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To be considered for teaching and research assistantships and for a variety of possible university or college fellowships, it is very important for applicants to submit application material on time. All application materials should be submitted by December 1st for the following academic year.
The complete application package (described below) should be mailed to:
Margaret Iding
Graduate Secretary
116 North Kedzie Lab
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1031
Change of Status Forms
Those who have already been admitted to a graduate degree program at Michigan State University at some point and now wish to apply to this program are not required to submit the University application form or to pay an additional application fee. Instead of a University Application, such students have to complete a “Change of Status Form” which can be obtained from the Graduate Secretary at idingm@msu.edu. Completed forms should be sent to the Graduate Secretary at the North Kedzie Lab address above. If you were enrolled in an MSU degree program at some point but if you have not been enrolled in the past year, you also need to fill out an Application for Readmission form, which is available from the Registrar’s Office: http://www.reg.msu.edu/StuForms/ReAdmission/ReAdmission.asp
Then complete items 2-8 below.
All others:
1. University Application
Go to the website: http://grad.msu.edu/apply.htm
Follow the appropriate link (domestic applicant or international applicant) that will take you to an interactive form that will allow you to send information directly to MSU over the internet. When a completed application has been received by the university, it will automatically be sent to the Division of Science and Mathematics Education. The application fee (payable in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank) is $50 for domestic and international students. Note that international students also need to complete a Financial Proof Form and Proof of English Proficiency: http://www.grad.msu.edu/prospect/gradappintl.pdf
2. Letters of Recommendation
Request three letters of recommendation from professors or others who can assess your promise of success in our mathematics education graduate program. At least one letter should be from one of your teachers in the highest degree you have earned to date. You can print out the form for letters of recommendation from http://grad.msu.edu/prospect/gradapprec.pdf.
The document name is Recommendation for Admission form. Letters should be sent to the Graduate Secretary at the address above.
3. Writing Sample
Applicants should submit one or more examples of academic or professional writing, e.g., something you have published, a master’s thesis, or a paper you might have submitted to fulfill graduate course requirements. The sample must be authored exclusively by the applicant. The purpose is to demonstrate your ability to write analytical English prose in order to give the review committee a clear idea of how well you will be able to carry out the kind of analytical writing that is such a central component of advanced graduate study. It would be most useful if this paper were at least 10 pages long (double-spaced). An applicant may submit several such papers to the Graduate Secretary. Please identify the course for which this paper was written, or the original purpose for this paper.
4. Statement of Professional Goals
From an autobiographical perspective, applicants should discuss their reasons for pursuing a doctoral degree. In your statement, please include responses to the following questions:
What question or area of interest related to mathematics education are you interested in exploring?
How have your experiences and intellectual growth shaped questions that an advanced graduate program might help you to explore?
What sorts of academic and professional leadership roles would the program and degree help you to assume after graduation?
Why are you interested in the mathematics education Ph.D. program at Michigan State University?
This statement is a very important part of the file for the review committee. Candidates should present a thoughtful and extended verbal portrait (2-3 pages long, single-spaced) of their reasons for pursuing advanced graduate study, and the match between their goals and professional interest that they wish to explore during their graduate career. The statement should be sent to the Graduate Secretary.
5. Current Curriculum Vitae or Resumé
Applicants are required to submit a current curriculum vita or resumé, listing educational background, GPA, and teaching experience. Send to the Graduate Secretary at the address above.
6. Transcripts
Send official transcripts from all universities attended, except Michigan State University, to the Graduate Secretary at the address above. Do not send copies to the graduate school or to Admissions.
7. GRE Scores
The three standard sections of the GRE: verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing are required
for admission. If you have not taken the GRE yet, please select Michigan State University as a
recipient of your scores. It would also help if, once you receive your scores, you were to send an
unofficial copy of the results to the Graduate Secretary along with your application materials, since
official results often take a long time to arrive.
GRE scores are valid for 5 years. Applicants who have taken the test within the past 5 years should
have test results sent to the Graduate Secretary named above. GRE Official Website: www.gre.org
8. TOEFL Scores (International Students Only)
Applicants for whom English is not their primary language are required to submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores, and the test must be taken within two years of the application. TOEFL began offering a new version that started in September 2005, which includes a speaking test and is scored on a different scale than the previous TOEFL. Although we prefer the new version of the exam, we will accept old exam scores for 2006-07 applications. Under the former, paper-based exam version, MSU requires a minimum score of 550, with no subscore below 52. For the computer-based version of the TOEFL exam, the minimum MSU requirement is an average of 213, with no subscore below 19.
With the internet-based version of the TOEFL, the minimum MSU requirement is an average score of 80, with no subscore below 19 for reading, listening, and speaking, and no writing subscore below 22.
Note: If the student has completed a degree program in an English speaking country, he or she can request a waiver of the TOEFL requirement. Once the program admissions committee is convinced of the student’s English language skills based on past program completion and other evidence, it will ask the University to waive the requirement. This waiver is usually granted, but the university may require the student to take the English proficiency test upon arrival at MSU.
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