Admission & Requirements

The admissions committee considers the following factors when evaluating applications for admission:

• Three letters of recommendation from former or current professors
• A statement of purpose
• A writing sample
• Foreign language training (for M.A. and Ph.D applicants)
• Undergraduate or M.A. grade point average
• Transcripts, both undergraduate and graduate (if applicable)
• TOEFL score (for non-native English speakers)

The faculty relies heavily on the comments and assessment of colleagues at NDSU and other academic institutions. A thoughtful and thorough assessment provides insight into the student's abilities, preparation and motivation. Several such evaluations combine to form a detailed picture of the student's background and potential. It is the applicant's responsibility to check with people who have written the letters of recommendation to make sure that they are submitted in a timely manner.

A candidate's statement of purpose distinguishes him or her from other applicants. It indicates to faculty the student's interests, ability to state research goals concisely, and to some degree, the candidate's maturity, and sophistication, both of which are significant for work at the graduate level. The admissions committee looks for students who show that they have already focused on a given field and have a reasonable awareness of what the department has to offer. It is helpful for candidates to list the names of faculty members with whom they would like to work.

Book reviews, senior thesis and research papers are commonly submitted as writing samples. Or you could submit an excerpt of a longer paper (e.g., MA or senior thesis). You can include a brief explanation at the beginning of the sample if it is from a larger work.

The importance of language training varies from field to field and from degree to degree. The M.S. requires no language training. M.A. students and Ph.D. students in the U.S. field could conceivably begin the program with minimal foreign language preparation. On the other hand, doctoral students in other fields should come to NDSU already having done significant work in their major language. Those without such training would have difficulty with their required coursework and research, both because of the difficulty of these languages and because these fields require proficiency in two or more foreign languages.

There is no minimum GPA required for admission, but we look carefully at your performance in history courses. In general, the stronger the GPA, the stronger the application.

For non-native English speakers, the TOEFL exam is also required for a better assessment of the student's language capability.