Apply for Admission to Doctoral Program
Apply for Admission to Doctoral Program
Doctoral students are accepted for Fall admission. The following are the deadlines:
- January 28th – those students who want to be considered for funding. Please submit the assistantship application no later than January 15th.
- April 15th – deadline for international students. This deadline is due to the time-frame needed for Global Programs to process the International Visa Documentation. The process cannot begin until you have accepted your offer of admission/paid your acceptance fees. Therefore, international students must apply by the April 15th deadline for processing purposes.
- June 30th – This deadline is for students who do not wish to be considered for funding.
Applicants must have successfully completed a master's degree from an accredited institution, having earned at least a 3.0 grade point average. All students are expected to exhibit:
- Academic competency,
- Effectiveness in interpersonal relations,
- Written, and oral communications.
Prerequisites
Students should be able to document a minimum of two years full-time employment in the workplace. Relevant examples include the following:
- career and technical education
- vocational guidance
- industrial training
- military technical training
- safety education or technical education
- or related experience acceptable to the faculty
Step 1: Graduate School Application
Complete the online Penn State Graduate School application form at http://gradsch.psu.edu/portal. Make sure you pay the application fee as outlined on the Graduate School application form. You can check the status of your Graduate School application materials by visiting the Graduate Application Status Inquiry page.
When completing the online Graduate School application, you will be asked to upload the following documents:
- Resume or curriculum vitae
- Letter of introduction with a career statement and personal history, including motivation and goals, and which emphasis you are interested in pursuing
- Letters of recommendation from two people who are best qualified to evaluate your ability to succeed in graduate study. The Graduate School application will ask you to submit the names of references along with their email addresses. Your reference will receive an email directing them to the site to upload a reference letter. You will be notified via email when they have submitted their letter, however you will not be able to view the letter.
Step 2: Workforce Education Development Program Materials
Prepare an application packet consisting of the following documents and mail this application packet to: Workforce Education and Development Graduate Program, The Pennsylvania State University, 314 Keller Bldg., University Park, PA 16802.
- Two sets of OFFICIAL transcripts must be submitted from each educational institution attended in a sealed envelope from the Registrar's office and sent to the Workforce Education and Development (Ph D Program Office). International applicants whose transcripts are not in English must submit both the originals as well as certified translated transcripts along with an official copy of the bachelor's degree and graduation certificate. Contact Penn State's Office of Graduate Enrollment Services to determine if your degree is equivalent to a U.S. four-year baccalaureate degree before submitting an application.
- International applicants must take and submit scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System),with the exceptions noted below. The minimum acceptable score for the TOEFL is 550 for the paper-based test, 213 for the computer-based test, or a total score of 80 with a 19 on the speaking section for the internet-based test. Applicants with iBT speaking scores between 15 and 18 may be considered for provisional admission, which requires an institutional test of English proficiency upon first enrollment and, if necessary, remedial course work. The minimum composite score for the IELTS is 6.5. Submit official scores using Penn State's Institution Code: 2660. To find out more about the TOEFL Exam visit the TOEFL web site. International applicants are exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement who have received a baccalaureate or a master's degree from a college/university/institution in any of the following: Australia, Belize, British Caribbean and British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), England, Guyana, Republic of Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the United States, and Wales.
