Procedures and Requirements for Admission

An application and fee payment can be submitted online using the Graduate School's website: www.umass.edu/gradschool. The deadline for submitting applications for admission, complete with all supporting credentials, for the summer/fall entrance cycle, varies by program (December 1 through February 1). Refer to the Graduate Application form or the Graduate Programs and Degrees Offered listing on the website for specific deadlines. For those graduate programs which offer spring entrance, the deadline is October 1.

1. Completion of the application form, including the Residency Statement. The forms can be submitted online or downloaded from the website.

2. Payment of the required Application Fee. Waivers of the fee are available only to those applicants who are United States citizens and who receive a waiver of the Graduate Record Examination or Graduate Management Admission Test fee through their undergraduate financial aid office. A statement from a college or university official attesting to receipt of or eligibility for the fee waiver must accompany the application. Applicants for graudate study through the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement program will automatically receive an application fee waiver.

3. A minimum undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 2.750 on a 4.000 grading scale.

4. A bachelor’s degree or the equivalent from any college or university of recognized standing.

5. An official transcript of all previous college work (undergraduate and graduate). An applicant must request the registrar of all colleges previously attended to send a copy of the transcript directly to the Graduate Student Service Center. A final transcript showing that the bachelor’s degree has been awarded must be received before the applicant can enroll in the Graduate School.

6. Two or three letters of recommendation from persons in the field of the applicant's academic major at the institution most recently attended. In some cases, particularly in management, letters of recommendation from other persons may be more appropriate to the proposed field of study.

7. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test (required of most applicants, including international students). For a list of those graduate programs requiring the GRE General Test or a GRE Subject Test refer to the Graduate Programs and Degrees Offered listing on the Graduate School website. Only GRE scores taken within five years of anticipated enrollment will be considered as fulfilling this requirement. Applicants must have official reports of their GRE scores sent directly to the Graduate Student Service Center. Applicants for fall admission are urged to take the GRE by December. The results of later testing are frequently not available before decisions on admission must be made. The Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6004, Princeton, NJ 08541, administers the test in the United States as well as abroad. Addresses of test centers may be obtained from that organization. Applicants for admission to programs in Management, Sport Management, and Hospitality and Tourism Management are required to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), but may submit GRE scores as an alternative.

8. For international student requirements, see the section below titled International Applicants.

9. Application procedures for the Five College Cooperative Ph.D. Program are listed in the Doctoral Degree Requirements section.

10. Applicants for dual master's degrees must indicate the specific programs on the application. Each program makes its admission decision independently. Some applicants may be accepted into only one of the collaborating programs.

11. Finally, recommendation of admission by the graduate program applied for and formal acceptance by the Dean of the Graduate School.

International Applicants

Information for Prospective Students from Other Countries giving detailed information of use to foreign students is part of the Graduate School Application. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL),  the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic) is required of all applicants for admission to the Graduate School who are not citizens of the United States and whose native language is not English. Applicants from India are required to submit TOEFL/IELTS/PTE Academic scores. Information about these examinations may be obtained online at www.toefl.org, www.ielts.org, or pearsonpte.com.

These language tests may be waived if the applicant has attended on a full-time basis an American college or university for a period of at least two academic years immediately preceding anticipated entrance date. A score of 80 on the Internet-Based Test TOEFL (IELTS 6.5; Pearson 53) or above is required for admission. Students scoring between 71 and 79 on the IBT (IELTS 6.0, Pearson 48-52) who otherwise meet the requirements set by department may be admitted provisionally provided they agree to attend, at their own expense in the summer prior to admission, a summer institute in English.