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Correspondence regarding admission to the Graduate School should be addressed to the appropriate graduate program, which will supply application blanks and supplementary information.
Admission to graduate study is granted by the Dean of the Graduate School only upon the recommendation of the faculty in a graduate program. Applicants should see that each undergraduate or graduate institution previously attended sends official transcripts. The transcripts should be received by the program as soon as possible but no later than three months before the time the student expects to enroll. All transcripts become part of the student’s official file and may not be returned.
There is a $40 application fee for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. International applicants must submit with their application an international cashier’s check or money order in the amount of $55 payable to the Kansas State University Graduate School. Applicants may also pay their application fee via credit card when they apply via an on-line application. Please do not send cash. International applications without this fee will not be processed. PLEASE NOTE: If applying to graduate programs in the College of Architecture, Planning and Design or the College of Business, additional application fees apply. Refer to program websites for more information.
Applicants who wish to be considered for graduate assistantships or other funding should normally have all materials on file by the following deadline dates for highest priority consideration: February 1 to be considered for fall (August) enrollment; August 1 for spring (January) enrollment; and December 1 for summer (June) enrollment.
An applicant to the Graduate School at Kansas State University must have a bachelor’s degree substantially the same as the ones granted by Kansas State University. That is, it must represent a broad range of courses in the basic academic disciplines. Applicants whose degrees do not meet these standards may be denied admission to graduate degree programs at Kansas State University. Admission is denied to applicants holding bachelor’s degrees with a significant amount of credit for work that was not supervised by a faculty member of an accredited college or university or evaluated in units that identify the academic content. A limited amount of credit for experience, when awarded as an acceptable part of a bachelor’s degree for internships, fieldwork, or the like, is not a cause for denial but must be clearly identified as graded work.
All students admitted to the Graduate School must meet the following requirements:
1. Graduates from colleges and universities in the United States
- A bachelor’s degree from a college or university accredited by the cognizant regional accrediting agency,
- Undergraduate preparation in the proposed major field equivalent to that acquired by a graduate of Kansas State University, or evidence of an appropriate background for undertaking an advanced degree program, and
- Grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 hours of coursework. This GPA is based only on courses graded on a multi-level scale, usually A, B, C, D, F.
2. Graduates of foreign colleges and universities
All international students admitted to the Graduate School must demonstrate the same level of achievement as U.S. students. That is, they must hold a degree from an established institution comparable to a college or university in the United States, have an outstanding undergraduate record, have the demonstrated ability to do graduate work, and provide evidence of language proficiency sufficient for the pursuit of a graduate degree. Admission may be denied to students from technical schools, which may provide excellent training in special areas, but do not offer degrees equivalent to those of colleges and universities. As a rule, students from abroad are not admitted to nondegree status (that is, as special students). Questions about the qualifications of international students should be directed to the Graduate School.
The Graduate School requires each international applicant whose native language is not English to demonstrate competence in the English language by achieving a satisfactory score (defined below) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The TOEFL or IELTS is required to ensure that the student’s progress toward a degree is not jeopardized by language barriers. The TOEFL (K-State TOEFL school code 6334) is offered several times a year throughout the world by the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey. International applicants are advised to take the TOEFL as early as possible to avoid delays in the processing of their applications for admission. An applicant who has received a degree in the last two years from a United States college or university is exempt from this requirement. However, individual programs may require demonstration of English language proficiency.
Applicants who are submitting a TOEFL iBT (internet based) score must have a minimum of 79 to be considered for admission to a graduate program. Applicants with part scores of less than 20 on any one of the reading, writing, or listening sections may be considered for provisional admission and required to take the English Proficiency Test (EPT) prior to enrolling in their first semester. Applicants will be required to enroll in the designated course(s) based on EPT scores and the recommendation of the K-State English Language Program.
Applicants who are submitting a TOEFL paper-based test score must have a minimum of 550 to be considered for admission to a graduate program. Applicants with scores 550 through 599 may be admitted provisionally and must take the EPT prior to enrolling in their first semester. Applicants will be required to enroll in designated course(s) based on EPT scores and the recommendation of the K-State English Language Program. TOEFL scores are valid for two years from the test date.
Some programs require a TOEFL score higher than the Graduate School minimum. Those who do not meet the program’s minimum proficiency standard may be recommended for enrollment in University English courses or for part-time English courses offered by the K-State English Language Program.
Applicants who are submitting an IELTS score must have a minimum of 6.1 to be considered for admission to a graduate program. Applicants with a score 6.1 through 6.9 may be admitted provisionally and must take the EPT prior to enrolling in their first semester. Applicants will be required to enroll in designated course(s) based on EPT scores and the recommendation of the K-State English Language Program. Those who do not meet the minimum proficiency standard may be recommended for enrollment in University English courses or for part-time English courses offered by the K-State English Language Program. IELTS scores are valid for two years from the test date.
ADMISSION CATEGORIES
All new graduate students, domestic or foreign, are assigned to one of four categories upon admission:
Full standing
- Undergraduate training essentially the same as that at Kansas State University.
- B average or higher in junior and senior years.
Provisional
- Transcript evaluation uncertain, as is sometimes the case with international students.
- B average or higher in junior and senior years, but some course deficiencies in undergraduate work.
- Final transcripts indicating award of a degree not yet in hand; applicant completing degree; other criteria for full standing met.
Probationary
- Grade point average from 2.65 to 2.99 (A=4.00) in last two years
If work has shown a marked improvement in later semesters and there are grades of B or better in demanding courses in major and related areas, admission is considered.
- Grade point average below 2.65 in last two years
Admission is considered only upon documentation that the student is now qualified to do graduate work. Evidence may include: (1) satisfactory grades on a GRE Advanced Test or Miller Analogies Test; (2) satisfactory work at another graduate school; or (3) outstanding professional experience that demonstrates the ability to handle academic work in the major area.
Probationary and provisional students are advised of deficiencies and of other conditions to be met to achieve full standing. Their status is reviewed after completing 9 hours of course work at Kansas State University. Those who have earned grades of B or higher and GPAs of 3.0 or higher for the first 9 hours, exclusive of individualized study, and removed all deficiencies specified at the time of admission, will be placed in good standing.
Special
Students who have a bachelor’s degree but do not plan to work for an advanced degree may be admitted to graduate study as special students. No more than 9 credit hours earned as a special student may be applied toward an advanced degree. Special students are required to meet the same academic standards as other graduate students. Special students who later wish to work for an advanced degree must make a formal application to the appropriate department or interdepartmental program and be formally admitted by the Graduate School as a student with full standing status.
If your graduate program requires standardized tests, you should request the Educational Testing Service to send your scores to Kansas State University. If you indicated where you wanted your scores sent (the academic department and Kansas State University) when you took the test, your scores will automatically be sent. IELTS should be contacted to have their test scores sent to the Graduate School at Kansas State University.The Graduate School does not accept photocopies as official for admission purposes. TOEFL and IELTS scores are valid for two years. GRE standardized test scores are valid for five years.
For more information please contact:
Kansas State University
Graduate School
103 Fairchild Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-1103
Voice: (785) 532-6191 or (800) 651-1816
Fax: (785) 532-2983
www.k-state.edu/grad
grad@ksu.edu |
