Admissions

• Go to https://students.gradschool.utexas.edu/portal/app
• Complete all of the necessary information and answer all of the questions required.
• Letters of Recommendation:  Supply names and email addresses for three recommenders.
• Make sure you hit the Submit button and that you pay your application fee.  Only then will you be moved to the next stage.
• Within 48 hours of submitting your application, you will receive an email from the Office of Graduate Admissions (OGA) directing you to a Status Check website where you will be asked to upload additional application materials.

Pay the application fee. After you have paid your fee and receive the email with directions to the MyStatus page for the University of Texas at Austin, you may upload required documents on that portal.

• Brief essay of research questions (also called statement of research objectives)
• CV or resume
• Writing sample

Statement of Purpose for Doctoral and MA R&T students 

Write a 500-word statement of purpose about your research interests, how your professional experience ties in with that, and which faculty members you would like to study with. Tell us why are you interested in getting a research and theory degree, and what do you intend to do with it. Our programs are designed for full-time students. If you would like to be considered for admission on a part-time basis, please indicate that in your Statement of Purpose.

Statement of Purpose for MA Pro Track students

A 500-word minimum statement of your intended career goals. If you know it, please describe the job you would like to attain when you graduate from the UT School of Journalism. Where do you want to work? Where do you want to be published? Your answer will help us help you achieve your ideal job (examples: foreign correspondent, arts writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, social media director for The Huffington Post,) If you do not have a specific professional goal, please describe the beats, topics or areas of expertise you plan to concentrate on while in school (examples: Sports journalism with an emphasis on large college programs; human justice journalism with an emphasis on refugees). Our programs are designed for full-time students. If you would like to be considered for admission on a part-time basis, please indicate that in your Statement of Purpose. 

On your application you will be asked to provide the names and emails of the individuals you have asked to write letters of recommendation for you.. After you submit and pay your application fee, an electronic request for reference will be sent to your recommenders. You will be able to re-send or send additional reminder requests for reference through your online MyStatus page. Recommenders have 45 days the time to submit their electronic letter, from the day they receive the request.

The electronic recommendation letter is a standard method used across universities in the U.S. We strongly recommend adhering to this policy to avoid lost letters or a delay in the processing of your application. Letters are not accepted by mail.

Provide an official transcript from every senior college you have attended. Even if courses taken at one institution are recorded on another college's transcript, transcripts must be submitted from the institution at which the courses were taken. Failure to list all colleges on the application and provide those transcripts will be considered an intentional omission and may lead to the cancellation of your application for admission or withdrawal of your offer of admission.

Official transcripts bear the facsimile signature of the registrar and the seal of the issuing institution. Transcripts from U.S. colleges or universities must have been produced within the last calendar year, and should include the award of degree printed on the transcript unless coursework is still in progress. Transcripts written in a language other than English must be accompanied by a translation. 

Each transcript (mark sheet) should contain a complete record of studies at the institution from which it is issued (i.e., the subjects taken and grades [marks] earned in each subject).

If your college or university uses the SPEEDE service you can have your transcript(s) sent electronically. Check with the registrar of your institution to find out if transcripts can be sent via the SPEEDE server.

If your college or university uses Parchment, you can have your transcript(s) sent electronically. Please see the Parchment ordering guide for more information.

Otherwise, create and upload a PDF of the official paper transcript issued to you by the registrar using the Document Upload System. It will be considered unofficial but can be used to process your application for admission. You should redact your Social Security number from the transcript before you upload, but other alterations are not permitted. Please note that uploaded transcripts must first be verified, a process which can take 2 to 3 business days.

We cannot accept electronic transcripts sent by registrars or third-party entities in any other format (e.g. by email or by links to secure websites). Please do not mail official transcripts or paper copies of your transcripts before you are offered admission. Sending paper copies of documents will significantly delay the processing of your application.

Junior/Community college transcripts are NOT required.

Instructions for submitting a transcript

In general, your graduate school resumé will be similar to a resumé you would create when applying for a job.

Your graduate school resumé should include:

• A header, including basic information like your name and email address
• Your education history, including your undergraduate degree and institution
• Relevant experiences, such as current or previous professional roles, internships, and leadership experience
• Research and publications, including any research projects, articles, or other publications you’ve contributed to through your academic or professional career
• Skills and certifications, especially those closely related to your field of study
• Volunteering and extracurricular activities, if applicable to your program of interest

If you are unsure whether a particular experience or skill should be included on your resumé, ask yourself how it relates to the program and institution you are applying to. If it doesn’t speak directly to your interests and strengths, it is likely unnecessary to include.

Doctoral applicants should submit a copy of thesis chapters or such other research as conference papers or journal articles.

Master's applicants typically submit a research paper (R&T tracks) or three to five published articles (professional and tracks).

Students interested in visual storytelling are strongly encouraged to submit a sample of their work. Upload a portfolio of your work–images, video, web designs, etc.–as a miscellaneous admissions document via the supplemental documents upload page. For portfolios of still or video images, upload 20 to 24 images in a PDF document. We are interested in images that deal with people and show your storytelling skills, rather than vacation-type images. The ideal portfolio would be your best work. Be sure to supply caption material for all images. 

International students should ARRANGE for the Educational Testing Services (ETS) to submit your OFFICIAL SCORE for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

The ETS code for UT Austin is 6882. 

The minimum scores considered acceptable for admission by the Graduate School are:

• TOEFL: 79 on the Internet-based test (iBT). TOEFL scores are valid for 2 years after the test date.
• IELTS: An overall band of 6.5 on the Academic Examination

More info