Admission to Illinois State
A person who has completed work for a bachelor's degree or its equivalent, or who will do so within one year at an accredited institution, may apply for graduate school admission.
Academic departments/schools determine the admission requirements for their graduate programs. For specific information about admission, application to a program, graduate course descriptions, or graduate regulations and procedures please refer to the Graduate Catalog. If you have further questions please contact the graduate coordinator or advisor for your program of interest.
International student admission information
Each prospective student who wishes to take work for graduate credit must submit a completed Graduate Admission Application. In addition to the application, the following items are required:
- Application fee
Applicants are required to submit a nonrefundable $40 application processing fee that must be submitted with the application for admission. Former Illinois State University graduate students applying to the same level are exempt from the fee. Under certain circumstances, applicants may be eligible for a waiver of the application fee; after submitting, and prior to processing your application, the Office of Admissions will review your student records to determine if a refund or application fee charge is required. You will be notified if your payment status has changed since the submission of your application.
- Transcripts
Applicants must submit an official transcript from each college or university other than Illinois State University at which graduate, undergraduate, or non-degree credit was earned. Former enrolled students are not required to resubmit transcripts if additional coursework has not been taken since leaving Illinois State. Transcripts submitted for admitted, but not enrolled students, will be kept on file for one calendar year. The required documents should be received in the Admissions Office as soon as possible for best consideration
- Application Deadline
For graduate programs for which no due date is listed for applications, it is recommended that applicants have all materials in by March 1. Programs may consider later applications, but applying by March 1st offers better opportunities for admission, financial aid, assistantships, and housing.
The deadline for student at large applications each semester is the Friday before classes begin. After that Friday, a student at large will be accepted only if a chair/director or graduate coordinator e-mails Admissions on the student's behalf to state that the school/department has an open seat in the desired class and will permit that student to enroll.
- GRE (Graduate Record Examination)
The GRE score report is required for many master's and all doctoral programs.
- GMAT (General Management Admission Test)
The GMAT score report is required for admission to any College of Business graduate program.
- Additional Supporting Documents
Some departments/schools may require additional supporting documents in addition to transcripts. Please contact the department/school for information.
Testing Resources:
- GRE Graduate Record Examinations (or telephone 1-800-GRE-CALL)
- GMAT Graduate Management Admission Council (or telephone 1-800-GMAT-NOW)
- TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language
- (ETS) Educational Testing Service
