A successful statement will illustrate a candidate's goals, highlight their research interests, and explain how their experience is relevant to the academic research conducted by faculty in their program of interest. Please try to limit your statement of purpose to 500-1,000 words.

The resume should list a candidate's relevant work experience, internships, research, awards, and/or publications, as well as educational history.

A curriculum vitae (CV) is also accepted.

Recommenders will evaluate a candidate based on academic performance, motivation for program of study, intellectual capacity and/or research and writing ability.

Fill out the Recommendations page on the application to send your recommender a notification. Your recommender will receive a form to fill out asking specific questions and have a change to upload a letter of recommendation, if they wish.

If you experience any errors with the Recommendation Request form or if you need to submit a new request to a new recommender, contact education@american.edu.

General Record Examination (GRE)

Not required for any programs but students may upload scores if they wish.

To submit GREs, use school code: 5007 (no department code). GRE scores can take up to six weeks to arrive after the test date.

English Language Proficiency

Proof of English Proficiency is required from all applicants whose native language is not English and who do not hold a bachelor's or master's degree from a U.S. accredited college/institution.

To meet the English Language Requirement, students must submit scores from one of the following three tests for admission

• Duolingo English Language Test: Due to recent English language testing and travel restrictions related to COVID-19, American University is temporarily accepting the Duolingo English Language Test as part of our admissions process for 2020 and Spring 2021 admission applications. The minimum required Duolingo score is a 120.
  
  Please email admissions directly at education@american.edu to indicate that you will be submitting a Duolingo score in lieu of TOEFL or IELTS.
   
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): You must achieve a required score of at least 100 on the Internet-based test (IBT). Combined scores will not be accepted, nor will SOC accept the ETS MyBestScore results. The TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and the ETS code for the School of Communication is 5007. The test cannot be more than two years old.
   
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS). You must achieve a minimum score of a 7.0 or higher; combined scores will not be accepted. The test cannot be more than two years old.

With permission from the SOE Office of Graduate Academic Services, students may request an English Language Waiver, email education@american.edu for information.

For more information, visit the International Student and Scholar Services website.

Praxis

Passing scores by DC standard on Praxis Core exam required for all MA teaching degrees and MA special education degrees for students whose undergraduate GPA is below 3.0.The DC teacher licensing agency sets passing scores as: Reading 156, Writing 162, and Math 150. To submit Praxis, use school code: 5007 (no department code). Praxis scores can take up to six weeks to arrive after the test date. Alternative test types listed in application.