Doctoral Admission
Each applicant for the doctoral degree must:
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Possess a baccalaureate degree and/or master's degree, depending on the program, from a regionally accredited college or university,
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Submit three letters of recommendation confirming that the applicant has the ability to do doctoral work in the proposed discipline(s),
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Have a minimum level of achievement combining GPA and GRE performance.
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Submit GRE scores electronically through Educational Testing Service (ETS) so that testing date is less than five years from the date the application is submitted. UNC's institutional code is 4074.
Doctoral applicants meet the Graduate School minimum criteria for admission if they have:
- GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on their master's degree or in the most recently completed 60 semester hours of their bachelor's degree.
- GRE scores of at least 146 on the verbal, and 140 on the quantitative with a combined score of at least 297 and an analytical writing score of at least 3.5.
Doctoral degree applicants must take the following steps to be considered for admissions:
- Complete the online applications and pay the non-refundable application fee.
- All official transcripts, submitted as part of the application process, are retained by UNC and not returned to applicants or admitted students. Request one official transcript from every accredited college or university attended or from which you earned credit, except UNC. While it is not necessary to request a transcript from UNC, it is required to be listed as a prior college on the application. Official transcripts from each college are required, even if courses taken at one institutions are listed on another schools transcript. This includes concurrent enrollment courses taken while in high school through an accredited college and exclude study abroad transcripts. All official transcripts are sent via mail in an unopened sealed envelope or through an electronically secure digital program directly from the issuing institution. Mailed transcripts are send to UNC Graduate School & International Admissions, 501 20th Street, Campus Box 135, Greeley, CO 80639. Electronic transcripts should be sent to grad.applicationmaterials@unco.edu. The Graduate School and International Admissions does not accept email , scanned or PDF transcripts directly from the student. UNC retains submitted transcripts, from institutions other than UNC, for admitted students for up to five years after graduation or date of last attendance at UNC. Transcripts provided by applicants who were not admitted, denied admissions or did not complete their application are destroyed after one (1) year. The Graduate School will make every attempt to use previously-submitted transcripts if they are within these time frames. However, if the Graduate School cannot locate previously submitted transcripts, the transcripts fall outside the time frames listed above, or they are considered illegible, applicants must provide new transcripts.
- Your program may require other items such as letters of recommendations, or GRE scores; please http://www.unco.edu/graduate-school/degrees-and-programs/ check for specific program requirements.
The doctoral programs at UNC do not utilize quantitative rating systems and standard criteria weightings as sole determining factors for decisions concerning the acceptance of doctoral applicants. Quantitative information such as GPA or GRE scores is considered in combination with qualitative information derived from letters of recommendation, applicant goal statements, as well as past academic and professional accomplishments. Because of the specialized nature of doctoral work, it is incumbent on the faculty to utilize their professional judgment in determining to what extent a student is qualified for entry into a particular program. The information requested by each school or department upon which their decision is to be based, gives the faculty the opportunity to thoroughly and carefully evaluate the strengths and potential of each applicant.