Application Dates/Obtaining an Application
Domestic applications must reach Storrs by January 1.
Foreign applications must reach Storrs by December 20.
The Medieval Studies Program’s Admissions Committee makes final decisions about whom to admit, but the Graduate School’s Admission’s Office handles initial processing of applications and gives final approval of admissions.
Online Applications
You can apply to the University of Connecticut online here. All application materials may now be submitted via the Graduate School online system.
Questions about the application process may be answered by contacting the Graduate School (860-486-3617), or by contacting the Medieval Studies Program Assistant (uconn.medieval.studies@gmail.com; 860-486-1522).
Criteria for Selection
Applicants are usually judged by the following criteria (which are not listed in order of importance):
1. Letters of Recommendation: Three letters of recommendation should accompany each application. Students should request letters from professors who know them well, preferably from class work in their last two years of college. The letters of recommendation are submitted online through the application system on the Graduate School website.
2. Personal Statement: This letter gives the Program’s Admissions Committee some idea about the applicant’s writing style, range and depth of ideas, quality of mind, and motivation to embark on an advanced degree program in Medieval Studies. Try to convey the same information in this letter than you would in a personal interview, those things about you that cannot be expressed quantitatively. Details about your preparation, your strengths and weaknesses as a student, any academic honors, and the reasons you selected the field will all be helpful. This letter should be two pages long; it should not be longer. Be certain to put your name and social security number on the statement.
3. Writing Sample: A writing sample is required with a Ph.D. application. A writing sample is recommended at the M.A. level. Usually, the writing sample consists of a term paper written for a course in an area relevant to the applicant’s intended area of specialization. The writing sample should be an edited and polished piece of prose that demonstrates your writing ability. (Please do not send the original, graded term paper.) The paper should have a title; your name should be on every page.
4. GPA: Though there is no official cut-off GPA for applicants to the program, a GPA of 3.5 is the rough minimum standard under normal conditions. The committee will, of course, evaluate transcripts and will take unusual circumstances or patterns into account.
5. Graduate Record Exam (GRE) Scores: Because there is no Subject Exam in Medieval Studies, only the GRE Generalist Exam is required. If, however, a candidate has taken a Subject Exam in a relevant field of study, that exam score should be included in the application packet. The committee will look at the verbal and analytic scores/writing test assessment in particular–i.e., the quantitative score is less important for our purposes.
For more information on taking the GRE, you may contact the Educational Testing Service directly:
Graduate Record Examinations
Educational Testing Service
PO Box 6000
Princeton, NJ 08541-6000
Telephone: 609-771-7670 or 1-800-GRE-CALL
In addition, the University requires the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) of all students whose native language is not English.
Miscellaneous
All B.A. degree holders are first admitted into the M.A. program and may apply later to the Ph.D. program on the basis of their academic performance here. There is no guarantee that someone admitted to the M.A. program will later be admitted into the Ph.D. program.
M.A. candidates may attend the University on a part-time basis. All Ph.D. students must complete one year of full-time residence, and are expected to do so when they enter the Ph.D. program.
Financial support for students in the Program comes in the form of Graduate Assistantships, predoctoral fellowships, summer fellowships, and the Fred A. Cazel, Jr. fellowship.
More information may be found the pages about the degrees in M.A., Ph.D., Funding, and Policies.
Application Materials
All application materials must be submitted online (via the Graduate School system) to Graduate Admissions by no later than the above listed application deadlines. Once materials have been submitted online, application information will be accessible for consideration by the Medieval Studies Admissions Committee.
After you have submitted your application materials, please feel free to contact the Medieval Studies Program Assistant after January 15th at uconn.medieval.studies@gmail.com to inquire whether the office has received all of your materials.