Graduate 2020-2021

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Doctoral Admission

Each applicant for the doctoral degree must:

  • Possess a baccalaureate degree and/or master's degree, depending on the program, from a regionally accredited college or university,
  • Submit three letters of recommendation confirming that the applicant has the ability to do doctoral work in the proposed discipline(s),
  • Have a minimum level of achievement combining GPA and GRE performance.
  • 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:

  1. Have a grade point average of 3.00 or better, on a 4.00 point scale, from the most recent degree earned or current degree in progress. If a master’s degree is in progress, a minimum of 18 credit hours must be completed for the GPA of the master’s degree to be used, otherwise the GPA from the bachelor’s degree will be used. Applicants admitted based on the requirement to complete a degree in progress must still provide an official transcript within the first semester of enrollment at UNC showing their degree conferred and a GPA of at least 3.0. If the transcript showing degree conferred reports a cumulative GPA less than 3.0, requirements defined by the program will be added to the student’s admission, just as they are for any admit with a GPA below 3.0.
  2. 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:

  1. Complete the online applications and pay the non-refundable application fee.
  2. Request one official transcript from any accredited college or university where a bachelor’s degree or higher was earned or is in progress (if you have earned multiple degrees, bachelor’s level or higher, an official transcript is required from each college or university where a degree was conferred). If you received a degree from UNC, you do not need to request a transcript from UNC. The Graduate School & International Admissions Office reserves the right to request that applicants provide official transcripts from other colleges or universities as needed. Applicants who have earned or are directly pursuing a higher degree from an accredited institution without receiving a bachelor’s degree (i.e. PharmD) may be eligible to apply to the Graduate School without the conferral of a bachelor’s degree. If an applicant intends to use Veteran’s Education Benefits, an official transcript from all colleges or universities attended will be required in order to maintain compliance with Veteran’s Affairs policies.

    Official transcripts from U.S. institutions should be sent via mail directly from the educational institution in an unopened, sealed envelope or through an electronically secure digital program from the issuing institution.

    Mailed transcripts should be sent to:
    Graduate School and International Admissions
    University of Northern Colorado
    Campus Box 135
    501 20th Street
    Greeley, CO 80639

    Electronic transcripts from U.S. institutions should be sent directly from the educational institution to: grad.applicationmaterials@unco.edu.

    The Graduate School and International Admissions does not accept email, scanned, or PDF transcripts directly from applicants. All official transcripts, submitted as part of the application process, are retained by UNC and not returned to applicants or admitted students.
  3. 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.