Information for Prospective MA and Certificate Students

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Students interested in applying to the MA or Certificate programs should consider the following when preparing an application:

  • Focus the goals statement on how you see this program fitting into your larger goals, and show that you understand what kinds of outcomes our program supports. We want to know what you want to do with the degree and whether we can help with that.
  • Letters of recommendation should ideally come from academic sources but can come from other professional contacts as well. Anyone who can attest to your ability to be a strong thinker, writer, communicator, collaborator, and/or leader in professional environments is a good recommender. Do not select personal contacts or family members.
  • Writing samples can also come from academic and professional sources. We review these to see the strength of your writing and analytical abilities, so any writing that showcases those is appropriate. Purely creative pieces or very short professional pieces (brochures, etc.) can therefore be difficult to use for assessment.
  • We recommend that applicants write a brief introduction to each professional sample, outlining the audience, purpose, and any particular challenges of the writing task.
  • We do not require GRE scores.
  • We do not require a foreign language.