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Admissions
In this chapter, we describe our requirements for admission, including:

General Information
If you have a bachelor's degree from a college or university accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting association, we invite you to apply for admission to NAU's Graduate College.

We will evaluate your application on the individual merits of your academic achievement and your potential to complete graduate-level coursework and curriculum requirements. You can be admitted only after your record is reviewed by the Graduate College and the department in which you wish to study.

We expect you will have adequate undergraduate preparation for your intended major area. Depending on the program, as little as a minor (18 hours) or as much as a major may be required to prepare for your graduate study. At the discretion of your departmental adviser, you may also be required to have as a prerequisite to graduate study any undergraduate course that is normally required of undergraduate majors in the field.

Applying for Admission
To apply, you must complete the application forms furnished by NAU's Graduate College and pay a $35 nonrefundable application fee ($10 for nondegree and certification status). In addition, you must request that official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate coursework be sent directly to the Graduate College. (You need not request transcripts for coursework completed at NAU.) Transcripts are not required if you are a nondegree student.

All of these materials must be submitted to the Graduate College, PO Box 4125, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4125 (520-523-4348).

You should also contact the department in which you wish to study for departmental application materials and requirements.

Application Deadlines
You should submit your application at least six weeks before the semester or summer session in which you wish to enroll. However, most programs establish earlier application deadlines, so you should check with your department about its specific deadlines.

In addition, if you are applying for a graduate assistantship, you must be admitted to graduate study before an assistantship can be awarded. Consequently, we advise you to submit your application early--before March 15 for fall admission or October 15 for spring admission. (Be aware that some programs do not accept applications for spring admission.)

The Graduate College sends copies of your application, transcripts, and test scores (if submitted) to the academic program for which you are applying. The faculty of this academic program reviews these materials and decides whether or not to admit you. Their decision is then reviewed by the Graduate College.

Some programs review applications as they are received. In this case, you can expect a decision about six to eight weeks after submitting your application (assuming there are no extraordinary delays in receiving transcripts). Other programs review all applications received by their stated deadline at one time. In this case, you will probably be notified of the decision approximately one month after the application deadline.

Types of Graduate Admission
We admit students to NAU's Graduate College in one of three categories:

We cannot grant graduate credit for any work you earn before being admitted in one of these categories.

Regular Status
We assign this status when you have met all admission requirements of the Graduate College and of your intended program.

Provisional Status
We assign this status if you are not qualified for regular status--for instance, if you lack prerequisites for the program you have selected, if you haven't yet taken a required entrance exam, or if you have some other deficiency in admission requirements. Normally, you can apply no more than 12 hours of graduate credit earned while in provisional status toward a graduate degree.

To change from provisional status to regular status, you must complete all admission requirements and remove all deficiencies noted. Your adviser or academic department should request a change in admission status when you have completed the provisions of your admission.

Nondegree Status
We assign this status if you are qualified for admission to the Graduate College but have indicated no intention of pursuing a degree program.

We also sometimes assign this status if you wish to register for courses before your application has been evaluated. Normally you can only apply 12 credit hours of appropriate coursework taken in nondegree status to a graduate program.

Readmission
If you have previously been admitted to NAU's Graduate College but have not been enrolled for two or more of the previous semesters, you must apply for readmission. However, if you enroll for summer session, you don't need to apply for readmission if you attended summer session the previous year.

Admission for a
Second Graduate Degree
If you have completed a graduate degree at NAU and wish to begin a new graduate program, you must reapply to the Graduate College for admission. You must reapply whether you wish to work toward a second master's degree or toward a doctoral degree.

You may not pursue two graduate degrees concurrently without permission from the Graduate College.

Change of Program
If you decide to change your graduate major, you must complete a Request for Change of Graduate Program form and submit it to the Graduate College. We then send your application to the new department for review. If they approve the change, we will notify you in writing.

International Students
If you are not a U.S. citizen, you must submit the following application materials:

If you plan to begin your studies at NAU in the fall semester, you should submit all application materials and test scores by April 1; if you plan to enter in spring semester, submit everything by October 15. However, if the program to which you apply has earlier deadlines, you must meet those deadlines instead. See the appropriate area in the Academic Programs chapter of the catalog for more information about departmental deadlines.

Language Requirements
If you are from a non-English speaking country, you must present a TOEFL score before being considered for admission. We require a score of 550 for admission to the Graduate College, and some departments require a higher minimum score.

If you are from a non-English speaking country and have received a bachelor's degree from an American university and have demonstrated proficiency in the English language, you need not submit a TOEFL score. (However, if you are a nonnative English speaker applying to the master's in teaching English as a second language or the doctoral program in applied linguistics, you must submit TOEFL scores.)

You can obtain additional information about TOEFL by writing to the Test of English as a Foreign Language, Box 899, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08540.

Program in Intensive English
We established the Program in Intensive English (PIE) to meet the academic needs of our international students by providing you with academic English preparation and support. Our program specializes in teaching the skills that are essential to your successful performance at the university level.

If you score between 425 and 549 on the TOEFL (between 425 and 569 for some graduate programs), you may be provisionally admitted to NAU and admitted to PIE for intensive English language training. While enrolled in PIE, you are entitled to all university privileges.

The minimum period of enrollment in PIE is one semester. However, gaining proficiency in English may require as long as two semesters and may delay entry into your degree program. You must plan your course of study and financial support accordingly.

You can obtain more information by writing to Program in Intensive English, PO Box 6032, Flagstaff AZ 86011-6032 (520-523-6284).

Faculty Pursuing
Advanced Degrees
NAU policy does not permit higher administrative officers and faculty with the rank of assistant professor or higher to obtain advanced degrees at NAU.

If you are an incoming instructor or lecturer planning to work toward an advanced degree, you can do so only if you declare your intent within one year of beginning your initial appointments at NAU and if you actually begin graduate work within this one-year period.

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Please note that this electronic version of the 1996-1998 Graduate Catalog is a reproduction of the official printed catalog and is not updated more frequently than the printed catalog. If you have questions or comments about these pages, please e-mail Graduate Admissions and Academic Services.