Graduate Admissions | How to Apply

Questions?

  • CAS-Graduate Admissions
    202-885-3620
    Fax: 202-885-2429
    casgrad@american.edu
    Battelle Tompkins, Room Terrace Level 27

Mailing Address

Each application for graduate admission is evaluated on an individual basis. Once your application and all of your supporting documents are received in the graduate admissions office, they go through an initial evaluation. Your application file is then passed along to a faculty admissions committee within the department to which you are applying. The faculty committee makes a recommendation for an admission or denial, which is approved by the Academic Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

 

Minimum Requirements of Admission Include:

  • A bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) earned at an accredited college or university.
  • A 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or better cumulative grade point average (GPA) calculated on the last 60 credit hours of course work completed in your undergraduate program and available at the time of application for admission.
  • A 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or better GPA in all relevant graduate work for which a grade has been awarded.
  • GRE Exam scores for all programs except the MFA in creative writing, MFA in studio art, and the certificate programs.
  • Praxis I Exam scores for all certificate programs in teaching.
  • For international students whose native language is not English and who do not possess an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited U.S. institution: applicants need TOEFL test scores of at least 600 (or 100 on the internet based test), a Pearson Test of English score of at least 68, or a minimum IELTS score of 7.
  • An applicant for graduate study may be admitted without reference to the undergraduate average provided that he or she has maintained either a 3.3 cumulative grade point average in a master's degree program completed at an accredited institution; or has maintained a 3.5 cumulative grade point average in the last 12 credit hours which are part of a master's or doctoral degree program still in progress at the time he or she applies; or in graduate work taken in nondegree status at American University and applicable to the degree program for which he or she is applying.


How to Apply

  • Fill out an application form, either online or via paper application. It is strongly recommended that you apply online. As an incentive to apply online, the application fee is $50 rather than the $80 paper application fee. View the requirements chart to see if the program you are applying to has any specific application requirements. Submit all required application components to:
  • Graduate Admissions
  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • American University
  • Battelle-Tompkins, Terrace 27
  • 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
  • Washington, DC 20016-8107
  • Keep a copy of all of your documents, and be sure to submit your application by the required deadline for your program. Our peak review period is between January 1 and April 1.
  • If you applied online, you may log in to your application account at any time to check on the status of your application. If you applied using the paper form, you can check your application status by emailing us at CASGRAD@american.edu
  • Admissions decisions are released as soon as the faculty admissions committee and the academic dean render a decision. You will receive your notification by postal mail.
  • If you are applying to a graduate certificate program, follow the same application instructions, but check the requirements chart for any specific requirements set for each certificate program. The statement of purpose on the application should include a brief (250 words or less) explanation of why you are interested in the program.
  • If you are applying to be a Nondegree/Visiting student, the Nondegree Student page has detailed information to assist you through the application process.


Deadlines

The College of Arts and Sciences uses a rolling admissions process, though some graduate programs have set deadlines. Please check the requirements chart to see if the program you are applying to has a set deadline. If you are requesting to be considered for a merit award, the priority deadline is February 1 unless otherwise specified. 

Studio Art Application: The application deadline for the Studio Art MFA Program has been extended to April 1, 2013.