How to Apply

Share information that will help reviewers understand your academic interests and objectives, assess your academic background, preparation, and training, and determine if you are a good match for the program to which you are applying.

Help reviewers learn more about you as a whole person and as a potential graduate student. This may include relevant details on community service, leadership roles, participation in diverse teams, and significant barriers that you overcame to attend graduate school.

Your resume should provide the admissions committee with more information than what’s included in the application and focus on what they need to know to better evaluate your admission. A graduate resume is different than a job search resume. Job search resumes are designed to get you an interview; graduate school resumes are designed to enhance your application and provide yet another opportunity to sell yourself. Here are a few other helpful tips:

• The resume is not limited to one page in length (two pages is fine, though contact info must be on both pages).
• Separate your work and non-work experiences into different sections
• Include all your experiences – not just the ones targeting a specific job
• Some of the most commonly included categories in a graduate school resume are:
  • Objective
  • Education
  • Academic Experience/Highlights
  • Employment
  • Volunteer, Community, and/or Extra-Curricular Involvement
  • Certifications/Professional Development

Transcripts from every institution of higher education attended are required for admission consideration to a graduate program.

• For non-licensure programs – unofficial transcripts may be accepted for admission consideration, although official transcripts must be sent directly from the issuing institution prior to the third semester in order to continue enrollment, per the policy of the OGSPS.
• For licensure programs – official transcripts are required for admission consideration.

Tips for Submitting Official Transcripts:

• An official transcript is defined as a transcript that is sent directly from the issuing institution to the OGSPS.
• Official transcripts should be requested to be sent directly from the issuing institution to the OGSPS or gradadm@purdue.edu. If possible, please select Attn: “Graduate Admissions.”

Tips for uploading Unofficial transcripts to the application portal:

• Any transcript uploaded by the applicant is considered unofficial.
• Social Security numbers and student identification numbers must be marked out before any document is uploaded.
• If a degree was received, then it must be printed on the transcripts. If no degree conferral is printed on the transcripts, then a copy of the original diploma (degree certificate) is needed.

Tips for Transcripts from Institutions Outside of the U.S.:

• View the Purdue OGSPS website for documents required by country to determine which documents are required.
• Credential evaluation reports will not be accepted by the OGSPS. Official transcripts (and diplomas, if required) must be submitted to the OGSPS.
• Credential evaluation reports may be required for the Office of Teacher Education and Licensure to complete the Transcript Evaluation and Credential Review if applying to a licensure program. The Indiana Department of Education requires an official evaluation of Foreign Studies from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. Please contact the Office of Teacher Education and Licensure for more information. For a list of members, go to the NACES website. Please send the original report to the Office of Teacher Education and Licensure.

The best letters to submit are those from former or current employers, co-workers, colleagues, tutors, and other mentors. Never ask family members or close friends. You will have the opportunity to have your recommenders submit an online recommendation by entering their email within the application.

International degree-seeking applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit proof of English proficiency.  View the Purdue OGSPS’s accepted tests and minimum score requirements. The OGSPS will routinely waive the English proficiency requirement for applicants who have received a degree within the last 3 years from a school where English is the primary language of instruction in one of the recognized English-speaking countries. Note: If you have not done so already, request that ETS send your scores electronically to the Purdue University West Lafayette campus using code 1631.

All degree programs (graduate certificate, MSEd, EdS, and PhD) require an application fee. Per the OGSPS, the application fee is non-refundable.

Non-degree programs do not require a graduate application fee.