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
- 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.