Admissions
Application Procedures
Degree, Licensure or Certificate Programs
General Instructions
These are the required components for applications to graduate degree and licensure programs.
- Completed online application form: Bloomington (https://onestart.iu.edu/sisad-prd/p/Guest.do?methodToCall=start&inst=IUBLA&career=GRAD&parm1=DEGR) or Indianapolis (https://uisapp2.iu.edu/sisad-prd/p/Guest.do?methodToCall=start&inst=IUINA&career=GRAD).
- Letters of recommendation. See "Letters of Recommendation" below.
- Personal Statement explaining academic and career objectives. See "Personal Statement" below.
- Official transcripts from the institutions of higher learning attended. See "Transcripts" below.
- Application fee (charged at time of application submission).
- Graduate Record Examination scores. See "GRE General Test" below.
- International students only: TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
Applications must be submitted to the campus at which the degree is awarded. Application is accepted to only one graduate degree program at a time. Application to a graduate licensure program and to a graduate degree program may be combined.
Applications to all doctoral (Ph.D. and Ed.D.) and specialist (Ed.S.) degree programs must be submitted to the Bloomington campus. Some master's and licensure programs are offered at both Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses, some at Bloomington only, and one at Indianapolis only.
Licensure and certificate programs may have fewer requirements than those listed above. Please refer to programs' websites or contact the graduate admissions office. However, certain programs have application requirements in addition to those listed above. Some doctoral, specialist, and master's programs require a personal or telephone interview with department faculty. The Higher Education and Student Affairs Program requires applicants to obtain a graduate assistantship as a condition of admission. Occasionally, scholarly writing samples (e.g., term papers) are requested prior to an admission decision. Some programs (e.g., higher education, special education, and educational leadership) require work experience prior to admission. Certain doctoral programs require completion of a master's degree prior to admission.
Applicants will be provided with a user ID and password when beginning an online application. Applicants who wish to check the status of their application may e-mail educate [at] indiana [dot] edu or call (812) 856-8504 (Bloomington) or (317) 274-6868 (Indianapolis).
Letters of Recommendation
Normally, applicants are required to submit two letters of recommendation. Three letters are required for application to the School Psychology, Learning and Developmental Sciences, Counseling and Counselor Education, Inquiry Methodology, and Counseling Psychology programs.
Letters of recommendation should be written by persons who can comment from personal knowledge on the applicant's academic or professional qualifications for graduate study. Whenever possible, letters of recommendation should be submitted from academic sources. If, however, an applicant has been out of school for a number of years, professional references may be substituted. Letters from family members or from recommenders who know the applicant only as a friend will not be accepted.
Recommendations may be submitted online or on letterhead. Recommenders with e-mail addresses or named as online providers in the application will receive an e-mail notification with instructions to submit the recommendations online. Recommenders submitting paper recommendations should use institution or company letterhead and include the applicant's name and, if available, date of birth. Each recommender must enclose the letter in a sealed envelope, sign across the seal, and return the envelope to the applicant. Should the recommender prefer to send the letter directly to our office, he or she may do so. Reference letteres with unsigned envelopes cannot be accepted.
Personal Statement
Applicants should write a brief statement, of at most 500 words, describing background, work experience, plans for graduate study and professional career, and providing other relevant information. The personal statement is an important part of the application review process, so applicants should take care to produce a carefully planned and written statement. The personal statement may be uploaded into the online application.
Transcripts
Applicants must send one official sealed transcript from each institution of higher learning attended, except Indiana University, or they must make arrangements for official transcripts to be sent. It is not necessary to send transcripts for institutions at which the applicant enrolled in 8 or fewer credit hours unless credit hours will be transferred for the degree. Unconditional admission cannot be granted until the official transcript has been received showing the date the bachelor's degree was conferred.
GRE General Test
Most degree programs require applicants to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general aptitude test scores. The GRE advanced tests and subject tests are not required. For specific score requirements and information on which programs do not require GRE scores to be submitted, please see the section titled "Admission Criteria" in this bulletin. An official report of the GRE scores, sent directly from Educational Testing Service, is required. The test must have been taken within five years prior to application. The code 1324 must be used when sending GRE scores to our office.
In the United States the GRE is given only in a computer-based format. For further information and registration information please visit the Educational Testing Service website at http://www.gre.org. Those students taking the GRE outside of North America should contact Educational Testing Service at http://www.gre.org to find out whether the testing center in their region supports computer or paper-based testing and to obtain registration information. At all testing sites, regardless of testing format, testing accommodations for people with documented disabilities can be made. Please contact Educational Testing Service well in advance of the desired test date for information on this process. Applicants can also obtain GRE information and application forms at the Office of Graduate Studies, Bloomington, or at the Office of Student Services, Indianapolis. Information and applications are also available at www.gre.org. For general information, call (609) 771-7670; for TTY call (609) 771-7714.
Paper Applications
Applying with the online application is strongly preferred, although paper applications are still accepted at Indianapolis from the Office of Student Services, Education/Social Work Building 3131, 902 W. New York Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5155; (317) 274-0645.
Application Fees
Applicants applying online pay the nonrefundable application fee as part of this process. Indianapolis applicants applying with paper applications should submit nonrefundable application fees to the Office of the Bursar on the campus where they are applying, in the form of a check or money order made payable to Indiana University. Currently, the application fee is $55 at Bloomington and Indianapolis for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and $65 at Bloomington and Indianapolis for international applicants. The amount of the application fee is subject to change. Applications cannot be processed until the application fee is paid in full.
TOEFL
Prospective students must demonstrate a level of English proficiency adequate for graduate study. In addition to the general application requirements, international applicants whose first language is not English must submit recent scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A minimum TOEFL score of 550 for the written version, 213 for the computer version, or 79 for the Internet-based version, is ordinarily required for admission to graduate programs. Official TOEFL test scores must be sent by the testing centers directly to the Office of Graduate Studies. For TOEFL tests, the Educational Testing Service's assigned code for Indiana University is 1324.
The TOEFL is administered by Educational Testing Service once each month at locations throughout the world. Information about registering to take the TOEFL may be obtained from Educational Testing Service at http://www.toefl.org and from the international student offices listed above.
English Language Placement Test
International students whose first language is not English must also take an Indiana University English language placement test. This test must be taken upon arrival at Indiana University and before initial registration. Diagnostic results from this test are used to prescribe specific English language courses to remediate weaknesses in English skills necessary for graduate-level study. International students' enrollment in graduate courses may be prohibited or restricted until English lanaguage deficiencies are remediated.