Admission

As an international student, you may be admitted to the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Graduate School only by applying directly to a particular degree program. "Nondeclared" or nondegree admission is not normally available to international students.

Information about our degree programs can be found on the Graduate School home page at http://www.gradschool.siuc.edu. For basic information about each program, click on Degree Program Information. This chart will list areas of specialization within each major, departmental application deadlines, degrees offered within each program, terms of admission, and tests required by that department. To access a department's home page, click on the name of the program. For the name of the main secretary for that graduate degree program, click on "Departmental Contact Information". This is the person you may contact for more information regarding the program and is also the person to whom you must send all application materials.

From the Graduate School home page you can also access the Graduate School catalog. In Chapter Two you will find program and course descriptions. Should you wish to contact a faculty member for more detained information, please contact llyons@siu.edu or call 618-453-4512 for the name of the Director of Graduate Studies in a particular program.

If you are applying to a degree program, please choose your major carefully from the list of programs, as some departments offer more than one degree at the master's level. You may apply online at: https://www.gradapp.siu.edu . A copy of the application you submit electronically will be sent to the general admissions office in Woody Hall, and another copy will be sent to the department you are applying to. All other application materials must be submitted to the department - please address them specifically to the person listed under "Department Contact Information" at https://www.gradapp.siu.edu/online/complete_listing.htm. If you are unable to use the online application, please contact llyons@siu.edu.

To be eligible to be considered for admission to a graduate degree program, you must meet the following minimum Graduate School requirements:

For admissions to a Master's program:

• 2.7 (on a grading scale with 4.0=A; approximately a B- average) on the last two years of your Bachelor's degree
  • If you have completed your Bachelor's degree, we will go back from the degree date 60 credit hours, and include the entire term where the 60 hours fall
  • If you have not yet completed your Bachelor's degree and are missing one semester, (for example a spring semester and possibly a summer term), we will go back 45 semester hours and include the entire term where the 45 hours fall.
  • If you are from a country which gives an overall grade on the diploma for your degree, such as "Good", "Very Good" or Excellent", we will normally base admission on your diploma grade; most often a grade of "Very Good" or "Excellent" is required. However, in some cases, if the overall grade is "Good", but the GPA calculation for the last two years is at least a B- average, this may be sufficient.
• 3.0 on all previous graduate work (approximately a "B" average)

For admission to a Ph.D. program:

• 3.25 on all previous graduate level course work (approximately a "B+" average)
  (some exceptions apply)

The English language requirement may be met by submitting:

• 550 on the paper-based TOEFL
• 213 on the computer-based TOEFL
• 80 on the internet-based TOEFL
• .6.0 on the IELTS
  • Some departments require a higher score
• If you have a substantial number of recent hours of schooling in the U.S., this may meet the requirement in some cases.

Please note: English language requirements vary according to individual situations. What will satisfy the requirement is always determined by the Graduate School Admissions Office, not the department. Please include a photocopy of your TOEFL/IELTS Examinee score report with your departmental application materials.

When you have met the above minimum general Graduate School requirements, you are eligible to apply to a department. Departments may have additional requirements of their own, which may include a higher minimum GPA and/or a higher minimum TOEFL.

Departments requiring higher than 550 TOEFL's:

• Anthropology = 600
• Applied Lings/TESOL = 570
• Engineering Science = 600
• History = 600
• Plant Biology = 600
• Political Science = 600
• Speech = 600
• Mass Comm & Media Arts = 600

It is up to the individual departments whether or not they require any of the graduate tests, such as the

• GRE (Graduate Record Exam),
• GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)
• MAT (Miller Analogies Test)

While the Graduate School in general does not have an application deadline, some departments do. The earliest deadlines are in December for the fall semester. Psychology, Mass Communication and Media Arts, Art and English, for example, all have very early spring deadlines. See Degree Program Information on the Graduate School home page. Double check any dates listed there with the department secretary listed under "Departmental Contact Information". Some programs only admit students in the fall semester, some only in summer or fall. Most departments require 3 letters of recommendation. As of July 1st, 2008, all departments will require a $50 application fee.

Some programs require a "Statement of Purpose", a one or two page statement explaining why the student wishes to pursue graduate studies, why they are particularly interested in that major, what they wish to do with their degree, etc..

Once all of the required materials are submitted, it is up to the individual department to decide whether or not they wish to admit a student. The decision may be made by the Director of Graduate Studies, the Chair, or by committee. They may admit or reject a student for whatever reasons they see fit. Because one department has rejected you does not mean you cannot apply to another program.

You may apply to more than one degree program but must submit separate applications, application fees and all other application materials to EACH department.

The student must first decide which degree program they wish to apply to, submit the Graduate School online application at https:\\www.gradapp.siu.edu, and return all other materials required by the department to the department.

If admission is recommended by the department, you may receive a letter from that program stating that your admission has been "recommended to the Graduate School". The paperwork is then sent to the Graduate School Admissions Office in Woody Hall, where the formal paperwork is done and the I-20 is issued. You are not actually "admitted" and eligible to register until your paperwork has been approved and processed through the Admissions Office. The official admission letter, signed by the Associate Dean of the Graduate School, and the I-20 form are sent from our office.

Direct and Accelerated Entry into Ph.D. Programs
Below is a list of the departments which are approved to admit students via the Direct Entry option and the Accelerated Entry option. Please view our Direct Entry/Accelerated Entry list of departments who participate in this option.

• Direct entry
  If the department wishes, they can choose to admit a student directly from a Bachelor's degree into a Ph.D. program. The student must usually have the GPA on the last two year's of his Bachelor's which is normally required on all graduate work, that is, a 3.25.
• Accelerated Entry
  If the department wishes, they may first admit the student as a Master's student, and after one or more semesters they may request that the student be then admitted to the Ph.D. program. The student must have the 3.25 on graduate coursework.

Also available are several concurrent degree programs. Those established at this time are:

MBA/MCMA(Telecommunications)
MBA/ABE
Law/Master of Accountancy
Law/MBA
Law/Educational Administration (MSED)
Law/Master of Public Administration
Law/Master of Social Work
Law/Political Science Ph.D. (must be direct entry)

Application processes vary greatly according to department. Some degree programs with very selective admission procedures may require that you apply 9 months to a year in advance in order to be considered, while others may require a much shorter period of time. To insure adequate time for consideration of your application and for consideration for funding, apply well in advance of your desired starting date. Nine months to a year is not too early to apply, expecially if you are hoping to obtain funding from your department.

Please note that once you are enrolled as a graduate student, you are required to maintain an overall B average (3.0) in your graduate credit course work to remain in good academic standing.

Graduate Catalogues are available online at http://www.gradschool.siuc.edu/catalog.htm

Schedules of Classes are available on-line at http://registrar.siu.edu/records/schedclass.htm.

For more information, call 618-453-4512 or email gradschl@siu.edu. The Graduate School Admissions Office is located in Woody Hall B103 on the Carbondale campus. If you are unable to obtain the information you need, contact Lu Lyons at llyons@siu.edu. Thanks for your interest in SIUC!

Questions regarding the Graduate Assistantship\Fellowship Office: Contact gaoffice@siu.edu