Application Information

In your personal history statement (optional), please describe how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. A sample of topics you might address in your statement is below. However, please structure your statement in any way that you feel best represents your personal history.

• Any educational, familial, cultural, economic or social experiences or opportunities relevant to your academic journey
• Challenges and/or obligations you have had to address in order to achieve your educational goals and how you addressed them
• Prior employment, as a student or as a working professional, that is relevant to your pursuit of a graduate degree
• Discuss any leadership roles or plans, outreach, or community service experiences and goals that have or will benefit others or the community
• How your perspectives, activities, or goals have or may contribute to inclusivity and/or broaden your understanding of experiences of diverse groups of people

Applicants must upload unofficial transcripts for all institutions attended since high school. If an applicant is admitted, official transcripts will be requested only from the institution(s) where a degree was earned and we will direct them to mail it to the Graduate Division office. If your transcripts are in a language other than English, an official translated copy must be submitted.

You are required to have three letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf. The letters should be submitted by instructors in a discipline related to your proposed field of study who are in a position to analyze your abilities and academic promise. 

We do not accept paper recommendation letters. Your recommenders must submit the letters via the recommendation form that is sent to them via email.

Complete the Letter of Recommendation section on the online application. This will allow you to enter in your recommenders’ names and e-mail addresses. An automated e-mail invitation will be sent to each of your recommenders. It is strongly recommended that you waive or decline to waive your rights of access to your letters of recommendation. After you have completed and submitted your application, you may continue to manage and monitor the status of their submission by logging into your online application and viewing the status page. 

Please note that you can submit the application prior to all your letters of recommendations are received, but check with your program to verify the deadline of when all the letters need to be received.

All applicants whose primary language is not English are required to demonstrate proficiency in English for admission consideration. However, this requirement will be waived automatically for applicants who have received an advanced degree from an accredited U.S. college or university. Proficiency in English may be demonstrated by passing one of two standardized, internationally administered tests: TOEFL (the Test of English as a Foreign Language); or IELTS (International English Language Testing System). The applicant should take one of these tests at the earliest available date to ensure that the scores are reported in time to meet application deadlines.

All graduate applicants, except those who have earned an undergraduate degree from an institution at which English was the sole language of instruction according to the World Higher Education Database, are required to demonstrate English proficiency for admissions consideration.

A minimum seven (7) page sample of work written in Spanish that a) demonstrates original critical perspective, b) develop a coherent line of argument, c) demonstrate the ability to organize paper properly, and d) possess appropriate research skill for primary and secondary sources.

Please consult the Graduate Division website for more information.