Applicants must meet the minimum university requirements for graduate study. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test is optional. International applicants whose first language is not English are required to submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation. Preference is given to applicants with a clear interest in working in the research laboratory of one of the full-time faculty members in the department. Upon admittance, students must select either the thesis or nonthesis option. Admission requirements to each option are the same.

Statement of Purpose
Transcripts
2 Letters of Recommendation
GRE scores (Optional)
Resume

The minimum acceptable scores on the TOEFL exam is 100 for the internet test (95 for the online Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) program). The minimum acceptable IELTS score is 7.0. there is no department code or institutional code for IELTS.

The transcript evaluation is not required for international applicants who have completed a bachelor's degree in the United States.

All other international applicants are required to complete an official transcript evaluation. Transcript evaluations must be submitted to American University in lieu of the original international transcript.

Applicants may be admitted without reference to their baccalaureate record if they earned at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA in a master's degree program completed at a regionally accredited institution or if they earned at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA for the last 12 credit hours of a master's or doctoral degree program still in progress.