All B.A. degree holders are first admitted into the M.A. program and may apply later to the Ph.D. program on the basis of their academic performance here. There is no guarantee that someone admitted to the M.A. program will later be admitted into the Ph.D. program.

Applicants are usually judged by the following criteria (which are not listed in order of importance):

1. Letters of Recommendation: Three letters of recommendation should accompany each application. Students should request letters from professors who know them well, preferably from class work in their last two years of college. The letters of recommendation are submitted online through the application system on the Graduate School website.

2. Personal Statement: This letter gives the Program's Admissions Committee some idea about the applicant's writing style, range and depth of ideas, quality of mind, and motivation to embark on an advanced degree program in Medieval Studies. Try to convey the same information in this letter than you would in a personal interview, those things about you that cannot be expressed quantitatively. Details about your preparation, your strengths and weaknesses as a student, any academic honors, and the reasons you selected the field will all be helpful. This letter should be two pages long, it should not be longer. Be certain to put your name and social security number on the statement.

3. Writing Sample: A writing sample is required with a Ph.D. application. A writing sample is recommended at the M.A. level. Usually, the writing sample consists of a term paper written for a course in an area relevant to the applicant's intended area of specialization. The writing sample should be an edited and polished piece of prose that demonstrates your writing ability. (Please do not send the original, graded term paper.) The paper should have a title, your name should be on every page.

4. GPA: Though there is no official cut-off GPA for applicants to the program, a GPA of 3.5 is the rough minimum standard under normal conditions. The committee will, of course, evaluate transcripts and will take unusual circumstances or patterns into account.

5. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) Scores: Because there is no Subject Exam in Medieval Studies, only the GRE Generalist Exam is required. If, however, a candidate has taken a Subject Exam in a relevant field of study, that exam score should be included in the application packet. The committee will look at the verbal and analytic scores/writing test assessment in particulari.e., the quantitative score is less important for our purposes.

Minimum overall scores of 79 (Internet-based test iBT/ iBT Home Edition), 550 (Old Paper-based test PBT) or 22/30 on each of the Listening, Reading, and Writing sections (New Paper-based test- PBT) or higher on the TOEFL test. (TOEFL Essentials is not accepted.)
Personal Statement
A minimum overall score of 6.5 or higher on the IELTS Academic Test