Graduate Application Checklist

MA/MS in Individualized Studies

College of Individualized Studies

Please be sure the following are included in your application:

 Completed the online graduate program application

 $20 Non-refundable application fee, paid online (This fee of $20 is waived for graduates

of Metropolitan State, certified veterans and active military}

 Official transcripts

o Must show a bachelor degree or equivalent earned from a regionally accredited

institution with grade-point average or narrative description describing courses

completed.

o Transcripts from ALL schools attended after high school and from any graduate

or professional programs are required.

o All transcripts from non-U.S. schools must be evaluated (course-by-course) by

either ECE (preferred) or WES.

o Electronic transcripts should be sent to graduate.studies@metrostate.edu.

o Paper transcripts should be sent directly from the sending institution (preferred)

to:

Metropolitan State University

Attn: Graduate Admissions

700 East Seventh Street

Saint Paul MN 55106

 Two professional letters of recommendation: submit reference contact information

using the online application.

o The most effective letters may be from professors familiar with your work in

upper-division courses, and able to comment on your preparation for advanced

study. Personal references will not be considered. Applicants should remind

their references of the application deadline when speaking with them.

o Once submitted, references will receive a "no reply" email from Minnesota State

with a link to the recommendation form.

o References should check junk mail if the email is not in their inbox. The link is

good for 60 days, however, the application deadline may be sooner.

 Admissions essay.

o Your admission essay will serve as both a goals statement and a writing

assessment. The admissions essay is extremely important to the application

review process. Submit your essay in 900-1000 words, using 12-point font,

double-spaced, clearly written, well-organized, with correct grammar, accurate

spelling and punctuation, good sentence structure, and clear sub-headings.

Make sure that you carefully address each of the following:

 Pledge of Authorship: Please begin your admissions essay with the

following statement: (Your essay will not be accepted if this is not

included.) I, (complete

name)____________________________________, verify that this

admissions essay is my own work, and I am fully aware that discovery

otherwise will invalidate my entire application.

 Why you are interested in graduate individualized study (focus either on

the MA or the MS option)?

 How do you feel your previous experiences, academic or otherwise, have

prepared you for this program?

 What subjects and what disciplines are you interested in, and why?

 What skills and knowledge do you expect to gain through this program?

 International Students

o Must include an official WES or ECE Transcript

Evaluation if undergraduate degree was given outside the United States (see also

International Student Applicants Guidelines); and official TOEFL scores must be

submitted; student copies are not acceptable. Metropolitan State University’s

school code for TOEFL is 6445.