Graduate Study at
                         Wichita State University

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2001 Graduate School
Wichita State University
1845 Fairmount
Wichita, KS  67260
(316) 978-3095
gradinqu@wichita.edu
Last Modified: 10/28/2003

American Citizens and Permanent Residents
International Applicants

Admission Decisions 
and the Status of Your Application

Each school or college within the University which offers graduate degrees has a graduate coordinator who makes recommendations for admission to the Graduate Dean for each student who applies to a specific program area.

All admission recommendations are made at the program level.   For this reason, the faculty member who serves as the graduate coordinator is often the best contact for a student who is considering graduate study in a particular department or program. WSU's Graduate Coordinators are members of the more than 600  Wichita State University's Graduate Faculty.

The review of application materials may require several days or weeks depending upon the review cycle  of the program area and the completeness of the application materials.  Applicants who have forwarded a complete application packet to the Graduate School, and who wish to know the status of their application may e-mail the graduate school for information as follows: 

Jenny Hunnell,  Admission Coordinator for international applicants whose family name begins with the letter A-L.

Melissa Fleeker, Admission Coordinator for international applicants whose family names begins with the letter M-Z.

Denise Canoles, Admission Coordinator for American citizens or permanent residents. 

Records required for admission for American Citizens or Permanent Residents must reach the Graduate School office at least three weeks before registration for the semester when admission is desired. 

Records required for International applicants and all applicants applying to programs with earlier application deadlines must submit materials according to those published deadlines.   

International Admission 

In order to receive graduate credit at Wichita State University, students must be admitted to the Graduate School. Students interested in graduate work at Wichita State should apply on-line, or request application materials to be mailed to them. Admission is based primarily upon an applicant’s previous academic record; therefore, two official transcripts of all previous academic work, except work completed at WSU must be received along with the Application for Admission to the Graduate School.

Wichita State University transcripts do not need to be ordered, but academic work and degrees from WSU must be declared on your application form. The fact that courses you completed at one institution may be included on a transcript from another institution is not sufficient. Transcripts must be mailed directly from the institution where the work was completed.

Please note that as an international student, you must be enrolled as a full-time student with at least nine hours of graduate credit course work each semester. In the first semester of graduate studies, you must enroll in the program to which you have been admitted and for which your I-20 or IAP-66 form was issued.

International students requiring F-1 or J-1 visas are not eligible for admission as non-degree seeking students. 

International admission is a two-part process.  The first part requires submission of the Wichita State University Graduate  Application to Graduate School, a nonrefundable US$50 application fee, all mark sheets or transcripts of your academic work and certification of degree completion.  Based upon the review of this information, you will be notified of your academic admissibility for graduate study at Wichita State University. 

All applications must also include a photocopy of the pages from your passport which shows your photo and your full name. Your application should reflect your name as it appears on your passport. If you do not yet hold a passport, the name you use on your application must match your name as it will appear on your passport. All applicants without a passport at the time of application, must submit a passport size photo.

Your application will not be considered without the application fee. Unfortunately, fee waivers and deferred payments are not available through the Graduate School office regardless of the circumstances.  The application fee check must be payable through a U.S. bank which must be noted on the front of the check.  An international money order is also acceptable.

You are required to provide two copies of the official, confidential mark sheet or transcript for each institution (undergraduate and graduate) which you have attended.  Transcripts must be in confidential, signed-across-the-seal envelopes provided by the registrar at each institution.  Mark sheets and transcripts must provide a listing, year-by-year, of all courses taken and the grade or marks received for each listing. It is helpful to have the grading scale of the institution and the student's rank in class when such information is available.

Mark sheets or transcripts must bear an official signature in ink of the appropriate official of each institution, such as the Registrar or Recorder of Records.  The document must also bear the official seal.  If your college or university will not provide official academic documents, exact copies that have been verified as "Certified True Copies" by the appropriate institutional official of each institution will be acceptable. All documents not in English must be accompanied by official English translations.  The translations must bear an official ink signature and seal.  Personal copies of academic records will not be accepted.

If your transcript or mark sheet does not indicate the award of a bachelor's degree or its four-year equivalent degree, official copies of your degree statement, provisional certificate, or diploma will be required.  The degree certification must include the date that the degree was awarded.  

If you are recommended for academic admission, following the review of the above documents, you will receive an admission letter, but you will not be issued the form I-20 or IAP-66 that is needed to obtain a U.S. visa.  Students recommended for academic admission will need to complete the second part of the application process.

In order for your admission to be completed and the immigration form I-20 or IAP-66 to be issued, you must provide proof of sufficient English proficiency, and certification that you have sufficient financial resources to cover the expenses of graduate study at Wichita State University.

English proficiency is certified through the submission of official and acceptable scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam.  It is the policy of the Graduate School to admit only those applicants who have obtained a score of 550 (paper-based test) or 213 (computer-based test). In many programs, a higher TOEFL score is required. 

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is administered through the Educational Testing Service located in Princeton, New Jersey. Applicants wishing to have TOEFL scores sent to Wichita State University should use the WSU Institutional code of 6884.

Acceptable scores must not be more than two years old and must be official copies. Student copies or "attested" copies will not be accepted. Institutional TOEFL scores from institutions other than Wichita State University will not be accepted.  Applicants who wish to enroll in WSU's Intensive English Program as part of the admission to graduate school, must apply directly to the Intensive English program and successfully pass the TOEFL exam before they will be allowed to enroll in their graduate program. 

Immigration law requires documented evidence that students have sufficient financial resources to cover the cost of your graduate studies.  The WSU International Statement of Financial Responsibility is the form that Wichita State University uses to meet this requirement. Only the WSU Statement of Financial Responsibility is acceptable.  Bank statements or letters from relatives or employers will not be accepted and will only delay your admission.

Please note that the figure stated on the certificate is an estimate only for the year beginning with the fall 2003 term.  Figures are subject to change.  If you are being awarded any financial aid from Wichita State University and the Graduate School Office has been notified, this information will be included on the I-20 or IAP-66 form.  

Financial aid in the form of graduate assistantships is very competitive. Individual programs determine these types of awards.  In many programs, assistantship awards are not offered until the student has been enrolled at Wichita State University for at least one full academic semester.  Graduate Assistantships from WSU, if offered, may not cover the minimum amount required before the I-20 or IAP-66 form can be issued.  Students must assume responsibility for the amount needed beyond what WSU may award.

Application Deadlines:  

Records required for International applicants and all applicants applying to programs with earlier application deadlines must submit materials according to those published deadlines.   

Fall	Spring	Summer
April 1	August  1	Students interested in summer admission should review the graduate programs information to verify that summer admission is available. Some programs have summer course offerings and other do not. In the event that summer admission is not possible, students should submit their application according to the fall deadline for admission.

Some programs have earlier application deadlines. Please refer to the Graduate Bulletin or Graduate Programs Information.
 

Links to helpful sites for international students:

• WSU's Office of International Education
• WSU's Intensive English Center
• Educational Testing Service (ETS)
• Test of English as a Foreign Language TOEFL

American Citizens and Permanent Residents

Applications for graduate study are made through the Wichita State University Graduate School regardless of the program. In addition to the WSU Application to Graduate School, certain program areas will also require a departmental application.

Two admission statuses, degree and non-degree, are available to accommodate qualified students desiring to pursue graduate degrees as well as those simply desiring to earn graduate credit for personal and professional reasons.

Records required for admission evaluation for programs without application deadlines should reach the Graduate School at least three weeks before registration for the term when admission is desired. Materials received after this date will be processed as the time of staff and faculty permits, but the Graduate School cannot guarantee that final action can be taken in time to allow enrollments for graduate credit.

In order to receive graduate credit at Wichita State University, students must be admitted to the Graduate School. Admission is based primarily upon an applicant’s previous academic record; therefore, two official transcripts of all previous academic work, except work completed at WSU must be received along with the Application for Admission to the Graduate School and the $35.00 application fee.  A Transcript Request Form should be used for ordering transcripts other than Wichita State transcripts. 

Wichita State University transcripts do not need to be ordered, but academic work and degrees from WSU must be declared on your application form. The fact that courses you completed at one institution may be included on a transcript from another institution is not sufficient. Transcripts must be mailed directly from the institution where the work was completed.

Because of possible limitations in the number of faculty and available facilities, there are restrictions on the number of students admitted to some graduate programs and these limits may prevent some qualified students from being admitted. Since departments having enrollment limitations generally take action on new applicants in March for Fall admission, early application is recommended. Preference usually is given to degree seeking applicants.

An admission to the Graduate School remains valid only if students enroll and complete at least one class as a graduate student within one calendar year of their admission date.

Admission Application Fee

All applicants to the Wichita State University Graduate School who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents must pay an application fee of $35. All international applicants requiring the issuance of the I-20 immigration document must pay an application fee of $50.The application fee is assessed each time an application is submitted.

 Admission Deadlines

The following are deadlines for submission of complete application materials for all applicants seeking on-time registration except those applying for admission to programs in Chemistry, Communicative Disorders and Sciences, Counseling, Educational Administration, Educational Psychology, Liberal Studies, Physical Therapy, Psychology, School Psychology, and Social Work.  Applicants to the program areas identified above should refer to departmental information in the Graduate Bulletin for admission deadlines. 

Applicants who submit applications after these dates, if accepted, should be prepared to register during late registration and to pay a late registration fee.  

Admission Preparation

Applicants with bachelor’s degrees in programs in which credit was awarded for experiences which were outside the control of a regionally accredited educational institution, e.g., credit for life experience, may be viewed by some programs as inadequately prepared to undertake graduate study. In such instances, admission to the Graduate School may be denied or approved with prerequisite course work assigned to fill the deficiencies.  

Although an entrance exam is not a requirement for admission to Graduate School, certain program areas require either the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Miller Analogy Test (MAT). Applicants should refer to the program summary page inside the front cover of this bulletin to determine if a specific program requires an entrance exam. 

Applicants for admission must provide required application materials. according to their admission status, either degree or non-degree.

 Degree Admission   - Master and Specialist

Applicants for full standing degree admission to the Specialist and Masters programs must meet the following requirements:

• The applicant must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or a recognized institution in another country whose requirements for the bachelor’s degree are substantially equivalent to an American four-year bachelor’s degree.  The basis on which credits are awarded for the bachelor’s degree must be consistent with the policies and procedures for the award of such credit at Wichita State.
  

• Specific grade point average (GPA), entrance exam requirements and prerequisite coursework for degree seeking students at the masters or specialist level:
  

• A grade point average of at least 2.750 based upon the last 60 hours of course work (or nearest semester or term break to this); including any post-bachelor’s graduate work, and no more than nine hours of background deficiencies in the desired field of graduate study.

Degree Admission - Doctoral

Applicants for full standing degree admission to the doctoral programs must meet the following requirements: 

• The applicant must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or a recognized institution in another country whose requirements for the bachelor’s degree are substantially equivalent to an American four-year bachelor’s degree.  The basis on which credits are awarded for the bachelor’s degree must be consistent with the policies and procedures for the award of such credit at Wichita State.
  

• A grade point average of at least 3.000 in the last 60 hours or nearest two years when the bachelor’s degree is the admissions credential. Applicants with a master’s degree or with completed graduate course work must have at least a 3.250 grade point average, and no more than nine hours of background deficiencies in the desired field of graduate study.
  

• Acceptable scores on the General Aptitude Test of the Graduate Record Examination (within the last five years).  

  Non-Degree Admission

Persons who already possess a graduate degree, who do not want to seek a graduate degree at Wichita State University at this time, or who wish to take graduate courses for professional advancement or personal satisfaction, should apply for non-degree admission. Students originally admitted to a non-degree category may later request the department to consider a transfer to degree status, or reapply for admission if the degree program is in a different department. A maximum of 12 hours of graduate credit taken while in a non-degree category may be counted toward a degree program, provided students have obtained the approval of their major departments and the graduate dean. There is no application fee for non-degree admission.

Non-Degree, Category A

Admission to this category provides students the opportunity to take any level of graduate coursework for which they have the prerequisites. Students in this category are not restricted and may take courses at the 800-level or above. Non-degree applicants seeking graduate certificates must be admitted under this category. Upon satisfactory completion of a course, credit is placed on a Wichita State University graduate transcript. However, only credit earned in courses numbered 500 and above is counted as graduate credit work. Students applying for admission in this category must meet the following requirements: 

•   A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and a grade point average of at least 2.750 based upon the last 60 hours of course work (or nearest semester or term break to this), including any post-bachelor’s graduate work. Some programs require higher grade point averages and other admission credentials.

Non-Degree, Category B

•  A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Graduate Certificate Admission

Graduate certificates are awarded to students who desire interdisciplinary course work to complement their graduate degree program or to students who, for academic, personal, or professional reasons, desire graduate-level education not leading to a graduate degree.

Students seeking graduate certificates must be admitted to the Graduate School in a degree program or in non-degree, category A status.  All Graduate School policies relative to the admission criteria mentioned above will apply.

Graduate Guest Admission

If enrollment is desired beyond one semester, the student must obtain regular admission.

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