Admissions requirements

University requirements for graduate admission

All applicants for a graduate degree or certificate program must meet minimum University admission requirements, which include:

• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
• Minimum GPA.  For Regular admission, applicants must have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or higher. Applicants who have already earned 9 or more letter-graded graduate credits must have a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00 or higher; this GPA supersedes the undergraduate GPA. For University Conditional admission, applicants must have a cumulative undergraduate GPA between 2.50 and 2.74.
• One official transcript from every college or university attended (except PSU), including junior colleges and community colleges
• $65 application fee
• Recommendation for admission from the appropriate graduate program

International applicants must also submit:

• Official degree certificate/diploma
• Financial documentation demonstrating adequate financial support for at least the first year of study
• Evidence of English language proficiency
  • Completion of a bachelor's degree, master's degree, or doctoral degree in Australia, English-speaking Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the U.K., or the U.S., or;
  • Minimum required official scores on the International Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the PSU Institutional TOEFL, the International English Testing System (IELTS) exam, or the Pearson Test of English-Academic (PTE), or;
  • Test more than two years old if the score exceeded the minimum requirement and the applicant has maintained continuous residency in the United States since the exam date.  

Minimum Test Score Requirements

• TOEFL
  • Internet-based: minimum overall score of 80; minimum subscores of 18 is reading and writing
  • Paper-based: 550
  • Computer-based: 213

• IELTS: minimum overall score of 6.5; minimum subscores of 6.5 in reading and writing
• PTE-Academic: 60 overall

In cases when a student does not meet minimum University admission requirements, departments may choose to submit a Graduate Admission – Special Approval Request (GO-20 form) to the Office of Graduate Studies. This process may only be initiated by a department.

Three-Year Bridge program

This program is an alternate method of meeting graduate admission requirements. It is designed for international students coming from non-Bologna-compliant three-year baccalaureate degree programs recognized by the Ministries of Education in their home countries. This program comprises approximately one year of academic study intended to bridge the differences between the applicant’s degree and a four-year U.S. baccalaureate degree. Students are invited to participate in this program only if they have been recommended for admission by their departments.

Departmental requirements

A department may have additional admission requirements based on previous academic achievement, scores on Graduate Record Examinations or other tests, letters of recommendation, a portfolio, or an autobiographical statement. Information regarding departmental requirements can only be obtained directly from the specific department. Admission is selective and meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. The number of students admitted to a particular program is limited to the resources available.