Admission Review Process

Each application is reviewed by a committee of faculty members from the Department of Teacher Education with representation from all program emphasis areas. The review committee considers the following factors in assessing applicants:

• Strength of academic and professional education record.
• Potential for educational, professional, or civic leadership.
• Fluency in oral and written expression.
• Compatibility of applicant’s stated professional goals with the objectives of the department’s programs.
• Conformity with university and college admission requirements.

There are no fixed deadlines for applications. Completed applications are grouped for review by the committee at regular intervals during the year, with reviews occurring as needed -- typically once a month. Only a limited number of the highest ranking applicants can be admitted in a given year. The committee may recommend acceptance or denial of admission to the program, or it may recommend holding an application and requesting more information. If the decision is to admit the applicant, the program coordinator assigns a temporary faculty advisor. Applicants are notified of the department’s decision by mail and e-mail as soon as possible after the review.

Although applications for admission can be reviewed at any time during the year, it is in the best interest of students to complete their applications as early as possible in the academic year for the following reasons:

(1) Anyone who wishes to qualify for one of the competitive fellowship awards -- MSU Distinguished Fellowship, Dean’s Scholar Award, Minority Competitive Fellowship, etc. -- must have a complete application on file with the university and the program no later than January 5.

(2) Assistantships and departmental fellowship money may not be available for late applicants.

(3) It takes about one month to process a student after admission, so late applicants may run into trouble trying to enroll in courses and to obtain graduate assistantships at the start of the semester.