Application forms

KU does not accept paper applications for admissions. Please use the online application form.

Admission requirement

Regular admission requires a bachelor's degree and a grade-point average of at least a B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale), from KU or from another regionally accredited institution or foreign university with substantially equivalent bachelor's degree requirements. The bachelor's degree is not acceptable if it contains credit awarded for work experience that was not directly supervised by faculty members of an accredited university or not evaluated in units that identify the academic content.

Letter of Recommendation

Each graduate program at KU requires letters of recommendation for their applicants. Most programs have incorporated online letters of recommendation as part of their application. Download the recommendation form.

Transcripts

Applicants must attach a scanned version of the transcript from your undergraduate institution, as well as a scanned version of the transcripts from any post-Bachelor institution. If an applicant is admitted they will be required to submit an official transcript for GPA and degree conferral verification.   In order for transcripts to be considered official, they must be sent directly from the institution. KU does not consider transcripts that come from applicants or that have been in the applicant's possession as official. Transcripts that are in a language other than English must be accompanied with English translations. More information about transcript submission can be found here (link to video) - Right Click > Save Link As

Supporting Documents

Each graduate program at KU determines the materials they need for making admission decisions. To learn what supporting documents are required as part of the application process, applicants must contact the program to which they will apply.

Application checklist

After submitting the online application to graduate studies at KU, applicants will receive an email containing a link and information necessary to access their application checklist. Using the checklist, applicants can check the status of their application.

English Proficiency

Domestic students whose first language is not English will be required to check in at the Applied English Center upon arrival at the KU campus.

Re-Admit

Individuals who had previously been active in a graduate program may be eligible for readmission into the same graduate program.

Students should contact that graduate program in order to be considered for readmission.

Students will not be considered for readmission if you are currently on a leave of absence, if you have not been enrolled in the past five years or you have graduated from the graduate degree program.

Individuals interested in readmission must reapply for admission here. The readmission application will be forwarded to the academic department for consideration.

Application forms

KU does not accept paper applications for admissions. Please use the online application form.

Admission requirement

Regular admission requires a bachelor's degree and a grade-point average of at least a B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale), from KU or from another regionally accredited institution or foreign university with substantially equivalent bachelor's degree requirements. The bachelor's degree is not acceptable if it contains credit awarded for work experience that was not directly supervised by faculty members of an accredited university or not evaluated in units that identify the academic content.

Letter of Recommendation

Each graduate program at KU requires letters of recommendation for their applicants. Most programs have incorporated online letters of recommendation as part of their application. Download the recommendation form.

Transcripts

Applicants must attach a scanned version of the transcript from your undergraduate institution, as well as a scanned version of the transcripts from any post-Bachelor institution. If an applicant is admitted they will be required to submit an official transcript for GPA and degree conferral verification.   In order for transcripts to be considered official, they must be sent directly from the institution. KU does not consider transcripts that come from applicants or that have been in the applicant's possession as official. Transcripts that are in a language other than English must be accompanied with English translations. More information about transcript submission can be found here (link to video) - Right Click > Save Link As

Supporting Documents

Each graduate program at KU determines the materials they need for making admission decisions. To learn what supporting documents are required as part of the application process, applicants must contact the program to which they will apply.

Application checklist

After submitting the online application to graduate studies at KU, applicants will receive an email containing a link and information necessary to access their application checklist. Using the checklist, applicants can check the status of their application.

English Proficiency

All non-native English speakers are required to show proof of English proficiency. The following are acceptable means for verifying English proficiency for purposes of admitting non-native speakers of English and/or international students to Graduate Studies:

• Graduation with a baccalaureate degree (or higher) earned in residence from an accredited U.S. institution of higher education, or from an institution whose medium of instruction is English. This does not apply to degrees earned online.
• Receipt of official copy (not student's copy) of applicant's proficiency scores achieved not more than two years prior to the semester of admission. All graduate programs at KU accept TOEFL and IELTS scores as a means of verifying English proficiency.

The TOEFL and IELTS scores required for admission can be found on the English Proficiency Chart on the Graduate Studies webpage.

Additional English proficiency requirements for Graduate Teaching Appointments (GTA) can be found on the English Proficiency Chart on the Graduate Studies webpage.

All international students are required to check-in at the Applied English Center upon arrival to campus. At that time, the AEC will confirm the student's level of English proficiency and determine if additional English courses are required.

Financial Documents

All admitted international students are required to submit documents of financial support. The documents are not required until after the student has been admitted to a graduate program. It is acceptable to send evidence of financial support along with other required materials at the time of application. If a student has dependent(s) and would like the dependent(s) to accompany him/her, the financial document must include the cost of supporting the dependent(s). Applicants or admits should contact the program to which they have applied or been admitted to determine the amount of funding they are required to show in their financial document

• Total Amounts Needed for Specialized Programs (Lawrence Campus)
• Detailed Breakdown of Costs for Liberal Arts (Lawrence Campus)
• Total Amounts Needed for Specialized Programs at Edwards
• Detailed Breakdown of a Grad program at Edwards campus

Re-Admit

Individuals who had previously been active in a graduate program may be eligible for readmission into the same graduate program.

Students should contact that graduate program in order to be considered for readmission.

Students will not be considered for readmission if you are currently on a leave of absence, if you have not been enrolled in the past five years or you have graduated from the graduate degree program.

Individuals interested in readmission must reapply for admission here. The readmission application will be forwarded to the academic department for consideration.

Non degree seeking applicants must meet the admission standards of Regular admission status, but the applicant does not intend to work for an advanced degree. If a non degree student later applies for admission as a regular degree-seeking student, and is accepted by a department the total of transfer credit may not exceed 6 hours, or 8 hours if the student holds a baccalaureate degree from KU (this total includes credit from other accredited graduate schools as well as non degree credit earned at KU).

Non degree admission forms can be found here.

Applicants are encouraged to contact their KU departments with questions about financial support.

The Office of Student Financial Aid can answer questions about federal financial assistance.

More information can be found here.

Domestic and international applicants must attach a scanned version of the transcript from your undergraduate institution, as well as a scanned version of the transcripts from any post-Bachelor institution. If an applicant is admitted they will be required to submit an official transcript for GPA and degree conferral verification. In order for transcripts to be considered official, they must be sent directly from the institution. KU does not consider transcripts that come from applicants or that have been in the applicant's possession as official. Transcripts that are in a language other than English must be accompanied with English translations.

The transcript upload on the application is a required field. 

The preferred method for this process would be to request an official transcript from your undergraduate institution be sent directly to you.  Once you've received the document, scan it into a PDF.  This will allow for easy upload into the application.

More information about transcript submission can be found here (link to video) - Right Click > Save Link As

If your school offers electronic transcripts, you may request the paperless version to be sent directly to the Graduate Application Processing Center.  In the application, simply upload a receipt proving you did send the transcript, making sure it lists the date you sent it and where you sent it to.

For applicants:

Most graduate programs at KU require letters of recommendation for their applicants, and have incorporated online letters of recommendation as part of their application.

You will be asked on page 8 of the application for the names and email addresses of your references.  Once you submit the application, emails will be sent to your recommenders giving them instructions about completing their recommendation. 
If you are not prompted for information about your recommenders on page 8 of the application, this means the program you are applying to does not accept letters of recommendation online or the program does not require letters of recommendation for admission.  If you have any questions about your department's requirements please contact them directly.

After you submit the application, if you would like to send your reference a reminder please go to your application checklist here

If your recommender is unable to fill out the online form, please fill out the top portion of this form give it to your recommender. Then have them email the form and letter to gapc@ku.edu.

For recommenders:

Here are instructions for filling out the online Letter of Recommendation:

1. Once the applicant has submitted his/her application, you will receive an email with the subject line “Request for Reference” from the University of Kansas (email = gapc@ku.edu).   For those with strict filters on their email Inbox, please check your Junk mail folder if you are unable to locate the email.
2. The email will contain a link to the electronic form.
   
   If you have never used the CollegeNET Letters of Recommendation system, please click “Create an Account.”  Your name and email address should already be in the top fields.  You will be asked to create a password.  The password must be at least 8 characters long.
   
   If you have previously used the CollegeNET Letter of Recommendation system you will log in with your established email address and password.
   
3. Once logged in look for the name of applicant under “Not Started.”  See examples below:
   
4. In the grey box, please note whether the applicant has or has not waived their right to view the recommendation.  If you agree, press “Accept.”
   
5. Once you select “Accept”, you will be taken to the online form.  The applicant’s information will be listed in the top box.  Please fill out the remainder of the form.
   
6. After the “Rating Section” you will be asked to upload a written evaluation (letter). 
   
   
7. Click on “Browse” to find the document on your computer.
8. Once you have selected and uploaded the document a preview of the attached document will automatically be generated.  When you have verified the document click “Close” in the upper left hand corner of the preview box.
9. Fill in the “About You” section and press “Submit.”
10. If there is missing information when you hit “Submit” you will see the following screen
    
    
    The fields that are missing will be highlighted. Fill in the missing fields and select "Submit these changes."
11. If your recommendation has been submitted correctly you will see the following:
    

You may either go back to the Letters of Recommendation homepage or Log Out.

You will receive an email confirmation with subject line “Thank you for completing the online recommendation” from the University of Kansas (gapc@ku.edu).

For Applicants

After you submit the application, if you would like to send your reference a reminder please go to your application checklist here.