Application
for Admission to Graduate Study
Application Deadlines
Processing Time
Letter of Admission
Types of Admission
Regular
Admission
Conditional
Admission
Non-Degree
Admission
Provisional
Admission
Concurrent
as a Graduating Senior
Special Admission Considerations
Application
for Admission to Graduate Study
The College of Graduate Studies welcomes your application to
CMU for graduate study. This is the procedure to follow:
1. Begin by completing the Application for Admission form in
the front of this Bulletin and returning it to the Dean
of the College of Graduate Studies with a check or money order
to cover the application fee ($35.00 for U.S. citizens and
resident aliens; $45.00 for international applicants. Additional application
forms can be obtained from the graduate studies office.
NOTE: If you have received a graduate degree and are
applying to another graduate program, you must submit a $35.00
application fee. If you have been denied admission to a
graduate program and are reapplying or applying to a different
graduate program, you must submit a $35.00 application fee.
2. Some departments require additional application materials.
When this Bulletin went to press, the following
programs required application materials in addition to the
graduate college’s application form: Art, Audiology,
Counseling, Educational Administration, Physical Therapy,
Physician Assistant, Mathematics (doctorate), History
(doctorate), MBA, Psychology (all programs), Special
Education, and Speech-Language Pathology. Contact the
department directly for information on supplementary materials
required. Because other programs may also require
supplementary materials, you are encouraged to consult the
department in which you plan to pursue your graduate studies
prior to submitting your application.
3. Request the Registrar of each college or university you
have attended to send one copy of your official transcript of
credits directly to the College of Graduate Studies. If you
completed all of your undergraduate work at Central Michigan
University and received your degree here, you may omit this
step in the procedure. The graduate studies office will obtain
your CMU transcripts, but you are responsible for providing
all other transcripts. All transcripts and other documents
received by the university become the property of the
university and will not be released. Copies will not be made
for other than university use.
4. Take any standardized tests required by the department for
the specific curriculum you are pursuing and request that a
copy of the test results be sent to the College of Graduate
Studies or to the appropriate department. Check with the
department for information regarding required standardized
tests.
NOTE: Even when a department does not require a
standardized test, such as the Graduate Record Examination,
you will want to take the test and report your scores to CMU
if you are applying for a fellowship.
(Top of page)
Application
Deadlines
For most degree or certificate programs, domestic students
should begin the admission process at least 6 weeks before registration for the semester they plan to enroll.
International students should begin the process 6-12 months
before they intend to begin their graduate studies. While
these deadlines apply to most programs, some departments
consider all graduate applications on a specific date. The
following programs currently have specific application
deadlines:
Program
Application Deadline
| Art |
October
1 for spring semester; |
|
March
1 for fall semester |
| Audiology |
February
1 |
| Counseling |
September
1 for spring semester; |
|
February
1 for summer or fall semester |
| Educational
Leadership |
March
1- or until full |
| History
Joint M.A./Ph.D. |
February
6; |
|
Traditional
M.A. July 15 for fall November 1 for spring semester |
| Physical
Therapy |
December
1 |
| Physician
Assistant |
November
1 |
| Psychology-
Applied |
February
1 |
| Psychology-Experimental |
February
1 |
| Psychology-Clinical |
January
15 |
| Psychology-
General |
February
1 |
| Psychology-
I/O |
February
1 |
| Psychology-
School |
February
1 |
| Speech
Pathology |
February
1 |
| Sociology |
April
1 |
Requirements
may change, so all applicants, regardless of their field of
specialization, should contact their specific departments to
find out what, if any, application deadlines may exist.
(Top of page)
Processing Time
The student is normally notified of an admission decision 6
weeks after the completed application and supporting documents
are received. This period is usually sufficient for receipt of
transcripts and test results, and for departmental review of
the application. If transcripts or test results are delayed,
the process will take longer. Students who have not received
notification of an admission decision after 6 weeks should
contact the College of Graduate Studies, unless they have
applied to a program where all applications are considered
after a specific date. Questions regarding admissions should
be directed to the admissions specialist in the College of
Graduate Studies (989-774-GRAD).
NOTE: The above paragraph refers to admission to degree
or certificate granting programs. There is no delay for
admission as a non-degree student.
CAUTION: Before course work can be started, a student
must apply for and be admitted to a program or be admitted as
a non-degree/certificate student. Courses taken as a
non-degree student may or may not be counted toward a graduate
degree program. (See section titled “Types of Admission”.)
(Top of page)
Letter
of Admission
The College of Graduate Studies alone determines
non-degree/certificate admission. Admission to a degree or
certificate-granting program is always contingent upon
departmental approval, so all applications for degree or
certificate-granting programs are sent by the graduate studies
office to the appropriate departments. After a department
evaluates the student’s application for admission and
determines whether to recommend the student for admission, the
department forwards its recommendation to the College of
Graduate Studies. The College of Graduate Studies provides the
student with official notification of the decision.
Using the department’s recommendation, the College of
Graduate Studies either denies admission or sends the student
a Letter of Admission. The letter indicates the student’s
admission status: regular, conditional, non-degree,
provisional, or concurrent as a graduating senior.
NOTE: Only the College of Graduate Studies has the
authority to admit graduate students. A Letter of Admission is
valid for one year. If a student does not register for classes
within one year after being admitted for graduate study, the
student is required to reapply before taking classes.
(Top of page)
Types of Admission
There are five categories of admission available at CMU:
regular, conditional, non-degree, provisional, and concurrent
as a graduating senior.
Graduate students should be aware that concentrations in some
disciplines may be open only to full-time, on-campus students
because of lack of departmental offerings during evenings,
Saturdays, and summer sessions. The graduate student who
cannot attend full-time should check with the department(s) in
question about frequency of offerings before seeking admission
to a concentration in the department.
All references to grade points and grade point averages are
based on a four-point scale. (The adaptation of this scale to
the graduate school marking system at Central Michigan
University is described in the section on grades later in this
Bulletin.)
NOTE: An admission to the graduate college is valid
only if the accepted applicant registers as a graduate student
within one calendar year of the effective admission date.
1.
REGULAR ADMISSION. Applicants holding a baccalaureate
or equivalent degree from a college or university of
recognized standing (recognized at the time the student
attended) may be granted regular admission to a graduate
degree or certificate program, provided they have established
an acceptable record of general scholarship (normally an
overall cumulative undergraduate grade point average of at
least 2.7 or, optionally, 3.0 in the final sixty semester
hours of graded course work toward the bachelor’s degree. At
least 60 hours of undergraduate course work must be graded to
allow grade point average calculation) Additionally,
applicants must meet the admission requirements of the
department in which they wish to concentrate graduate study.
2. CONDITIONAL
ADMISSION. The university may grant conditional
admission to a degree or certificate program to an applicant
who holds a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from a
college or university of recognized standing (recognized at
the time the student attended) but who does not meet all the
requirements for regular admission, or whose personal
competencies a department may wish to assess prior to
recommending regular admission. For a student who may have
insufficient hours of credit in the proposed area of
concentration or a slightly deficient grade point average,
whether cumulative or in the area of concentration, the
department concerned may recommend that the student be
admitted with the understanding that he or she makes up the
deficiencies and maintains an acceptable level of scholarship
in the first graduate course work. Courses taken to make up
admission deficiencies in preparation for regular admission
may not be counted toward graduate degree or certificate
requirements.
Conditional admission to graduate study, even when accompanied
by assignment to an advisor on a specific curriculum, does not
constitute final admission to that curriculum. A student
cannot be granted a degree or certificate while having
conditional admission status.
A student who was initially granted conditional admission, is
considered to be regularly admitted to a specific curriculum
only after he or she has:
a. Fulfilled all the prerequisites for admission to the
curriculum,
b. Requested and been granted regular admission status through
a petition for reclassification process. A student who is not
sure of his/her status may request clarification from the advisor
or the College of Graduate Studies,
c. Submitted an Authorization of Graduate Degree or
Certificate Program form approved and signed by the curriculum
advisor.
3. NON-DEGREE
ADMISSION. If you are (1) undecided as to curriculum
choice, or (2) do not wish to earn a degree or certificate, or
(3) do not meet the requirements for regular or conditional
admission, you may apply for non-degree admission. As a
non-degree matriculant, you may register for courses for which
you meet the prerequisites.
NOTE: Some courses are not open to non-degree students.
A non-degree student who applies for regular or conditional
admission will be evaluated just as all applicants are
evaluated, and the admission decision will be communicated to
the student by the College of Graduate Studies. When you can
apply for regular or conditional admission depends on the
reason for the non-degree admission. If you are admitted to
non-degree status because of failure to meet the requirements
for regular or conditional admission to a degree or
certificate program, you may submit an application for
admission to that or another program once you have met the
requirements to the satisfaction of the College of Graduate
Studies and the department which offers the program. Consult
the department chairperson or a graduate advisor in the
proposed field of study for assistance in selecting courses to
make up deficiencies.
The “undecided” student who otherwise has met admission
requirements may apply for admission to a degree or
certificate program at any time.
Non-degree students may take an unlimited number of courses
while having non-degree status, provided that they maintain an
acceptable GPA (see section on Academic and Retention
Standards). However, credits earned during non-degree status
may not be counted toward a degree or certificate if they were
used to make up deficiencies in preparation. A maximum of nine
credits earned during non-degree status may be applied toward
a degree. A maximum of six credits earned during non-degree
status may be applied toward a certificate. A department may
provide a lower or higher limit (see the individual program
description). The advisor will determine which previously
earned credits will be counted toward the graduate program.
Only in unusual circumstances, international students
holding an F-1 (student) visa have non-degree status.
International students holding a J-1 (exchange) visa may be
allowed non-degree status.
Changing
from non-degree to either regular or conditional status
requires that the student complete an Application for
Admission, which is the regular application for the College of
Graduate Studies. No fee is required, if the student already
paid when applying for non-degree status.
4. PROVISIONAL
ADMISSION
Frequently students apply to the graduate college during their
senior year, with the understanding that they will
complete the baccalaureate prior to beginning graduate
studies. When these students are accepted into graduate school
-- be it regular, conditional, or nondegree admission -- they
are granted provisional admission, contingent upon providing
the College of Graduate Studies with a final transcript
showing completion of the baccalaureate degree. It is the
student's responsibility to notify the College of Graduate
Studies when he or she has completed the undergraduate degree
requirements and to request that the registrar at the college
or university issuing the diploma send an official copy of the
final transcript showing the degree earned. The transcript
must be sent from the registrar directly to the College of
Graduate Studies. A final decision relative to the applicant's
admission will be made and the student will be notified of the
decision following receipt of the foregoing materials by the
College of Graduate Studies.
In some departments, a student who presents an unofficial
transcript or unofficial test scores may be granted
provisional admission pending receipt of official documents.
It is the student's responsibility to arrange for the official
documents to be sent to the College of Graduate Studies.
A student with provisional admission may register for classes
for one semester while we await the necessary documents. If
the student fails to produce the required documents -- proof
of degree, official transcripts, and official test scores --
the admission will be converted to a denial and the student
may be removed from classes.
5.
CONCURRENT AS A GRADUATING SENIOR. An undergraduate
student may be permitted to register concurrently for graduate
credit for the semester or session in which requirements will
be completed for a baccalaureate degree, provided that the
following conditions are met: (1) the student will be taking
no more than 12 undergraduate credits during the semester of
concurrent registration; (2) during the semester of concurrent
registration, the student enrolls in all remaining courses
required for graduation; (3) the student’s total credit load
(graduate and undergraduate courses) will not exceed 15
credits during the semester of concurrent registration; (4)
the student has an undergraduate grade point average of at
least 2.7 or, optionally, 3.0 in the most recently completed
sixty semester hours of graded course work toward the bachelor’s
degree; and (5) the student is admitted to the College of
Graduate Studies, either conditionally or with non-degree
status; (see sections on each type of admission for an
explanation of the conditions associated with each). Students
who do not comply with the conditions of concurrent admission
may be dropped from their graduate classes. Students who fail
to graduate at the end of the concurrently-enrolled semester
or session will not be permitted to continue in the College of
Graduate Studies until all requirements for the undergraduate
degree have been met. Exceptions to this policy can be granted
under any of the following circumstances: (1) students who
have completed all requirements for the bachelor's degree
EXCEPT student teaching may be granted concurrent status prior
to student teaching if they meet conditions 4-5 above; (2)
students admitted to a combined BA/MA or BS/MS program at CMU
may be granted concurrent status if they have completed at
least 86 undergraduate credits and satisfy condition 4 above;
(3) students may be granted concurrent status if they have
completed at least 86 undergraduate credits and are
recommended by the Department of Health Promotion and
Rehabilitation for admission to the Physical Therapy program.
Furthermore, students may appeal to the Dean of the College of
Graduate Studies for a policy exception to grant admission as
concurrent students.
(Top of page)
Disclaimer
