Domestic Admissions

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At SIU, you may be admitted to the Graduate School by either applying directly to a particular degree program or by applying as a Nondeclared Graduate Student.

The Graduate School Catalog will list our programs and course descriptions.

If you are applying to a degree program, please choose your major carefully from the list of programs, as some departments offer more than one degree at the Master's level. All application materials must be submitted directly to your department. You may apply to multiple programs but must submit separate applications, application fees, and sets of required paperwork to each program.

While the Graduate School in general does not have an application deadline, many departments do. Please contact your department directly for application deadlines and to see if applications are only accepted for certain semesters.

Each department sets their own admission requirements. Please contact your department directly for assistance. Once you are enrolled as a graduate student, you are required to maintain an overall "B" average (3.0) in your graduate credit coursework to remain in good academic standing.

All departments require a $65 nonrefundable application fee. This must be paid by credit card at the time you submit the online application.

You must meet minimum general Graduate School requirements to be eligible to be considered for admission by a department. To be eligible to be considered for admission to a graduate program, the following minimum GPA's are required:

Who is a “Domestic” applicant?

Domestic applicants are U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents. (A Permanent Resident is a “Green Card” holder who has been granted authorization to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis.)

U.S. citizens born outside of the country must provide proof of citizenship. If you were born in a country other than the United States, please upload to your application a copy of either a U.S. passport or a naturalization document.

What is an “official” transcript?

Official means the transcript is sent directly from the registrar of your school to the SIUC registrar or to the Graduate School at gradschl@siu.edu .  We will accept an electronic transcript, or a hard copy can be mailed to us. We will accept an original transcript delivered in the original sealed, never-opened envelope as official.

Official transcripts are required for a newly admitted student to register for classes. Prior to 1st term registration, an “in progress” or “partial” official degree transcript is required from the registrar. Prior to 2nd term registration, a  final official transcript showing degree conferred is required from the registrar. We may need one or more official undergraduate transfer transcripts as well – this additional requirement would be stated in the conditions of admission in your welcome email.

SIUC students do not have to provide official SIUC transcripts. We review official SIUC transcripts through our secure record system.

Unofficial transcripts are used by the Graduate School to calculate your GPA. Transcripts you upload to your application are considered unofficial.  

 For admission to a Master's program:

  • 2.7 (on a 4.0 grading scale) on approximately the last two years of your Bachelor's degree
  • Minimum GPA of 3.00 on all previous graduate coursework

 For admission to a Ph.D. program:

  • 3.00 on all previous graduate level coursework

Processing times vary greatly according to department. For some programs, you may need to apply 8-10 months in advance, while others may admit you in 1-2 months. To be safe, students should apply as early as possible.

Nondeclared Admission

Any student not meeting the above minimum GPA requirements, please see Nondeclared Admissions. Once you have earned at least 9 semester hours of graded graduate coursework with a "B" average, you are then eligible to apply for admission into a degree seeking program of study.