the Graduate School office, and the other for personal use.

GMAT

Business administration applicants must take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and request that an official report of the results is sent to the Graduate School from the Educational Testing Service as part of the admission application. Because this test is given at limited times and places during the year, applicants are advised to register early for the examination. For more information, contact the Educational Testing Service, Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000. Information can also be obtained through the GMAT Web Site. Under certain circumstances, alternatives to the GMAT can be used; contact the business administration program for more information.

In the absence of GMAT results, prospective applicants to the business administration program may submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General test, or show successful passing of all parts of the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) exam, or provide documentation of the completion of a graduate degree from a regionally accredited United States institution.

GRE

Students who submit undergraduate narrative transcripts or transcripts containing pass-no credit (S-N), credit, or other ungraded notations for a substantial number of courses taken during the junior and senior years, or whose transcripts do not show a substantial number of letter grades during these years, must submit the results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test and, if available, a Subject Test appropriate to the proposed major in the Graduate School.

The GRE General Test is required of all applicants for programs in applied and computational mathematics, biology, computer science, English, and geological sciences. International applicants who are applying for assistantships from any science program not listed here are also strongly urged to submit general test scores in support of their application. Arrangements to take these tests can be made through the Educational Testing Service, Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000 USA Information can also be obtained through the GRE Web Site.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

The operational standard for admission to the Graduate School is a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (or 213 on a computer-based test taken after June 1998). Individual programs may have higher requirements. This examination is required of all international applicants whose native language is not English and who have not lived in the United States for at least one year while completing at least 16 semester credits within the past 24 months. For the new TOEFL available September 2005, an overall minimum score of 79 will be required with minimum scores of 21 and 19 in the writing and reading sections respectively. Individual programs may have higher requirements. Our TOEFL institutional code is 6873. This requirement will not be waived. Test scores must be less than two years old. For more information, write to TOEFL, Box 899, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151 USA or from the TOEFL Web Site.

If desired, the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) is an alternative to the TOEFL; a minimum score of 80 is required. Information about the MELAB is available by writing to the English Language Institute, Testing and Certification, 3020 North University Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1057 USA from the MELAB Web Site.

Another alternative to the TOEFL is the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A minimum score of 6.5 is required. Information about the IELTS is obtained from the IELTS Web Site.

Application Procedure

Download Forms (Must have Adobe Acrobat Reader)

• Application for Admission Form
• Instruction Sheet for Application for Financial Assistance Form
• Application for Graduate Assistantship or Graduate School Fellowship
• International Student Financial Certification Statement

Request Paper Form by Mail or Email

Requests for application materials must be sent to the Graduate School, 431 Darland Administration Building, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 55812 or by completing the UMD Grad School Application Request Form. Requests should specify the applicant's proposed major field, degree objective, and desired date of entry.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for admission well in advance of the term in which they wish to enter the Graduate School (but no more than one year in advance of the proposed entry date). The Graduate School application, complete with all required materials, must be submitted by the following deadlines:

• Fall Semester:
  • July 15
• Spring Semester:
  • November 1
• Summer Session:
  • May 1

Deadlines that occur on a holiday or weekend will be extended through the next regular workday. Many major fields have established deadlines earlier than those listed above and also require additional application and supporting materials. It is the applicant's responsibility to obtain information on those deadlines and requirements from the specific program descriptions and from the director of graduate studies in the proposed major field.

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