CMCL Graduate Application Information

How competitive is admission to your program?

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Admission to the Graduate programs in CMCL is quite competitive. We typically admit approximately 11-12% of our applicants. To increase your chances of being chosen, please be sure to submit all materials by your deadline. We WILL NOT review late items. This includes letters of recommendation, so please give your recommenders plenty of notice.

Application Deadlines

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December 1, 2011 for international applications
January 2, 2012 for domestic applications

Please note that all non-U.S. citizens are considered international applicants. Only international students currently studying at, or holding degrees issued by, Indiana University, or those holding Permanent Resident status, are exempt from this rule.

Please also note that your recommenders will not be given access to upload your Letters of Recommendation (LoRs) until your pay the fee and submit your application. If you wait until the last minute, your recommenders may not have time to submit your LoRs. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY!

What are your GRE or TOEFL codes?

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By putting the correct code on your standardized test, you may ensure that your scores make it directly to your application file. Departmental and University codes are:

GRE Departmental Code - 4599

GRE Indiana University Code - 1324

TOEFL Code - 1324

What kind of financial aid does CMCL provide, and how do I apply for it?

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The Department of Communication and Culture offers Associate Instructor appointments to all admitted students. This support provides a tuition remission, health insurance, and a living stipend ($13,544 for the 2011/2012 academic year). Two years of support is awarded to M.A. students; four years for Ph.D. students. There is no separate application for this financial support.

What are CMCL expectations for GRE scores?

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On the older (pre fall 2011) exam, we expect a score of at least 600 in either the Quantitative or Verbal sections of the GRE and a 5.0 on the Analytical Writing assessment. Furthermore, we expect a minimum total score of 1150 (Quantitative and Verbal scores added together). Higher verbal scores are more important to us.

For the new iteration of the GRE, minimum scores will be determined after ETS makes the score concordance tables available in early November, 2011. The Analytical Writing score expectation will remain the same.

Please note: We do not require, nor will we review the new Personal Potential Index (PPI). ETS will send results for this to four schools without charge; please don't waste one of your four free notifications on CMCL.

Letters of Recommendation - how many do I need?

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In most cases we prefer three letters of recommendation. Generally, these are from faculty with whom you have worked, or from whom you have taken a class. However, we often have letters from employers, volunteer supervisors, etc.

Whoever you think will be best able to speak to your ability to do well in our academic program is who you should ask for a recommendation. Please do not solicit many more than three letters. Extras may not be read.

Please remember that here, as with your personal statement/statement of purpose, generic is not good. Please ask recommenders to speak specifically about your qualities.

Finally, please remind recommenders that their letters must be submitted electronically, or arrive in hardcopy, before the deadline that applies to your application (international or domestic). Letters that arrive after the deadline WILL NOT be accepted and WILL NOT be included in your application dossier.

PLEASE NOTE: The application system will not give your recommenders access to upload your Letters of Recommendation until AFTER you have paid the fee and submitted your application. If you wait until the last minute to submit your application, your recommenders will not have time to upload your letters. Please plan accordingly!

What goes in the personal statement?

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In your personal statement, you should indicate your reason for pursuing a graduate degree and describe your professional/academic goals. Explain why you want to study in CMCL at IU. Don't be generic. We want to see that you are familiar with our program and the work of our faculty. Help us understand why you believe you belong here. This is your opportunity to set yourself apart from the crowd. Don't waste it!

Please limit your statement to 700 words.

Please Note: Please combine your Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose, your resume/CV, and your Writing Sample into a SINGLE document and upload this SINGLE document from the Personal Statement area of the application. It is fine if you just cut and paste these three elements to create a SINGLE document for upload.

I'd Like to Visit CMCL before Applying. What Should I Do?

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We are happy to schedule pre-application visits to Bloomington, preferably on Fridays.

If you are planning a visit to Bloomington, please contact us at least two weeks before your arrival. We will send you a brief questionnaire about your educational background, your goals, and your interests. With this information, we will try to arrange a fruitful visit.

If you absolutely cannot come on a Friday, let us know in your initial query. We will try to accommodate visits on other days, but you are less likely to be able to see and do what you'd like.

What is the minimum TOEFL score required for admission?

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The Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences minimum required internet-based (preferred method) score is 79 or 80; the minimum paper score, 550.

Please note that the average internet-based TOEFL score for CMCL applicants is well over 105. Your competition for admission to CMCL will score considerably higher than the 80 required by the College.

What Kind of Writing Sample Is Required?

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We want to read your best scholarly work, such as your best paper in a humanities-oriented course in which you demonstrate a critical ability to engage with both wider literatures and substantive material (i.e., texts, media, ethnographic data). Examples might include a senior/masters thesis or chapters from a thesis, a particularly good class paper, or a convention paper. An article from a scholarly journal may also be a good choice. Please remember that your sample should not be more than 7000 words or 20 pages.

No matter how well written they are, we are not interested in course syllabi, newspaper articles, non-scholarly literature or film reviews, marketing studies, product advertising, or projects developed for media industry. Under no circumstances will a CD, DVD, or YouTube video be accepted in place of a scholarly writing sample.

Please Note: Please combine your Writing Sample, your Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose, and your resume/CV into a SINGLE document and upload this SINGLE document from the Personal Statement area of the application. It is fine if you just cut and paste these three elements to create a SINGLE document for upload

I have a Bachelor's degree. May I apply directly to the PhD program?

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To apply for our PhD program, you must hold, or be on track to hold, an MA or MS degree before you begin your PhD studies (MA or MS by August of 2012 to matriculate as a PhD student fall 2012). If you hold, or will hold only a BA or BS degree by August, you must apply for our MA program.

If, after being admitted to the MA program, you decide to seek a PhD, you will apply for that program in December of your second year of MA studies.

Is a Resume or CV required for application?

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One of the required elements of your application dossier is a resume or CV.

Please combine this, along with your Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose, and your Writing Sample into a SINGLE document. Cutting a pasting of all three into a single file is fine. Upload this SINGLE document from the Personal Statement area in the online application.

How many copies of my transcript/s shall I send?

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We will only need ONE official copy of your transcript. However, we will need one copy of each transcript from every institution you have attended post-highschool. If you took one course at a community college, or did a semester at an overseas institution as part of a study abroad program, we will need one transcript from each of these schools.

It is not enough that your degree granting institution lists these as transfer credits: we need one original, official transcript from each institution.

If you did earn credits ant an institution outside the US, please download, print, complete, and mail a copy of the Supplemental Application for Admissions to us at:

Graduate Secretary
800 East Third Street
Bloomington, IN 47405