Graduate Admissions

Minimum Requirements for Admission:

1. A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
2. Completion of a minimum of 27 credit-hours of study in history.
3. At least a 3.0 grade point average in upper-level history courses.
4. Letters of recommendation from three (3) undergraduate (preferably History) instructors.
5. An application essay of 250-300 words which conforms to accepted standards of good, written English and which addresses specific fields of historical interest for study in the graduate program.

The Graduate Committee places greatest emphasis upon undergraduate transcripts, letters of reference, and the applicant 's personal statement. It is important that applicants complete their statement carefully, with attention to the usual standards for formal written English. The strongest personal statements tell why the applicant wishes to come to ETSU, what the applicant hopes to accomplish by earning MA in history, and makes note of any faculty members with whom the applicant hopes to work. Applicants should also include and make clear what fields of history they wish to study at ETSU. At this time the Graduate Committee does not require submission of GRE scores.

Applicants who do not meet these requirements may be admitted conditionally to the graduate program with departmental permission, but may be required to complete successfully prescribed undergraduate graduate courses without graduate credit.

Deadlines :

The application process has several deadlines, depending on the applicant's need for funding and desired semester of entry into the program.

In order for an applicant to be considered for funding, all required application materials must have been received by the Graduate School by the March 15th deadline. The Department generally is unable to offer funding to students who apply to begin the program in the Spring semester; those students may apply to be considered for funding for the following year.

International applicants are suggested to have their materials submitted to the Graduate School well before the March 15th deadline, in order to allow time to apply for a student visa.

The department does not currently accept applications from international students for entry into the program for the Spring Semester.

After Acceptance:

After admission, each student shall consult with the Graduate Coordinator of the department before beginning graduate study. The purpose of this consultation is to determine the academic needs of the student, and to begin the work of directing the student towards the most appropriate resources and faculty members for his or her area of study. Graduate students will work with the Graduate Coordinator, and their own advisor, to build a program of study for their time at ETSU which will assist them in achieving their aims in the School of Graduate Studies.

The information on this page may also be found in the Graduate Catalog .