Oklahoma State University - Stillwater

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GRADUATE COLLEGE	Search: gradcollege.okstate.edu

Admissions Home || Domestic & Permanent Residents || International

|| Admission Requirements || Application Deadline ||
|| Transcripts || Departmental Requirements|| Test Scores ||
|| Graduate Assistantships ||
|| English Proficiency || Spoken English for Employment || Campus Safety ||

Domestic & Permanent Residents

Admission Requirements

Admission to a graduate program at Oklahoma State University is a two step process: applying for admission review through the Graduate College and providing information required by the department or program.

To be reviewed for admission consideration, applicants must submit a complete application to the Graduate College consisting of the following:

an application for admission consideration. You can submit an application via our secure website.
a non-refundable application fee of $40 for the first on-line application (or $50 for a paper application), and $25 for each additional application submitted. Or if you are applying as a special (non-degree) student, the non-refundable application fee is $15.
one original transcript from each college or university attended (all transcripts must be official with the college's or registrar's original seal and should show any degrees completed).
A TOEFL or IELTS score (if required - please see the "English Proficiency" section)

Transcripts and other documents submitted become the property of Oklahoma State University and will not be returned.

The next step is to provide the departmental requirements by the application deadline.

Only after submitting both a complete application to the Graduate College and any materials required by the program is your application complete for the program to review and make an admission recommendation.

Departmental Requirements The admission requirements set by the Graduate College are minimums which must be met by all applicants. Please remember that each program to which you are applying may have additional application requirements such as submitting a vita, recommendation letters, and test scores (such as the GRE or GMAT). Departmentally required information can be sent directly to the Graduate Coordinator of that department. Please contact the program directly if you have any questions about these additional materials.

If the GRE is required by the program, OSU's GRE institution code is 6546. We provide a list of the preferred GRE department codes. Only after submitting both a complete application to the Graduate College and materials required by the program is your application complete for the program to review and make an admission recommendation.

Transcripts

An applicant should request from each institution previously attended one official transcript to be sent to the Graduate College. To be official, the transcript must show the complete scholastic record, bear the official seal of the institution, and be signed by the issuing officer.

Note to current or former students of OSU-Stillwater or OSU-Tulsa: You do not need to submit official OSU transcripts; we already have the necessary information.

Transcripts and other documents submitted become the property of Oklahoma State University and will not be returned.

Application Deadline

Each program sets their own deadline to receive a complete application for admission review, so it is very important to for you to know the program's admission requirements and deadlines or ask the program. It is recommend that applicants submit a complete application at least one month prior to the beginning of school or departmental deadline (whichever is first) to allow for adequate processing time.

Test Scores Each department determines their own admission requirements, and some include the submission of a test score such as GRE, GMAT, or MAT as part of those requirements. Prospective students should review departmental information or contact the department if they have a question about if an admissions test is required prior to investing in the cost of the test. GRE Scores If the GRE is required by the program, OSU's GRE institution code is 6546.We provide a list of the preferred GRE department codes.

Programs listed on the GRE department code page may or may not require the GRE as part of their admissions requirements.

Language Requirements

An applicant who has or will have completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree from a college or university where English is the primary teaching language, and which is located in a country where English is a primary language, is not required to submit a TOEFL or IELTS score.

Applicants for whom English is a second language are required to demonstrate an acceptable level of spoken English usually by submitting a TOEFL or IELTS score. A TOEFL score of 79 (internet based test) 550 (paper based test) is required. The TOEFL institution code for OSU is 6546.

Alternatively, an official IELTS, academic stream, examination with a minimum overall band score of 6.5 will satisfy the English proficiency requirements for admission to a graduate program. Either examination must have been taken within the last two years.

Some departments require a score above the minimum 79/550 on the TOEFL or 6.5 on the IELTS.

Additional Requirements

Students who score at least 42 on the combined Reading and Listening portions, with a score of at least 20 in each section, are not required to enroll in any remedial coursework.

Students who score less than this on the Reading and Listening portions of the TOEFL (irrespective of the score on the Written portion) are required to enroll in ENGL 0003 during their first semester. ENGL 0003 carries a grade of S/U and may not be used toward minimum degree requirements. Students must enroll in ENGL 0003 each semester until a grade of S is earned.

Students who score at or above the minimum score(s) on the Reading and Listening portion of the TOEFL, but less than 22 on the Writing portion, are required to enroll in ENGL 4893* at some point in their studies. ENGL 4893* carries graduate credit and may be used toward minimum degree requirements; a grade of C or better in this course is required. Both ENGL 0003 and ENGL 4893*, as applicable, must be listed on the student's Plan of Study.

Students who have completed the IELTS, or the computer or paper-based TOEFL have different requirements.

The TELP test

At Oklahoma State University, we want to ensure that all students succeed in their studies and perform at the highest academic level. To ensure that graduate students are sufficiently skilled at written English, the Test of English Language Proficiency (TELP) is required for all graduate students who took the IELTS, the computer (CPT) TOEFL or paper-based (PBT) TOEFL. The TELP must be taken before the student's first semester enrollment.

A waiver of the TELP requirement may be granted to a student who:

has achieved on the TOEFL a score of 250 CBT/600 PBT or higher and a score of 5.0 or higher on the Test of Written English (TWE) or Essay. Alternatively, a waiver can be granted to a student who achieved an IELTS, academic stream, overall band score of 6.5 or higher and 6.5 or higher on each of the band scores for Listening, Reading, and Writing

Students completing the Internet-based TOEFL test (iBT) are considered separately and are not required to take the TELP.

For those required to take the TELP, it is a test of written English and assesses the academic English skills necessary for students to function well in graduate-level university classes. The test has two sections: Listening/Dictation and Reading/Writing. A score of 70 on both portions of the TELP is considered passing.

Students who score less than 70 on the Listening/Dictation portion of the TELP (irrespective of the score on the writing portion) are required to enroll in ENGL 0003 during their first semester. ENGL 0003 carries a grade of S/U and may not be used toward minimum degree requirements. Students must enroll in ENGL 0003 each semester until a grade of S is earned.

Students who score at least 70 on the Listening/Dictation portion of the TELP, but less than 70 on the Writing portion are required to enroll in ENGL 4893* at some point in their studies. ENGL 4893* carries graduate credit and may be used toward minimum degree requirements; a grade of C or better in this course is required.

Both ENGL 0003 and ENGL 4893*, as applicable, must be listed on the student's Plan of Study.

Graduate Assistantships

OSU is a Research-Extensive University, and graduate students play a vital role in both its teaching and research missions. Over 1700 graduate students help finance their graduate education at OSU through employment as

Graduate Teaching Assistants

GTAs assist in the university's teaching activities, through teaching of undergraduate course sections and laboratories, and through "office" hour contact with students.

Graduate Research Assistants

GRAs assist faculty in their research. This research can, and often is, used as part of the student' s thesis or dissertation

Graduate Assistants

Graduate Assistants assist various offices throughout the university.

Each year OSU awards more than $15 million in stipends to graduate assistants, graduate teaching assistants, and graduate research assistants. Students in all three types of positions receive full waivers of the out-of-state portion of tuition for all courses taken. Also, graduate teaching and research assistants employed at least 10 hours per week receive waivers toward some of the remaining (resident) portion of the tuition for the academic year and for the summer term. For more information about graduate assistantship benefits and other forms of aid, please see our "Financing your Education" page.

Graduate Assistants employed at least one-quarter time and appropriately enrolled also qualify for free health insurance coverage.

Students should contact their academic program regarding the availability of these financial packages.

Spoken English Proficiency for Employment OSU policy and laws of the State of Oklahoma requires all persons for whom English is a second language to demonstrate an acceptable level of spoken English before being employed in an instructionally related capacity. Employment requires demonstrated proficiency on the Test of Spoken English (TSE) or by taking from OSU the institutional version, SPEAK (Spoken English Assessment Kit). International students who have been offered a teaching assistantship must take one of these tests. The test score is used as a condition of employment and is not a condition for admission to the Graduate College. Other spoken English examinations are not acceptable as substitutes for the TSE or OSU administered SPEAK.

The TSE test may be taken on campus or at any of the many testing sites provided by the Educational Testing Service. Results must be received prior to the beginning of the school semester in which the student will be teaching. SPEAK Tests are given the Monday and Tuesday before the Fall and Spring semesters begin and only in Stillwater. The SPEAK test is administered in a language laboratory and takes about half an hour. It is divided into seven sections, each of which is evaluated for two or more of the following categories: pronunciation, grammar, fluency, and comprehensibility. Further information about the OSU SPEAK can be found at this web address: http://english.okstate.edu/ita/ International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Program New international teaching assistants (ITAs) are required to participate in the international teaching assistant orientation and evaluation. New ITA's must attend the two sessions of the Orientation (whether they have taught in a classroom somewhere else or not). Then, those ITA's who pass SPEAK and the ITA Test will be eligible to teach in the classroom. The ITA Test is a 10-minute evaluation procedure in which the ITA presents 5 minutes of information for an undergraduate lab, recitation, or lecture. Each ITA Test (the 5-minute mini-lesson plus the q/a period) will be evaluated by two faculty members from the English Department, a faculty member from the ITA's department, and a small group of undergraduate students. Further information about the ITA can be found at this web address: http://english.okstate.edu/ita/

Campus Safety How safe will I be at OSU? In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, Oklahoma State University provides a report on the numbers and types of crimes on the OSU campus for the previous three years at http://www.osupd.okstate.edu/stats.php. There you can also find links to public safety guides on crime prevention, crime reporting, how to avoid victimization, alcohol and drug awareness, and procedures to follow when sex offenses occur. The Campus Crime Report is available in printed form upon request from the OSU Police Department by contacting their office at 405-744-6523 or writing to them at OSU Police Department, 104 USDA Building, Stillwater, OK, 74078.

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