The Office of Graduate Admissions guides prospective graduate degree-seeking and nondegree-seeking students through the application and admissions processes. This office works closely with graduate programs to ensure timely review of applications and communications with prospective graduate students. This office also coordinates the admissions recommendations entered by graduate programs and ensures that the UCF minimum admissions requirements are being met.

Admissions Policies

The University of Central Florida’s minimum admission requirements are a baccalaureate degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited university or equivalent foreign institution and GPA of 3.0 (or equivalent) or more on all work attempted while an undergraduate student working for a baccalaureate degree or earned a 3.0 GPA (or equivalent) or better in all work attempted while registered as an upper division student working for a baccalaureate degree or earned a previous graduate or professional degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or its equivalent from a foreign institution in a field related to the discipline to which the applicant is applying.

Additionally, all doctoral applicants must present an acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination (verbal, quantitative and writing) or an equivalent measure of the GMAT, whichever is deemed most appropriate to the program. Students, including international students who already have a graduate degree obtained from a regionally accredited institution in the same or in a related area are not required to take the Graduate Record Examination or GMAT unless it is required by the program. In addition, doctoral students must submit 3 letters of recommendation, a resume or curriculum vita, and a written essay. Each doctoral program may determine other requirements for admission.

Each master’s program may determine other requirements for admissions in addition to the minimum admissions requirements stated here. International students who apply to a master’s program that does not require the GRE or GMAT must submit a course-by-course evaluation of the student’s official transcript completed by a credential evaluation service recommended by UCF that shows a GPA equivalent from an earned degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree.

Additionally, international students must show proficiency in written and spoken English by
(a) proving they are from a country where English is the only official language; or
(b) establishing that a prior bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree was earned from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States; or
(c) establishing that a prior bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree was earned from a country where English is the only official language, or a university at which English is the only official language of instruction; or
(d) submitting a qualifying score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Qualifying scores are: a TOEFL computer-based score of 220; a TOEFL internet-based score of 80 (or equivalent score on the paper-based test); or an IELTS score of 6.5.
(e) Students who are non-native speakers of English (and do not have a degree from a U.S. institution) must pass the SPEAK exam administered by the UCF Center for Multilingual Multicultural Studies before they will be permitted to teach as a Graduate Teaching Associate or Graduate Teaching Assistant.

In certain cases, a score on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) or the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) can be used in lieu of the GRE/GMAT.Specific programs may establish higher scores for qualification, and such information must be included in the Graduate Catalog and program website information for that specific program.

Students without a baccalaureate or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution or a recognized foreign institution are not admitted to graduate degree programs, graduate certificate programs, or graduate nondegree status. The College of Business Administration requires that all degrees must have been earned from a regionally accredited institution.

Graduate programs are encouraged to ask for optional application materials and set higher minimum admissions requirements than the university requirements. Some departments may choose to require letters of recommendation, essays, personal/research statements, and resumes. Departments may also choose to conduct interviews, auditions or require portfolios from their applicants. It is important to note these additional requirements on the Graduate Programs section of the UCF College of Graduate Studies’ student website and catalog so applicants are clear on what is expected of them when applying. Departments should notify the UCF College of Graduate Studies when making changes to their admissions requirements. This only should be done when the catalog revisions are being submitted once per year. Applicants to doctoral programs must submit completed applications including three letters of recommendation, resume and essay or personal/research statement.

Prospective students must apply online by the stated application deadline for your program. The graduate online application can be found at https://www.students.graduate.ucf.edu/gradonlineapp. We strongly encourage you to place a link to the online application on your program's website so prospective students can have easy access to it.

Common mistakes applicants make when completing the graduate application:

• Applicant saves the application pages but does not follow the instructions to submit the application and pay the fee.
  Solution: Applicant must go back to the online application with his/her assigned PIN and password and submit the application.
• Applicant submits the application but does not pay the required $30 application processing fee.
  Solution: Applicant can contact our payment line at 407-823-5353.
• Applicant submits an application and fee for the wrong program.
  Solution: Applicant must submit a new application and fee for the correct program. Once an application is processed it cannot be changed.
• Applicant applies after the program’s application deadline.
  Solution: Applicant should contact the program to see if the application can be reviewed after the deadline. If approved, the Program Director or Program Staff Member should send an email to the appropriate Admissions Counselor so that the application can be processed.
• Applicant does not submit supporting documents online as part of the application.
  Solution: Applicant should arrange to submit these supporting documents directly to the UCF College of Graduate Studies prior to the program’s application deadline.
• Applicant submits supporting documents directly to the program.
  Solution: Program Staff Member should forward these supporting documents to the UCF College of Graduate Studies as soon as possible. The applicant can also submit these supporting documents directly to the UCF College of Graduate Studies.

Supporting documents (with the exception of transcripts and test scores) must be submitted online and received by the stated application deadline. Transcripts must be official and submitted directly to the UCF College of Graduate Studies. Test scores must be reported electronically to the UCF College of Graduate Studies by the corresponding testing agency. Applicants should contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to have their GRE and/or TOEFL scores reported to our office (UCF’s institution code for GRE and TOEFL is 5233). Applicants that have taken the GMAT should contact PearsonVue to have their scores reported to our office (UCF’s institution code for GMAT is RZT-HT-58). International applicants that have taken the IELTS should contact that agency directly.

Under no circumstances should applicants send supporting documents to the graduate program directly; this will slow down the application process for them. Unofficial supporting documents submitted will not be processed. It is important to advise applicants of these policies when you meet with them so they can experience a smooth application process.

Graduate programs are encouraged to have earlier application deadlines. If your Program Director would like to publish an earlier application deadline for the program, please contact our office so that we can update our student website and catalog. Application deadlines can also be extended to the final university deadline if needed. Please contact the designated Admissions Counselor for your college or Barbara Rodriguez at barbara@mail.ucf.edu for these changes.

Reasons why applications/supporting documents may be placed on hold:

• Applicant affirmatively responds to those questions on the application asking about disciplinary and criminal background. The application is placed on hold and forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) for further review.
  Solution: Applicant should visit the OSC website at www.osc.sdes.ucf.edu/?id=admissionsclearance or contact that office at 407-823-2851 for additional information on the documentation that they may be required to submit.
• Applicant submits the application but does not pay the required $30 application processing fee.
  Solution: Applicant can contact our payment line at 407-823-5353.
• Applicant’s academic credentials cannot be evaluated because his/her transfer work is not clearly indicated on the bachelor’s degree transcript.
  Solution: Applicant must submit official transcripts from all institutions attended.

Reviewing Applications

Once the online applications are received and processed by your designated Admissions Counselor, you and your Program Director will have access to review them in the Graduate Web Information System (G-WIS), DocView and the PeopleSoft UCF Graduate Summary page. Applications should be reviewed soon after they become available in G-WIS. Programs that use committees in the admissions process should schedule meetings regularly in order to review files and make admissions recommendations in a timely manner.

• Graduate Web Information System (G-WIS)
  G-WIS is an interactive way to review graduate applicant information and to enter admissions recommendations. G-WIS provides real-time summary information of all of your applicants for current and future terms. You can review your applicants’ information, request transcript evaluations, and make admissions recommendations. You can also view historical data for your program in read-only format. The College of Graduate Studies will review the recommendations and send out admissions letters to applicants.
  
• DocView
  You can view images of your applicants’ supporting documents in DocView. DocView is a view-only application that allows you to view these images but not modify them.
  
• UCF Graduate Summary in PeopleSoft
  The UCF Graduate Summary is available through PeopleSoft (MyUCF). This summary page allows users to view applicant information for current and future terms.
  
• GradInfo
  GradInfo is a portal provided by the UCF College of Graduate Studies for internal administrative use. Use GradInfo to access G-WIS and DocView. You can also access admissions statistic reports for your program and forms and files pertinent to graduate admissions.

It is important for graduate programs to communicate with applicants throughout the application process. Tracking your applicants’ progress throughout the application process and communicating with them is a good way of building relationships with them. Applicants will be more likely to enroll (if admitted to your program) if they feel like they have received good customer service from your program and the university. Communicating through email is the most efficient way to disseminate information to your applicants. E-mails should be sent out when applications are first reviewed informing applicants of any missing documents and deadlines. Also, e-mails should be sent out as applications are complete giving applicants a timeframe of when they should expect and admissions decision. Your program may also consider holding online open houses or chats for applicants to answer questions about the program and/or guide them through the application process. To schedule an online open house or chat, please contact the Office of Graduate Recruiting.

Questions from applicants about your program or their application status will be responded to in a timely manner. The College of Graduate Studies will send letters of admission to students and post that the admissions letter has been sent in G-WIS so that programs can see that this has been done.

Making Admissions Recommendations

Admissions recommendations should be entered in G-WIS right after the applications are reviewed by the Program Director or committee and no later than the decision deadline for the term (decision deadlines are established by the UCF College of Graduate Studies each academic year). Prospective graduate students often accept the first admission offer that they receive, therefore, it is imperative that files are reviewed promptly and recommendations rendered within two weeks of the application being processed and completed. This is especially true for prospective students seeking fellowships and awards.

Typically the graduate program enters the admissions recommendations in G-WIS and then the College of Graduate Studies reviews it. Decisions are made by the UCF College of Graduate Studies and an automated admissions letter is sent to the applicant. Admissions decisions can be made in one of several categories: regular, conditional, restricted, provisional, restricted/conditional or provisional/conditional.

• REGULAR status
  All applicants that are admitted in regular status must meet the minimum university admission requirements.



• CONDITIONAL status
  Applicants admitted in this status meet minimum university admission requirements but are missing one or more of the required documents (i.e. final transcripts or test scores). If admitted in this status, the applicant must fulfill the condition by mid-term of their first semester or they will be prevented from registering for future semester classes. No exceptions.



• RESTRICTED status
  Even though minimum university admission requirements are met, a program may attach restrictions to the admission of an applicant, such as completing certain prerequisite courses, retaking the GRE/GMAT for a higher score, maintaining a certain GPA in the first few hours of a graduate program, etc. The student must fulfill these requirements prior to being switched to regular status. Students that have a graduate GPA less than 3.0 in a degree program at UCF and are admitted into a new degree program will be admitted into the new program in restricted status.



• PROVISIONAL status
  Applicants that do not fulfill the minimum university admission requirements for regular admission may be admitted provisionally upon recommendation of the program director and the College of Graduate Studies. Provisional admissions may at no time exceed 20 percent of the graduate students admitted for any academic term in any single degree program/track. Provisional students may be switched to regular status following satisfactory completion of 9 semester hours and upon recommendation by the program director/and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.



• RESTRICTED/CONDITIONAL status
  Even though minimum university admission requirements are met, a program may attach restrictions to the admission of an applicant, such as higher GPA requirements, completing a standardized test, completing certain prerequisite courses, maintaining a certain GPA in the first few hours of a graduate program, etc. Students may be denied admission to regular graduate status if the restrictions are not met. The student also has not submitted all required documents for admission. All required documents for admission must be submitted by mid-term of the first semester or the student will be prevented from registering for future semester classes.



• PROVISIONAL/RESTRICTED status
  A student who does not fulfill the minimum university admission requirements for regular admission (as listed above) and has not met the graduate program’s specific requirements may be admitted in provisional/restricted status upon recommendation of the program director to which admission is sought and the College of Graduate Studies. A graduate program may attach restrictions to the admission of an applicant, such as higher GPA requirements, completing a standardized test, completing certain prerequisite courses, maintaining a certain GPA in the first few hours of a graduate program, etc.
  
  Provisional/restricted students may be admitted to regular status following satisfactory completion of nine semester hours, in the graduate program and upon recommendation by the program director and Vice Provost and Dean of the College of Graduate Studies AND satisfactory completion of the graduate program’s restrictions. Students may be denied admission to regular graduate status if the graduate program’s restrictions are not met.



• PROVISIONAL/CONDITIONAL status
  A student who does not fulfill the minimum university admission requirements for regular admission (as listed above) and has not submitted all required documents for admission may be admitted in provisional/conditional status upon recommendation of the program director to which admission is sought and the College of Graduate Studies. Provisional/conditional students may be admitted to regular status following satisfactory completion of nine semester hours, in the graduate program and upon recommendation by the program director and Vice Provost and Dean of the College of Graduate Studies AND the submission of all required documents for admission. All required documents for admission must be submitted by mid-term of the first semester or the student will be prevented from registering for future semester classes.

For students being admitted in restricted status, it is imperative that the program follow up with the student to ensure that the restrictions are clearly written. For additional information on these admissions categories, please visit the Graduate Catalog at www.graduate.ucf.edu/CurrentGradCatalog/content/Admissions/.

Notifying Applicants of Admissions Decisions

Graduate programs should never make admission offers to students directly. Also, applicants should never be given their admissions decision verbally. If the need arises, only Program Directors should be the ones giving applicants information about their decision over the phone. Information about the admissions decision and whether an automated letter has been sent to a student informing them of the admissions decision is available in G-WIS for each student. Program Directors should never give the exact reason why an applicant was denied.

The College of Graduate Studies encourages programs to communicate with admitted students about orientations, registration, and other matters after the admissions letter has officially been sent from the university.

The UCF College of Graduate Studies provides applicants being offered admission a way to accept/decline their offer. The link to electronically accept/decline is found on MyUCF. If an applicant notifies a program directly that they will accept or decline an offer of admission, please notify the College of Graduate Studies by email with this information.

International Admissions

International applicants are admissible to master's and doctoral degree programs only. International applicants seeking an F or J visa cannot be admitted as nondegree-seeking. They also cannot be admitted to certificate programs unless they have been previously admitted to a degree program.

International applicants have additional requirements and must follow earlier deadlines due to the amount of time it takes to process their immigration paperwork in order for them to be able to obtain a student visa. International students who cannot prove that they are from a country where English is the only official language or establish that their previous bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree was earned from a country where English is the official language or that the university where they earned their previous degree used English as the official language of instruction, must submit a qualifying score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a score on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to proof their English proficiency. For all doctoar and master's applicants ot programs that require the GRE, the applicants must also submit official transcripts to be evaluated by our college. The College of Graduate Studies employs two International Credential Evaluators that review the academic credentials of applicants (excluding applicants to master's programs in the College of Business Administration and Rosen College of Hospitality Management) that receive their undergraduate degree at a college or university outside of the United States. They conduct a complete assessment of all required credential documents (official transcript(s) and official certification of degree) submitted by the applicant, including the record of all academic course work.

For master’s applicants to programs that do not require the GRE or GMAT and for applicants to master’s programs located in the College of Business Administration and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, a course by course evaluation of the student’s official transcript must be submitted to a credential evaluation service recommended by UCF (WES or Josef Silny) that shows a GPA equivalency.

Once the online applications for international applicants are received and processed by your designated College of Graduate Studies Admissions Counselor, you and your Program Director will have access to review them in the Graduate Web Information System (G-WIS), DocView and the PeopleSoft UCF Graduate Summary page. These applications will be assigned both a checklist of required application documents and a checklist of required visa documents. The International Services Center (ISC) handles the visa documents checklist for each international applicant. They update these documents as they are received and will send each program a list of outstanding documents for their applicants.

International applicants face additional challenges and need sufficient time to obtain appointments to receive their visa. Therefore, it is extremely important to enter admissions recommendations for these applicants as soon as their files are completed and no later than the international decision deadline for the term.

Please refer to the International Services chapter of this guide for additional information about international admissions.

International Transcript Evaluations

The College of Graduate Studies offers transcript evaluations at no cost that provide U.S. degree equivalence of foreign education, for all international applicants to our doctoral and master's programs that require the GRE (excluding those applying to masters programs in the College of Business Administration and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management). For master’s programs that do not require a GRE, a course-by-course evaluation is required from an evaluation service. If a more in-depth analysis of the applicant's transcript is needed or for a course-by-course evaluation, applicants will need to be forwarded to World Education Services, Inc. (WES) or Josef Silny.

Graduate programs should prioritize requests for evaluations.Prioritizing the best applicants will help with the fellowship nominations process and the admissions decisions. Transcript evaluations can be requested by individual academic programs, based on a priority system, through G-WIS.Those requests will be made by selecting from options given in an interactive, drop-down menu found on the new “Priority Evaluation” column located on each academic program’s applicant list of G-WIS.

Click here for detailed instructions on how to request a transcript evaluation and an explanation of the priority system.

Generally, the peak time for transcript evaluations happens between the months of October and March, in conjunction with International application deadlines, for upcoming fall semesters. It is important to follow the deadlines within this timeline when requesting evaluations. Doctoral fellowships are awarded through a committee starting in January, therefore, it is important to submit requests as soon as possible so transcript evaluations can be done for the best applicants prior to this time.

Click here for a current timeline reflecting transcript evaluation deadlines associated with the latest upcoming fall semester.

The transcript evaluation area strives to have as efficient a process as possible in providing information quickly to departments and colleges for their review, as well as making the applicant's experience as smooth and easy as can be expected.

Click here for a flowchart detailing our transcript evaluation process.

Appeals of Admissions Decision

Please refer to the Records chapter of this guide for additional information about appeals of admissions decisions.

Timeline

Timeline for Fall Admissions

• Make admissions recommendations in January/February
• Enter financial offer information into the Assistantship Offer Database by late February or early March. All financial offers should be made several weeks prior to April, and then for students who do not accept offers, you will have nearly a month until May 15 to enter new offer information into the Assistantship Offer Database.
• Prepare and submit contracts and e-PAF's to the UCF College of Graduate Studies by August 15, 2009 for continuing graduate assistants and for new domestic graduate assistants and by August 31, 2009 for new international graduate assistants. Contracts submitted after these dates will not be accepted except in extraordinary circumstances.
• University-wide fellowships start to be distributed mid-January. Please refer to the Student Financials chapter of this guide for additional information about university-wide fellowships).

General Timeline

Schedule	Task	Information Resources
Daily or Weekly	Review list of applicants in G-WIS	Graduate Web Information System (G-WIS) — in GradInfo » Admissions » G-WISv2
Daily or Weekly	Review applicants' documents in DocView	DocView — in GradInfo » Other » DocView
Daily or Weekly	Communicate with applicants who have incomplete files
Daily or Weekly	Communicate with applicants who may need to set up interviews if your program requires one
Daily or Weekly	Make admission recommendations in G-WIS for applicants who have complete files or enough information on which to base a decision (preferably two weeks after the application is processed). There will be an indicator in G-WIS when the Graduate College has sent the admissions offer and you may see a copy of the letter in DocView.	Graduate Web Information System (G-WIS) — in GradInfo » Admissions » G-WISv2
Daily or Weekly	Send letters to applicants, particularly those admitted with restrictions after the decisions/letters are approved in G-WIS by the College of Graduate Studies. Letters should be sent to applicants via mail or e-mail.	Graduate Web Information System (G-WIS) — in GradInfo » Admissions » G-WIS

Application/Decision Deadlines

Link to Application/Decision Deadlines—2010-11.