Career Center

Helpful Tips for Graduate Applications

You have decided what you want to study. You know which five schools have the best program for you. So how do you apply? Every graduate program has a different set of forms and different deadlines. Even within the same "system" things may be different. UC Irvine's Creative Writing Program may have different requirements from UC Riverside's. Simply put, you should know the differences and ALWAYS FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. The most common elements in graduate and professional applications are:

• An institutional application form
• A Personal statement which is sometimes part of the App Form, our Academic Resource Center will help with this.
• An application fee (Many schools will waive on request)
• A Financial Aid application (Most schools now use the online FAFSA )
• A personal or telephone interview is common for doctoral programs, but not required by most Master's programs. (Remember, you can always use Career Center resources to prepare for this step.)
• Transcripts and Test Scores

Getting Help

We strongly recommend that you seek specific advice from faculty mentors and current PhD students in your department. These are the people that know first hand what specific academic departments are seeking. Those seeking assistance with health-related programs should connect with the Health Professions Advising Programon campus, as they have many years of experience dealing with medical, dental, pharmacy, and other allied health programs.