Admission

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The online admissions application can be found on the Purdue University Web site. You will need to complete a Statement of Purpose, gather three (3) Letters of Reference, and order Transcripts from all degree-granting institutions that you have attended at or above the undergraduate level. The Purdue Graduate School accepts all bachelor's degrees recognized by the Bologna Process. Please note that at this time, Purdue does not accept other three (3) year bachelor's degrees, including those from India.

We recommend, though we do not require, that all degree-seeking applicants take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), especially for those students considering pursuing a PhD. For degree-seeking applicants with an undergraduate GPA below 3.0, beginning with admission for the Spring 2011 term, however, we now require degree-seeking applicants to take the GRE. We will not process your application for admission as a degree-seeking student until you have paid the application fee and we receive all required materials, including GRE scores if you have below a 3.0 undergraduate GPA beginning with admission for the Spring 2011 term. Note: As of 1 October 2009, post-baccalaureate non-degree seeking students do not have to pay an application fee. Degree-seeking students and non-degree seeking students applying before 1 October 2009 for Fall 2009 admission must still pay this fee.

Effective 1 July 2011 for degree-seeking students, the Purdue Graduate School now charges a $60 application fee for individuals residing in the U.S. (including permanent residents) and $75 for international applicants.  Indiana residents experiencing economic hardship may request a waiver of the application fee.  See the Purdue Graduate School for more information.

Please keep in mind the following important dates for admission to our program. International students who live abroad or who need to leave the country in order to obtain an I-20 visa have earlier deadlines.

If you have questions regarding the status of your application portfolio, please go to webcenter.applyyourself.com/ before contacting Graduate Admissions. Here, you will be able to see whether we have received your letters of reference and your academic transcripts. If we have not received these materials, please contact your references or the registrar at your previous institution directly.

When you arrange to have materials sent to us, please use the following address:

Susan Humphrey - Graduate Admissions
Office of Graduate Studies KT 258
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499

www.ipfw.edu/admissions | 260-481-6145 | graduate@ipfw.edu

Sending these materials elsewhere may result in delays processing your application.

The first step toward admission to the graduate program is creating your Statement of Purpose. This essay should reflect your goals for the graduate program. When writing your Statement of Purpose, consider some of the following questions:

• Why do you wish to do further study in communication?
• What are you most interested in studying during your Masters work?
• What do you want to do with a Masters Degree in Professional Communication?

The next step is to gather your References. Three references are preferred. One of these letters should be from a college instructor familiar with your academic work. For those who completed their degree in the distant past, letters of reference ought to assess habits which reflect your ability to do graduate work (i.e. oral and written communication, critical thinking, ability to complete projects, motivation, etc).

The final step is to order your Transcripts. If you attended any IU or Purdue campus including IPFW, you can do this through the Office of the Registrar, located in Kettler Hall 107. Otherwise, you must contact the Registrar at any other campus directly and arrange to have them send your transcripts to Graduate Admissions.

If accepted into the program, you will be admitted under one of two statuses:

• Unconditional: You are admitted to the program with no conditions. This is the status required for receiving an immediate teaching assistantship.
• Conditional: You are admitted to the program, but within your first semester or year you must fulfill certain conditions to remain a degree-seeking candidate. These conditions can include some combination of maintaining a minimum 3.0 GPA, completing a few undergraduate classes to gain a sufficient background in the discipline, and/or a minimum grade for one (1) or more courses taken either as a degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking candidate. Conditions must be met before you can become a graduate assistant.

Post-Baccalaureate Non-Degree Seeking

If you've already earned an undergraduate degree, you can apply to take up to twelve (12) credits as a non-degree seeking post-baccalaureate student. If you are a non-degree-seeking post-baccalaureate student, you are not admitted to the graduate program. You will not be eligible for financial aid, nor for assistantships. However, you can re-apply to the program as a degree-seeking candidate within the same semester. If you take classes as a degree-seeking student, you can apply up to twelve (12) credits taken as a non-degree-seeking student to your graduate degree.

Non-degree seeking students need only complete an application and submit an official copy of an undergraduate transcript showing that you have earned a bachelor's degree. To take classes as a post-baccalaureate, you do not need to submit a statement of purpose or letters of reference.

As of 1 October 2009 for Spring 2010 admission, post-baccalaureate non-degree seeking students need not pay an application fee. If you reapply as a degree-seeking student, however, you will need to pay this fee.

International Students

In addition to the admission requirements listed above, new international students must submit scores for either a paper-and-pencil or computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum scores required for admission are:

Paper and pencil TOEFL: 600 | Computer-based TOEFL: 250

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) school code for reporting TOEFL scores to IPFW is 1336.

International students are generally required to take (at least) 9 credit hours to fulfill their student visa requirements. If an international student has a teaching assistantship, that requirement is met with 6 credit hours.

The IPFW Graduate Program in Professional Communication will issue a conditional letter of admission for qualified international students, pending completion of a qualified ELS Level 112 English for Academic Purposes program.  Note that conditional admission does not make you eligible for financial aid.  You also must fulfill the conditions outlined in your acceptance letter in order to remain a degree-seeking candidate.

For more information on IPFW services for International Students, please check with the Office of International Services.

Transfer Students

Students wishing to transfer from another IPFW graduate program must apply for admission to the IPFW Communication Master of Arts Program.  However, if you are a graduate student in good standing with another IPFW graduate program, you may not need to go through the complete application process.

If you are enrolled in another Purdue Graduate Program at IPFW and you wish to enter into the Communication Master of Arts Program, you will need to complete a Purdue form GS-17 Request for Transfer to Another Department, available from the Purdue University website, in addition to supporting materials. Students must notify and get a signature from their current department before the Communication Graduate Program will review your application.

All applications for transfer into the IPFW Communication Graduate Program from an outside Graduate Program not affiliated with Purdue, including any IU affiliated graduate programs at IPFW, now require the following materials for review:

• GS-17 Request for Transfer to Another Department, or equivalent, completed by the student and signed by the Director of the previous Graduate Program
• The complete original application submitted to the prior graduate program
• A current transcript of graduate work conducted at IPFW (unofficial ok, but must be provided by you along with all other materials)
• An official transcript showing completion of all undergraduate degree requirements
• Three letters of reference to meet the minimum number required by the Purdue Graduate School for admission; you may reuse letters from your original application
• A statement of purpose explaining the switch from the previous graduate program to the Communication graduate program, and how the Communication graduate program will help you better achieve your goals

Please note that we only will review completed applications.  Applications with incomplete or missing materials, such as having fewer than three letters of reference, may delay review or result in denial of admission.

Transfer students still are subject to admissions requirements, including the Purdue Graduate School minimum GPA of 3.0, GRE scores where the undergraduate GPA is below 3.0, and any conditions required for full admission into the Program.

Once submitted, applications for transfer to the IPFW Communication Graduate Program will be reviewed by an Admissions committee, and then forwarded to the IPFW Graduate School for further processing.

Reapplying After Denial or for Readmission

If you wish to reapply to the program after we deny your original application for admission, we strongly urge you to speak with the Graduate Program Director first, who can further clarify the basis for that decision.  If we deny your application, we will reconsider an entirely new application after a year from when you originally submitted the application.  The new application must demonstrate what has changed since you first applied.  Typically, a revised statement of purpose, new letters of reference that can speak to academic credentials, and/or additional coursework in Communication can help build a more persuasive case for admission.

In certain circumstances, you may need to apply for readmission to the program and pay an additional application fee:

• If you are admitted to the program, but you postpone your admission date by three or more semesters, including summer.
• If the IPFW Registrar determines that you are an inactive student for registration purposes, such as failing to register and remain in a class for three or more semesters, including summer.

In certain circumstances, you may need to reapply for admission to the program, even if as a student you hold active status with IPFW for the purposes of registration.  If you receive a grade below a C-, you must sit out a regular semester, excluding summer. After sitting out a fall or spring semester, you then can reapply for the program.

If you are an active student for the purposes of registration, but you need to apply for readmission into the program, you must submit a 250-500 word Purpose Statement to the Graduate Program Director. You may submit the Statement via email. The Statement must explain why you want to re-enter program, and what steps you have taken or plan to take to successfully earn your degree. The Graduate Program Director may decide to approve or deny the application for readmission; or, the Graduate Program Director may convene an advisory committee before making a final decision.

Additional Purdue and IPFW requirements for re-entry also may apply.