Pregraduate Advising Office Pregraduate Advising Office Arts & Sciences and Trinity College Duek University

Application Components

Many applications for graduate programs are accomplished on-line. You can register at the institutions to view or print the application forms. Components of an application to a graduate program in the arts and sciences include:

Personal statement. Describing academic interests and independent scholarly work, the personal statement serves as an intellectual autobiography. The applicant is expected to address his or her specific intellectual interest within a field, to describe how that interest developed and how it has been sustained with a description of any research or special study already accomplished. The applicant's career goals need to be included in this statement which must be well written. Because it will be read and evaluated by faculty within a discipline, it must be focused in that area. All specific questions and issues stated in the application materials must also be addressed. The personal statement is not an appropriate place to list extracurricular activities unrelated to the applicant’s intellectual pursuits. Graduate programs in the arts and sciences are generally less interested in such information although it is perfectly acceptable to give the statement some personality by including individual interests so long as they are not emphasized. A good idea is to ask a faculty mentor, one who has advised you about graduate school throughout the process, to read and comment on the statement.

Official transcripts. Transcripts present a complete academic record of enrollments and performance. ACES has a link to facilitate your request to the registrar's office to mail your Duke transcript to admissions offices. There is no cost for this service because Duke students pay a one-time transcript fee at the time of matriculation. Most admissions processes require that you provide transcripts for all college course work, no matter where it was completed. Typically, official transcripts are required which means you must make the request to the institution’s registrar to send the document directly. Plan ahead since most university registrar offices do not respond to requests as quickly as the Duke Registrar which often sends transcripts within 24 hours of receiving a request.

Recommendations. Typically three letters of recommendation from faculty documenting and evaluating the candidate’s academic ability and research performance are required. Letters from faculty must be detailed and convincing, evaluating the applicant’s academic ability and promise for original scholarly work in the chosen field of study. These abilities are difficult, actually impossible, to judge from performance in large survey courses. Authors of recommendations are expected to know the applicant’s work and to provide an evaluation of it in comparison with other students, including their own graduate students. Typically written by professors of seminars, small lecture courses, and independent research experiences (whether or not for academic credit), the letters might describe specific term papers, class debates, and/or research results. It should be obvious from the above that applicants to graduate school should make it a point to enroll in small classes in their major or related area and to maintain intellectual discourse with professors outside of class.

Graduate Record Examination scores.  GREs are discussed here.

Additional items. Writing samples may be required by graduate programs in the humanities and social sciences, but do not send such materials unless specifically requested.

Communicating with Prospective Graduate Programs and Faculty. It is perfectly acceptable to write to professors you are considering as graduate advisors. In some cases, this is the only way you will learn whether that individual is planning a location change that might make you alter your application plans. Emailing is acceptable if you are certain that the recipient uses email (not everyone does). Include information on your background and training so the professor can determine whether your interests are suited to his or her current research thrusts. Such a communication should include more intellectual ideas than a list of extracurricular activities. Your message will probably be added to your admissions file and will show that you are more than mildly interested in that department’s program.